Local Policies and Strategies

The biodiversity duty under the Environment Act 2021 requires all public authorities in England to consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity, and to report on the actions they have taken. Local policies and strategies are a key mechanism for embedding this duty across all service areas.

Suffolk’s priority species and habitats – originally identified through the Suffolk Biodiversity Action Plan – remain a useful reference for understanding local ecological priorities, even as the BAP has been superseded by stronger national and local frameworks. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy will provide the updated strategic framework for biodiversity in Suffolk.

County Wildlife Sites: Suffolk’s County Wildlife Sites (CWS) are a key tool for local policy and planning. A commonly used local performance measure for biodiversity is the proportion of CWS where positive conservation management has been or is being implemented. SBIS holds the CWS register and can provide data to support policy development and reporting.

See also Suffolk County Council’s Designated Areas of Wildlife and Landscape.

Practical ideas

• Ensure positive conservation management is being implemented on County Wildlife Sites and undertake regular CWS reviews to keep the register up to date.
• Develop green space programmes that benefit Suffolk’s priority species and habitats as well as local communities.
• Use SBIS data to inform biodiversity duty reporting, local plan evidence bases, and green infrastructure strategies.

Case Studies

County Wildlife Site re-survey work: Three Councils undertook a review of their CWS registers, enabling the CWS Panel to review and update the site citations. The project ties in well with work to identify key sites where biodiversity improvement is achievable. It also ensures the ecological evidence base for planners is sufficiently strong and fit for purpose for the planning process.

Essex & Suffolk Water’s Lound Lakes: We own an area of approximately 80 hectares comprising open water, grassland and woodland at Lound, near Lowestoft, that supplies potable water to Lowestoft, Belton, Hopton and the surrounding villages. The site is of high ecological value with great species diversity of both flora and fauna, and is designated as a County Wildlife Site.

Conservation management is achieved through a successful partnership between Essex & Suffolk Water and the Broads Authority. A warden manages the site, helped by keen local volunteers who have also set up a ‘Friends of Lound Lakes’ group. Lound Lakes is accessible to the public via a network of paths, and permit holders can also enjoy a view over the reservoirs from a bird hide.

The Lound Lakes site has been extensively surveyed, and a number of key species have been identified, including pillwort, otter, orchids, butterflies and dragonflies. The Priority habitat Acid Grassland is also present.

The majority of the grassland is managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which means funding is available to manage the site sensitively in the interest of plants and wildlife.