Natural England

Enabling sustainable growth — Natural England supporting nature-positive development 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Development, Growth, Licensing, Nutrient Neutrality
A scene pf a housing estate development of detached houses

By James Seymour, Natural England Area Manager for Kent and Sussex  At Natural England, we help facilitate housing developments by enabling developers to deliver vital environmental benefits through our strategic licensing tools. These include District Level Licensing for great crested …

Farming and flooding: how agriculture is working alongside nature to slow the flow in North Yorkshire

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Climate change, Farming, Flood Management, Natural England, Nature-based solutions, Peat

By Emma Stallworthy, Project Officer for Natural England, explains her role in Ousewem Using nature-based solutions to benefit both agriculture and wildlife while reducing flood risk is the aim of an innovative project in North Yorkshire. Ousewem is a local …

The power of DNA: using innovation for nature’s recovery

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Evidence, Monitoring, Nature, Nature Recovery, Protected sites and species, Science and evidence, Species recovery
A Natural England adviser taking a water sample from a pond to monitor DNA

By Andrew Nisbet, Natural England's Deputy Director for Monitoring Natural England is at the forefront of introducing innovative technologies into biodiversity monitoring. Environmental DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the DNA that can be obtained from an environmental sample such as water, …

Wildlife licensing: enabling development while protecting Nature - annual summary 2024  

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Development, Evidence, Licensing, Natural England, Nature, Nature Recovery, Protected sites and species, Species recovery, Wildlife
A bat hunting an insect

By Gemma Ole's, Deputy Director, Natural England Wildlife Licensing Service At Natural England we help balance economic growth with nature protection. Wildlife licensing is a vital tool to enable this. Our licences are broad ranging and allow development and other …

Growing more than food: The benefits of nature-friendly farming

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming, Natural England, wildlife and farming
Cows on Upwood Meadows Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire

By Martin Lines, CEO, Nature Friendly Farming Network, andPeter Craven, Head of Agriculture, Natural England This week is Nature Friendly Farming Week, and with a theme of 'More than growing food' it aims to highlight the wider benefits of nature-friendly …

Guest blog: Benefits of engaging local communities in BNG

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Biodiversity Net Gain, Biodiversity Net Gain – Hints and Tips, Development, Natural England, Nature, Nature Recovery
Members of a community work on a project to increase biodiversity on a London thoroughfare

Rosie Whicheloe, Senior Planning Ecologist for a local authority in London, explains how she’s looking at the benefits of public engagement in BNG for the communities in which they live. Delivering social value alongside BNG is incredibly important in urban …

Two more years: extending ambitions for Nature recovery

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Biodiversity Net Gain, Climate change, Connecting People with Nature, Environment Act, Environmental Improvement Plan, Evidence, Farming, Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), Marine environment, National Nature Reserve, Natural England, Nature, Protected sites and species
Tony walks with King Charles along a path in the Lincolnshire NNR. It's a beautiful sunny day, the King wears a light beige coloured suit. Tony has a blue shirt - he carries a pair of binoculars in his hand.

By Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England I was delighted to be invited to serve a third term as Chair of Natural England and look forward to continuing to lead the organisation as it adopts and implements a new …

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier: Supporting farmers and land managers to deliver nature friendly farming

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming, Natural England
A landscape view with flowers in the foreground, a group of cows in the middle distance, and a hill with a wooded area in the distance.

By Peter Craven, Head of Agriculture  At Natural England, we know that farming and nature can thrive together, and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) is here to help make that happen. Whether you're already working towards a more sustainable farm or …

Beaver wild release: a milestone for nature recovery in England

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, Climate change, Flood Management, Licensing, Natural England, Nature Recovery, Nature-based solutions, Wildlife
Beaver entering the water. Credit: Maria Thompson, Natural England

By Stuart Otway, Principal Officer in Natural England’s Complex Cases Unit and Delphine Pouget, Principal Officer in Natural England’s Species Recovery & Reintroductions Team  After centuries of absence, beavers are beginning to reclaim their rightful place in the English landscape. …

Harnessing Nature-based Solutions to help combat flooding

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Flood Management, Natural England, Nature, Nature Recovery, Nature-based solutions
Two images: on the left is a drone, and on the right is the drone control with data the drone is capturing on a screen

As climate change brings more frequent and severe flooding, innovative solutions are emerging to tackle these challenges. Working with nature, not against it, Natural England is proposing schemes to help tackle flooding in Norfolk and Suffolk.   Projects in our region …