Biodiversity and Rewilding in South Kesteven

The Environment Act 2021 sets out new environmental duties for public authorities in England. A key focus in the Environment Act is around biodiversity and what public authorities must do to consider how to conserve and enhance biodiversity in their areas. This covers both our duties as a local authority, as well as local planning authority in South Kesteven.

As a public authority, the council must:

1. Consider what we can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity
2. Agree policies and specific objectives based on our consideration
3. Act to deliver policies and achieve our objectives

In December 2023, South Kesteven District Council published a report which sets out our initial consideration of what action can and is to be taken to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Click here to access the report.

Rewilding trials have shown the way to restore, protect and increase local biodiversity in South Kesteven.

Tattershall Drive, Market Deeping, is blooming thanks to an area which is building a sustainable balance between recreational use and conservation in a public open space.

A section of the Foxglove Road playing field at Rutland Heights in Stamford has also been allowed to go back to nature, encouraging grasses and other plants to flourish there as a haven for wildlife, insects, birds and mammals.

Queen Elizabeth Park in Grantham was one of 14 focus sites in the Blue Green Corridor Project, of which South Kesteven District Council was the lead partner. The initiative sought to restore and reconnect the river and river corridors through the urban area of Grantham.

Each site is marked with an information board advising the public why some strips and pockets of open space are left unmown, and to ask people to refrain from walking on the natural environment.

Enquiries about the project should be emailed to climatechange@southkesteven.gov.uk

New rewilding areas are being identified across South Kesteven to enable pockets of land to go back to nature. Click here for more information. 

SKDC's Rewilding Menu was designed to provide a guide to the biodiversity measures that can be taken to support wildlife on a local scale. 

The Rewilding Menu can be viewed here.

An internal working group was formed to help steer the council's biodiversity plans. This working group includes officers from a range of departments. It aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Understand the current health of the natural environment in the district and identify areas of improvement.
• Set out the council’s remit to influence the natural environment and improve biodiversity.
• Consider the council’s role as a local planning authority and the new expectations for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for new developments.
• Consider the council’s role as a local authority and the specific actions and projects we intend to implement to improve biodiversity.

The working group will provide regular updates on the council's biodiversity plans to the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Council's Trees and Woodland Strategy has been developed to protect and enhance the district’s tree population, helping to boost biodiversity and tackle climate change. Click here for more information.

SKDC is home to a beautiful array of wildlife and green open spaces. Of particular note are our parks; from Grantham's Wyndham, Queen Elizabeth and Dysart to Stamford's Rec and Meadows, not forgetting Wellhead Park in Bourne and Deepings Lakes.

Did you know that the UK's gardens cover more land than our national parks do? The RHS have put together 12 ways in which you can grow a low-carbon garden and combat climate change in your own way, click here to read more.

You don't need to have a big garden to make a positive impact on our wildlife. The Wildlife Trust and RHS have teamed up to summarise what you can do to support some of our favourite bee, beetle and bird species. Click here to read more about going Wild for Gardens.