Horsham District Council’s Biodiversity Report – First Consideration
1 January 2024 – 1 January 2026

1. Background

The Environment Act 2021 introduced a strengthened ‘biodiversity duty’ which requires all public authorities in England to consider what action they can take to conserve and enhance biodiversity.

Horsham District Council (HDC) therefore must:

1. Consider what they can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity.
2. Agree policies and specific objectives based on their 'first consideration’.
3. Act to deliver the policies and achieve their objectives.

For our first consideration, this report sets out what action we intend to take to enhance biodiversity within the district. This report is to be published by 1st January 2024. The actions can be reviewed at any point, but these actions must be reconsidered within five years.

Following the initial consideration, HDC must agree the policies and objectives based on the first consideration as soon as possible, act on these, and prepare the first formal Biodiversity Report for publication by 1st January 2026, with subsequent reports published every five years thereafter. The Biodiversity Report will illustrate how HDC is helping to improve nature recovery and the progress towards achieving our objectives, and in doing so complying with our biodiversity duty.

Action that HDC takes aims to contribute towards the national goals and targets on biodiversity, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23).

By 2030, the government has committed to:

• Halt the decline in species abundance, and
• Protect 30% of UK land.

By 2042, the government has committed to:

• Increase species abundance by at least 10% from 2030, surpassing 2022 levels,
• Restore or create at least 500,000 ha of a range of wildlife rich habitats,
• Reduce the risk of species extinction, and
• Restore 75% of our one million hectares of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to favourable condition, securing their wildlife value for the long term.

2. Biodiversity Report Contents

Mandatory

By law, the Biodiversity Report produced in 2026 must include:

• A summary of the action taken to comply with our biodiversity duty
• The policies and objectives we have set to meet the biodiversity duty
• The actions we have completed, either alone or in partnership with others, that benefit biodiversity.
• Explain how HDC has taken account of local nature recovery strategies (LNRS), protected site strategies, and species conservation strategies.
• How HDC plan to comply with the biodiversity duty in the next reporting period
• The actions carried out to meet biodiversity net gain obligations.
• Details of biodiversity net gains resulting, or expected to result, from biodiversity gain
  plans we have approved.
• How HDC plan to meet biodiversity net gain obligations in the next reporting period.

Optional

In addition, HDC can also provide additional optional information, for example:

• Summarise what HDC has achieved in the reporting period, and explain how our policies, objectives and actions have contributed toward conserving, restoring, and enhancing biodiversity and protected sites, noting the successes and challenges.
• How we may have addressed the main causes of biodiversity loss e.g., land use changes, invasive non-native species, pollution
• Any action taken within areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB)
• Information on how complying with our biodiversity net gain obligations relates to other obligations.
• Adding quantitative data to the report, that has helped monitor and evaluate the results of the actions taken.
• Include boundary data for areas of HDC owned and/or managed land that are important for biodiversity.
• Describe if land that is HDC owned and/or managed is identified in the LNRS and at what level of importance.
• Describe what has been done to raise awareness, educate, and advise on how to conserve and enhance biodiversity.
• Explain how we have measured our actions and assessed their effects on biodiversity.
• Any relevant environmental assessments that we are responsible for, such as the strategies environmental assessment of the local plan, or local transport, minerals, or waste plans.
• Report on significant trends or areas of concern that HDC have found.
• Explain what we envisage to be the main challenges over the next 5 years.

3. Biodiversity within Horsham District

Horsham District supports a variety of habitats and species, ranging from large areas of ancient woodland in the north, to chalky grassland and floodplains in the south. There are two main rivers that run through the district, River Adur and River Arun, and the area is home to many protected sites and landscapes, for example the Arun Valley (SAC, SPA, Ramsar), High Weald National Landscape (AONB), South Downs National Park, Warnham Local Nature Reserve (LNR) as well as 23 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and 71 Local Wildlife Sites (LWS). In the centre of the district lies the Knepp Estate, a large rewilding project that has gained national recognition, which has become a breeding hotspot for rare and endangered species, such as the nightingale and turtle dove.

Across Horsham District, there are a multitude of external projects underway with aims to enhance local biodiversity. For example, the Weald to Waves project has a mission to create a nationally significant wildlife corridor measuring 100 miles in length, starting from Ashdown Forest and branching off along three rivers to reach different points of the Sussex coast to connect the kelp forests in our coastal waters. In doing so, wildlife will be able to move across the landscape, ultimately boosting biodiversity and increasing resilience to climate change, whilst also offering other ecosystem services and natural capital such as carbon capture and enhancing food production.

Similarly, the Adur River Restoration Project aims to revitalise and restore the River Adur and its catchment, creating a new ribbon of habitats running through a wildlife-friendly farmed landscape. In the south of the District there is also the Changing Chalk multi-partner, multi-project initiative led by the National Trust. Its aim is to restore lost habitats, bring histories to life, and provide new experiences in the outdoors. It seeks to connect nature, people, and heritage across a 458sqkm area of the eastern South Downs.

4. Horsham District Council functions relevant to the Biodiversity Duty

Land and Property

There is the need to consider how the land that is directly managed by HDC, could conserve and enhance biodiversity. This includes green and blue spaces like:

• allotments
• cemeteries
• parks and sports fields
• amenity spaces and communal gardens
• roadside and railway verges
• field margins and hedgerows
• rights of way and access routes
• woodlands and nature reserves
• canals and rivers
• water-dependent habitats
• estuaries

In the preparation of our Biodiversity Report, HDC will review how our landholdings are managed to enhance the environment and create habitats for wildlife that connect to other existing habitats. It is also advised to consider how we will monitor the ongoing biodiversity value. Where large areas of land are available, it is advised that we should examine the promotion of nature-based solutions, restoration of natural processes, and landscape recovery. HDC should also think about incorporating space for wildlife on any HDC owned buildings and grounds.

