The Environment (Local Nature Recovery Strategies) (Procedure) Regulations 2023

Local nature reserves and other areas of local importance to biodiversity

6.—(1) A responsible authority must take reasonable steps to ascertain the location and area of every—

(a) local nature reserve; and

(b) relevant site,

wholly or partly within the strategy area.

(2) A local planning authority that receives a request made by a responsible authority in relation to its local nature recovery strategy for information which it holds relating to a local nature reserve or relevant site in the local planning authority’s area must provide that information to the responsible authority before the expiry of 28 days beginning with the day on which the request is received.

(3) But the obligation in paragraph (2) does not apply if the local planning authority has a legitimate reason why the information should not become publicly available.

(4) In this regulation—

“local nature reserve” means an area established as such under section 21(1) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949(1);

“local planning authority” means a person who is a local planning authority for the purposes of any provision of Part 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(2);

“relevant site” means a site, that is not a local nature reserve, recognised by the local planning authority in whose area the site is located as justifying protection for its value to biodiversity but which is not a national conservation site(3).

(1)

1949 c. 97; section 21(1) was amended by paragraph 100 of Schedule 27 to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65); section 10 of the Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (c. 43), Schedule 14 to the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39); and paragraph 15 of Schedule 11 to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c. 16).

(2)

1990 c. 8; section 1 was amended by Schedule 21 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993; section 18 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 18 to, the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19); paragraph 32 of Schedule 10 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 24 to the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25); and section 31 of the Greater London Authority Act 2007 (c. 24).

(3)

For the definition of “national conservation site” see section 108(3) of the Environment Act 2021.