Publications
The two draft Local Nature Recovery Strategies for East Sussex and Brighton & Hove and West Sussex will be published here in the Autumn of 2025 for public consultation.
In the meantime, component elements of the strategies will be shared for your review. Scroll down to read or download our papers on:
- Shortlisted priority species for each LNRS area - Published 11 July 2025
- Draft measures to deliver the prirorities for nature's recovery - Published 11 July 2025
- Seven draft principles to guide nature's recovery in Sussex - Published 21st October 2024
- Shortlisted habitat priorities and outcomes - Published 21st October 2024
- Interim results from the LNRS Public Survey - Published 17th July 2024. [Amended in October to include public survey species results]
- Draft shortlist criteria - a method for shortlisting the long list of priorities for nature's recovery - Published 5th June 2024
- Threats and Pressures Report - Published 24th May 2024
- Areas of protected sites and irreplaceable habitat Maps - Republished 17th July 2024
Priority species for our LNRS areas
Published 11th July 2025
Local Nature Recovery Strategies help to drive a national ambition to increase species abundance and reduce the risk of species extinction by planning for more, bigger, better and better-connected habitat that support species recovery and resilience.
Of the many thousands of species that can be found in Sussex, some are more at risk than others, some may have more significance locally than others, some species can be helped by broader actions to improve habitats while others need bespoke interventions.
These criteria and others were assessed by the Sussex Nature Recovery team, working closely with local and national species experts and biodiversity recorders. Undertaking a species longlisting and shortlisting process, they identified 163 species as a priority (from a longlist of 899) for each of our two LNRS areas, demonstrating the richness of biodiversity we have in Sussex.
Each priority species document includes:
- How the longlists and shortlists were created; the criteria that was used;
- The list of priority species and their assemblages (Table 3);
- Individual species measures;
- Assemblage Measures.
Measures (actions on the ground) that can deliver our priorities for nature's recovery
Published 11th July 2025
A key component of Local Nature Recovery Strategies is a locally agreed set of priorities for nature's recovery. These priorities are focused on creating, improving, enlarging and connecting important habitats in the LNRS area to improve biodiversity and support wider environmental goals.
To deliver these priorities, each LNRS must also produce a set of measures. These are the practical actions that can be taken on the ground to achieve the priorities. The Sussex Nature Recovery team have been working with experts from key nature and land management organisations in Sussex to develop and refine the list of measures for our two LNRS areas and the latest drafts are published below.
Each measure is accompanied by information relating to:
- how they can be implemented, techniques etc;
- where, generally, they might be best placed;
- links to further information and best practice.
Also specified is whether the measure can be mapped (or not) as part of the official LNRS Local Habitat Map (currently in development). Further information on what we can and can't map is here.
Seven draft principles to guide nature's recovery in Sussex
Published 21st October 2024
While the Shortlisted habitat priorities set out the end results Sussex LNRS are seeking to achieve, and their outcomes tell us what they might deliver in the short term, a set of seven broad principles has been developed to help guide what needs to happen where.
These principles were first shared in our June webinars but have been developed further in a new paper. While creating a set of principles is not a defined step in the process of developing Local Nature Recovery Strategies as set out in the guidance, the thinking around them provides important context about what nature in Sussex ‘needs’, and crucially, how Local Nature Recovery Strategies can play a role in addressing these needs.
The seven draft principles are as follows (view the document to see why these are important for the two Sussex LNRS areas):
- In our core areas for nature: hold on to what we have and make it better.
- Create a network of ‘bigger, better, more and joined’ wildlife rich spaces across our rural and urban landscapes.
- Think big: work at scale to support ecosystems and natural processes.
- Showcase and support action for nature across our farmed landscapes.
- Support our vulnerable and threatened species.
- Invest in and use nature to deliver wider benefits where we need them.
- Bring nature into everyday life, providing places for people to benefit from and engage with nature.
We recommend reading the principles paper alongside the Shortlisted habitat priorities & outcomes document to find out more about the specific pressures on nature that the priorities seek to address.
Read: Seven draft principles to guide nature's recovery in Sussex
23 shortlisted habitat priorities and outcomes
Establishing a shortlisted set of priorities is a key step in the LNRS process - Published October 2024
The purpose of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) is to agree the priorities for nature recovery and propose actions in the locations where particular impact can be made to achieve them.
