Environment

By Richard Astle, Chair, Langdyke Countryside Trust

Langdyke Countryside Trust

Lockdown has reinforced our love of nature, but it hasn’t lessened the pressures on our local wildlife

We are lucky in Tribland to have so much and so varied wildlife in and around our villages. But we must never forget how much nature, even here, is in steep decline. Nightingales have gone from Bainton Heath, lapwings nest in one or two places, not everywhere as they once did; turtle doves have done well again this year at Maxey, but have vanished from the rest of our countryside. Wild-flower meadows are few and very far between and ash trees are dying across our landscape. This is why the John Clare Countryside project - spearheaded by the Langdyke Countryside Trust - is so important as it aims to create a nature recovery area across our area, allowing space for nature to prosper and expand across the countryside. And these ideas have considerable support. Peterborough City Council unanimously approved a motion in July to “support Natural Cambridgeshire's aim of doubling the area of land managed for nature across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by 2050 and in particular supports the John Clare Countryside project, which aims to create, launch and deliver an ambitious and accessible nature recovery area across the landscape areas to the west of Peterborough” We have been taking these plans forward during lockdown, including the launch by Zoom of our initiative for every parish to create its own Nature Recovery Plan. Already we have twelve of our local parishes signed up to the idea and starting work on their plans. Working with our partners at Natural England, the Wildlife Trust and PECT, Langdyke has produced a toolkit full of advice on how to develop a nature recovery plan – this will be on our website soon. The first step is to create a map

Langdyke Countryside Trust

If you haven’t read our vision document it is on Langdyke’s website here - https://langdyke.org.uk/2019/09/11/vision-for-clare-country/

of the key wildlife sites in each parish, a baseline of where nature is richest. From this, each parish can decide its objectives (plant more trees, restore orchards, dig ponds etc.) and then develop a recovery map setting out how and where new habitats can be created and linked up. Once plans for each of the parishes are complete, we can then work collectively to link up all these ideas and ensure a landscapescale approach to nature recovery across John Clare Countryside. Any proposals in the plans must of course be discussed and agreed with landowners first and we will be working closely with the farming community to ensure that these plans fully reflect their interests and help their approach to the new agricultural subsidy regime. Initial ideas include corridors of trees stretching between Stamford and Peterborough; or a chain of wildflower meadows linking Nene and Welland. The parish plans are just one part of the John Clare Countryside project – we are also bidding for substantial funding from Heritage Lottery Fund to allow us to work closely with landowners and to develop ideas for improved public access and community engagement. The project also includes work to link nature and mental and physical health, forging relationships with the NHS and mental health charities.

If you’d like to be involved in your parish nature recovery plan or any other aspect of the John Clare Countryside project, do let us know and we can put you in touch with the key contacts. Please email chair@langdyke.org.uk If we are to help nature recover, we need more volunteers!

Peterborough’s action for the future

Last year, along with many other councils, Peterborough City Council declared a Climate Emergency for our city. No, it doesn’t mean we’re all likely to keel over tomorrow but, like those other responsible local authorities, we knew we had to lead against proven climatic change by actions not just politically motivated

if it uses fewer resources more efficiently and leaves a smaller carbon footprint. It is not a binary relationship. We don’t choose a tree over a house; instead they must and should work together and this is the message that often fails to reach residents. It’s critical in local government that themes and visions thread across all divisions. The environment can change long-term behaviour, such as buying and wasting less in the first place or adopting more sustainable forms of travel, such as walking and cycling, where possible and indeed practical; especially for our rural communities where travelling distance is relevant. I think key is to evidentially encourage our residents to

sound bites and green logos. Similarly, the ‘we’re all doomed anyway’ scenarios beloved of some pundits held no truck with the council’s administration, led by my fellow rural ward councillor John Holdich and we are determined to question the status quo and make bold changes in how our council functions. To my mind the environment is not just about the trees we see outside – it’s also about jobs, employment, housing, consumption and waste management. So our environmental policies will involve working alongside businesses, not acting as a separate pressure. Planning policy has a big impact on our environment. Development can be positive Cllr Peter Hiller, Glinton and Castor ward

Once we are back to work fully, I’d like to encourage PCC members and officers to continue with a different office mentality; working from home more often, hot desking and remote meetings ...

should not be locked in a silo, so at Peterborough City Council we are embedding environmental considerations within all policy formation and council decisions. Often though the environment debate is focussed on one aspect – carbon reduction for example – but issues like these should not be considered in isolation as we have to be conscious and concerned with a bigger picture. It would be perverse to solve or tackle one aspect of the environmental conundrum while destroying something else you want the nurture or preserve. We need to move away from talking about just the effects of the more environmentally friendly ways of doing things, such as recycling or driving electric cars. We need also to look at how we think about alternative ways of behaviour and the Covid crisis has forced us all to think and act differently. Once we are back to work fully, I’d like to encourage PCC members and officers to continue with a different office mentality; working from home more often, hot desking and remote meetings are now on the agenda, but no matter how small any of us make the changes in our behaviour, any should be celebrated. It’s these small changes that will make a real and lasting difference over our time and for generations to come.

Peter is the city council’s Cabinet member for Strategic Planning, Investment and Commercial Strategy.