Natural Capital Planning

The LNP has been highly influential in taking the Natural Capital planning agenda forward across the 5 counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, with our 2018 research study “Natural Capital Investment Planning for the Oxford – Milton Keynes – Cambridge Growth Corridor” (download here) paving the way for the OxCam Local Natural Capital Plan (https://www.oxcamlncp.org/) and our own Bedfordshire Natural Capital assessment work which maps out across Bedfordshire the existing natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides, and opportunity areas for future enhancement.

We also project managed a Defra ‘Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment’ study which looked at how the natural capital approach could be embedded into the planning system at every level from Arc-wide to the parish (https://www.oxcamlncp.org/delivering-and-embedding).

Landscape Scale Projects, Initiatives and Partnerships:

Bedfordshire has long been a location where partners have been at the forefront of the ‘landscape-scale’ approach, and it is an important part of the LNP’s remit to support and act as an advocate for these. Current ones include:

The Forest of Marston Vale

One of England’s 12 Community Forests and established in the 1990s, the Forest of Marston Vale Trust is seeking to regenerate the 61 square miles of the Marston Vale, and are working towards a 30% tree cover target to do this.

https://www.marstonvale.org/

Greensand Country and the Greensand Ridge Nature Improvement Area (NIA)

The Greensand Country Landscape Partnership was formed in 2013 and secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for delivery of projects and activities across the Greensand Ridge between 2017 and 2022. Its aim is to reverse the gradual decline in landscape quality, raise awareness of the importance of the area and better engage people with it. A partnership of over 20 organisations has helped deliver a successful initiative, and now at the end of the Lottery-funded period, it is moving into its ‘Forward Plan’ phase led by the Greensand Trust.

https://www.greensandcountry.com/

The area was also recognised as a locally-led ‘Nature Improvement Area’ by the Beds LNP in 2012. This has also been recognised by Central Bedfordshire Council, embedded in policy within the Local Plan, to help achieve the aim of nature recovery at a landscape scale

https://www.greensandtrust.org/greensand-ridge-nature-improvement-area

The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Chalkscapes Landscape Partnership

The Chilterns AONB covers 833km2 between the Thames in Oxfordshire and Hitchin in Hertfordshire, with the North Chilterns escarpment extending across the southern part of the county. The AONB is one of 38 in England and Wales and was designated in 1968, highlighting the great importance of the chalk landscape. The Chilterns Conservation Board is an independent body established to conserve and enhance the landscape and engage people with it.

https://www.chilternsaonb.org/

Chalkscapes  is an exciting new partnership project designed to inspire people to understand, care for and take action for the precious North Chilterns chalk landscape. Having been awarded development funding by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this new partnership is developing its plans for a 5 year delivery phase, anticipated to run from 2023 to 2028.

https://www.chilternsaonb.org/projects/chalkscapes-2.html

The Bedford-Milton Keynes Waterway Park

The Waterway Park is an ambitious project to link the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes with the River Great Ouse in Bedford. Just 16 miles (26Km) in length it will have a huge regional impact creating a waterway park and establishing a green corridor right at the heart of future developments on the Oxford to Cambridge Arc, a legacy for future generations. The Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust was established in 1995 to take the initiative forward.

https://www.bmkwaterway.org/