By Co-Chairs Dame Caroline Spelman and Sarah Mukherjee MBE.
Together, we have the pleasure of Co-Chairing Natural England’s Landscape Advisory Panel (NELAP), Sarah as our external Co-Chair, drawing upon her long experience, including as a Member of Julian Glover’s Landscapes Review Panel, and Caroline as our Co-Chair from the Natural England Board, where she brings her long experience, including as a previous Secretary of State, to both Board’s and the Panel’s discussions. Professor Clare Fitzsimmons, of Newcastle University, is Natural England’s other Board Member on the Panel. Clare is Chair of Natural England’s Science Advisory Panel, providing a useful link between the work of the two Panels.
The Panel was established in 2021 to provide advice to Natural England’s Board on landscape aspects of its work. We have grown into our role and in this blog post we aim to provide more insight into the work of the Panel, and the ways in which its advice has been used by Natural England.
Early days
The Panel was established in late 2021, following an open recruitment to appoint Members from a range of different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Tony Juniper, Natural England’s Chair, celebrated the Panel’s launch in his Blog in January 2022.
The Panel’s early meetings were impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, meaning we could only meet online, limiting our ability to develop the open and creative discussions that face to face gatherings are so much better at facilitating. With the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the Panel was able to get into its stride, meeting face to face and undertaking several field visits to look at current issues and opportunities, and to hear from many inspirational people.
Bold and Brave
A strong theme in the Panel’s advice to Natural England has been to be bold and brave. We know that we face nature, climate and wellbeing crises and know that England’s land – and therefore it’s landscapes – have a fundamental role to play in making a better place for people and nature to thrive in harmony together in the future.
The Panel has provided advice on a wider range of Naturel England business, but there are four areas where we feel it has had particular impact.
Urban greening and Nature Towns and Cities. The Panel’s early work related directly to Natural England’s response to the Landscapes Review, commissioned by then Secretary of State, Micheal Gove and undertaken by a Panel led by Julian Glover.
The Review reported in 2019 and, amongst various recommendations, it highlighted the need for new landscape approaches on the coast and in urban areas. The need for radical urban greening has been a concern for a long time, and the Panel was pleased to both endorse and advise upon development of an urban greening accreditation approach that has grown to become Nature Towns and Cities, with partners National Trust and National Heritage Lottery Fund.
A new National Park. In November 2023, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked Natural England to identify where a new English National Park should go, and the Panel was closely involved in advising on strategic options, including looking at the potential for new styles of National Park.
The Panel advised on technical aspects of some of the analysis Natural England undertook using the All-England Landscape Mapping tool and developed a set of principles that it advised Natural England could be used to think about a new-style National Park. The 2024 General Election and change of Government meant this work has not been progressed any further.
Natural England’s new Strategy. Natural England’s Board also commissioned the Panel to advise throughout development of its new Strategic Direction and subsequent full Strategy. Important strands of our advice included around the ways in which landscape features, the need to be clearer about the many ways in which society values nature, that we need to emphasise that we depend on nature for survival, and caution about the risks of short-term horizons.
At our most recent meeting in early July, we advised on strategic and practical aspects of adopting a more integrated, place-based approach to local nature recovery, as a contribution to Strategy delivery.
Supporting England’s Protected Landscapes to contribute more to 30by30. Most recently, the Panel was commissioned by the Natural England Board to provide advice about how to support National Trails, National Landscapes and National Parks to deliver more towards achieving Government’s international commitment to protect 30% of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030.
To help us develop our advice, the Panel held its April meeting in the beautiful surroundings of Upper Teesdale, in the North Pennines National Landscape, meeting farmers and land managers on the Raby Estate, at the sharp end of balancing nature, climate, social and economic needs. The Panel’s resulting advice shaped proposals discussed with Natural England’s Board at the end of July, where NE Board Members were able to discuss issues, opportunities and priorities with Panel Members and Chairs and Chief Executives of National Trails UK, National Landscapes Association and National Parks England.
A collaborative, inclusive and listening approach
What made this Protected Landscapes and 30by30 gathering particularly valuable was the direct dialogue between Natural England Board Members and the people who know these landscapes best – the Chairs and Chief Executives who lead our protected landscape partnerships day in, day out – with the diverse membership of the Advisory Panel adding depth of knowledge, creativity and challenge. These conversations don't just inform Board decisions; they help to ensure that Natural England’s approach is grounded in practical reality and a genuinely collaborative, inclusive and listening approach to nature recovery.
This collaborative approach reflects the Government's broader Plan for Change vision, which recognises that achieving ambitious environmental goals requires bringing together expertise from across sectors and landscapes to create integrated solutions that work for nature, climate and communities.
Into the future
The Panel’s membership was reviewed in late 2024, as Members’ first three-year terms came towards an end. All existing Members were reappointed for up to a further three years, but we also identified two areas of interest/expertise that we feel need strengthening – equality, diversity and inclusion, and the role of Local Authorities. We plan to recruit to fill these gaps shortly, with the Terms of any new appointees starting in 2026.
NELAP's value is in bringing together independent expertise and practical experience to help Natural England’s Board deliver the landscape aspects of its remit. Our advice is helping Natural England to deliver Government’s climate, nature and wellbeing priorities across England’s diverse and wonderful landscape.
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