Council commits to nature recovery in High Peak

Nature is in long-term decline and the need for action to reverse this is urgent - and in the High Peak, the Borough Council has committed to making nature's recovery a priority.

The council has declared a Nature Emergency – a formal acknowledgement of the nature crisis – and made a strong commitment to nature's recovery.

The declaration will provide context for the council's Plan for Nature which is being developed in partnership with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, and which recommends how and where the council's nature recovery efforts should be prioritised.

Councillor Jean Todd, Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Environment, said: "The natural world is in trouble so we need to act now to halt, and reverse, this decline. By making this important public declaration, the council has committed to helping nature recover which will, in turn, have beneficial effects for the climate and biodiversity.

"As well as helping struggling wildlife, a healthy natural environment is fundamental to the wellbeing of local residents. Spending time in nature has been shown to improve health outcomes, as well as protecting communities from the impacts of climate change.

"So I'm delighted that we have made this formal statement of our intent to do what we can as a Council to respond to the nature emergency and help restore and protect our natural environment for future generations."

In making this declaration, the council acknowledges that the 'Bigger, Better, More and Joined-Up' principles of the 2010 Lawton Report should be followed:

• There must be more space given to wildlife
• Existing wild spaces must be expanded
• The quality of existing wild spaces must be improved
• The connectivity of wild spaces must be increased