Protected Sites

Sites that HDC own or manage are sometimes protected by other environmental legislation. For example:

• sites of special scientific interest (SSSI)
• special areas of conservation (SPA) or special protection areas (SPA)
• national nature reserves (NNR)
• local nature reserves (LNR) or local wildlife sites (LWS)
• Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance)

HDC is aware of the status of its owned land via GIS mapping systems. Designated sites within our ownership are already subject to management plans which ensure that the land is being managed for biodiversity purposes.

This will need to be reviewed and updated to ensure that HDC is in accordance with the EIP23 which sets the expectation that all public authorities should ensure they have management plans in place by the end of 2023 to support their sites to reach favourable status. Authorities should produce those plans and work actively with Natural England and others to identify and implement the actions needed to improve site condition.

Protected Landscapes

HDC is also required to consider its role in relation to national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) as part of their biodiversity duty. This is important as HDC have functions in or close to national parks and AONBs. Improving nature in national parks or AONBs is an action that can enhance and conserve biodiversity. HDC can comply with its biodiversity duty by:

• Continuing to help develop and implement management plans for national parks and AONBs
• Making improvements to nature in these areas

Educate, Advise, and Raise Awareness

Helping the public to understand biodiversity and why it’s important, and encouraging land managers, businesses, and the general public to take action to benefit and enhance it, can form part of the biodiversity duty.

For HDC policies, objectives and actions, we will consider how we:

• Include the public in projects to improve biodiversity
• Feature biodiversity in public or internal communications
• Use libraries and museums to raise awareness of biodiversity
• Put information boards in green space or offer guided walks
• Include biodiversity considerations in advice for internal and external clients and service users
• Educate staff on your biodiversity actions and why they’re important
• Raise public awareness of how their gardens can support biodiversity, for example by avoiding artificial grass.

Policies and Processes

All public authorities have internal policies and processes for staff and facilities that could affect biodiversity. HDC will consider how our policies may affect biodiversity and seek to review and improve these for better outcomes. Example policies include:

• Transport – support sustainable travel to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality
• Waste – review waste management and recycling processes to reduce water pollution and air pollution from waste transport and landfill
• Water – improve water efficiency to reduce the effect water abstraction can have on sensitive habitats and species
• Procurement – buy sustainable materials and supplies to reduce the demand on natural resources
• Light – make sure the design of artificial lightning minimises effects on nature

Planning Services and Biodiversity Net Gain

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is an approach to development or land management that aims to leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than it was beforehand. National advice suggests that where BNG is currently not a policy within the local plan, Local Authorities could consider preparing one. HDC is pursuing this approach.

The Environment Act requires that future development projects (apart from exempt developments) will need to achieve a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain. This will be on a phased rollout with major developments being mandatory from January 2024, minor developments from April 2024 and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) being brought into the system by November 2025.

HDC will need to report what is done for BNG on and off development sites. Therefore, we will consider areas that are appropriate for BNG, and how existing planning advice and strategies can protect and enhance biodiversity.

Biodiversity data – Local Environmental Record Centre

Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC) has an important role with assisting HDC in meeting their statutory duties in relation to ecological data, but also holds much of the data needed to help understand our duty, monitor change, and provide data for the purposes of the biodiversity duty report.

Going forward, HDC will need to consider how to further utilise SxBRC data alongside other sources of data and present them in future reports. Environmental assessment regulations require monitoring of the effects of development plans and projects. The results of this monitoring could be used as a source of environmental data.

5. Horsham District Council’s current position

As indicated above, HDC are already undertaking many actions to ensure we comply with our biodiversity duty. The recent Council Plan 2023-2027 has introduced the ‘Inspiring greener futures’ theme and identified methods to reduce carbon emissions and use of natural resources to achieve Net Zero by 2050 as key priorities.

Management schemes on HDC owned land, in which many sites have been designated as Local Wildlife Sites, are managed to maintain and enhance biodiversity, with ‘No Mow’ areas to be expanded as part of a trial from 2024. The Council have membership of the High Weald Joint Advisory committee, who oversee the  management of the High Weald AONB landscape, and HDC contributes to the preparation of the High Weald National Landscape AONB management plan.

The impacts on the objectives and special qualities of the AONB, alongside other protected sites (SSSI’s, Ramsar, SAC, SPA, NNR, LNR, and LWS) are always assessed when determining planning applications. In addition, the impacts of any development on the site and adjoining areas are also taken into account, irrespective of any specific designation.

HDC are in the process of preparing a new Local Plan 2023-2040, whereby new policies relating to biodiversity, including biodiversity net gain and water neutrality, are embedded to prevent adverse impacts on wildlife sites and promote nature recovery and enhancement.

The Council are also actively involved in several environmental projects, in partnership with other organisations, such as the Wilder Horsham District, a five-year partnership between HDC and Sussex Wildlife Trust with aspirations to create a Nature Recovery  Network across the District. These examples, together with others are summarised in Table 1 below. This table also sets out potential further actions in accordance with the requirements to set out our first considerations.

Table 1 First Considerations: Summary of current actions and further considerations towards the biodiversity duty