For the two Sussex LNRS, a long list of more than 130 priorities has been gathered, shortlisted and refined over the last year, though a collaborative process involving key stakeholders, supporting groups and the views of local people through our surveys and conversations.
The result of that process is 23 habitat-related priorities. These have been compiled in a document along with a set of draft outcomes to help us understand what success might look like over the next 10 years if action to deliver the priorities is carried out.
Read the Shortlisted habitat priorities and their outcomes
Interim results from the 1,834 responses to the Public Survey
To enable local people to contribute to the two Local Nature Recovery Strategies being developed for Sussex, a public survey canvassed their views and observations regarding environmental issues.
The survey ran between February and June 2024. 1,834 responses were collected (57% from residents of West Sussex and 43% from residents of East Sussex and Brighton & Hove), to 17 intuitive questions that asked:
- What residents love - their favourite places to connect with nature, the habitats and species they value.
- What residents have noticed - whether they’ve observed any changes to local wildlife and wild places.
- What they’d like to see - which habitats and species at risk do they particularly want to see recovered and which wider environmental benefits would they most like to see locally.
How these results will inform the LNRS
With some questions allowing for up to three free text answers, the survey garnered a significant volume of non-numerical data. This compliments quantitative answers and provides valuable insights into what local people have seen, what they think and care about, and the strength of their feelings.
To inform the priorities long and shortlisting process, key insights from the survey including comments have been compiled in this document with a focus on the habitats that respondents value and would like to see recovered. The quantitative figures for each habitat, in addition to the volume of comments and the strength of feeling for them, have been used to score LNRS priorities as low, medium and high in terms of public support. Each priority is also being reviewed against other criteria (outlined in the shortlist criteria document below).
Read the results of the Public Survey related to Habitats
Read the results of the Public Survey related to Species
Draft shortlist criteria
A method for shortlisting the long list of priorities for nature's recovery - Published 5th June 2024
What is it?
The development of each Local Nature Recovery Strategy must complete key tasks set out in the statutory guidance. These include:
- Gathering together a long list of priorities for nature’s recovery from multiple sources, including those which reflect the most important issues to local people and organisations;
- A process of shortlisting, to reduce the long list into a manageable number of agreed, critical priorities that reflect a balance of suggestions from local partners and support national environmental objectives.
A set of draft shortlisting criteria, with which to assess the long list has been proposed, and is available for review.
Threats & Pressures Report
Part of the description of Sussex and its Biodiversity - Published 24th May 2024
What is it?
A desk-based study commissioned by West Sussex and East Sussex County Councils to inform the preparation of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy 'Description' for their respective areas. The 66-page report describes:
- Future pressures likely to influence habitats and species (their extent, distribution and quality) for the West Sussex and East Sussex LNRS areas;
- Wider environmental issues affecting the geographical areas which changes in land use or management could help to address;
- Opportunities for the application of nature-based solutions within Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (BOAs), Nature Improvement Areas and Natural Capital Investment Areas, as well as opportunities for habitat creation and restoration and management of flood risk areas.
.png "View the threats and Pressures Report (225 x 95 px).png")
Areas of protected sites and irreplaceable habitat - maps
Republished 17 July 2024
What is it?
A key component of the final Local Nature Recovery Strategy document is the production of a Local Habitat Map. The first part of the mapping process has now been completed for the LNRS areas of West Sussex and East Sussex. These must map existing areas of 'particular importance for biodiversity' which are specifically defined by the LNRS statutory guidance (March 2023) as:
- All national conservation sites;
- All local nature reserves;
- All existing local wildlife sites and areas of irreplaceable habitat.
Areas of irreplaceable habitat are defined as those included in the BNG irreplaceable habitats list, namely:
- Ancient woodland
- Ancient and veteran trees
- Blanket bog
- Limestone pavements
- Coastal sand dunes
- Spartina saltmarsh swards
- Mediterranean saltmarsh scrub
- Lowland fens
Please note:
The guidance is clear that responsible authorities should not map any other areas as being of particular importance for biodiversity. It notes that this is not to suggest that other areas are not of importance for biodiversity but is to help establish a nationally consistent baseline of areas whose particular importance has already been recognised and are protected. Its states that this will help local nature recovery strategies align well with local planning policy and avoid duplicating with the identification of local wildlife sites.
These maps have been produced by Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, with advice from the East Sussex and West Sussex Responsible Authorities.
