Establishing an up to date comprehensive suite of sites of substantive wildlife and geological value.
Local Sites, along with Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), are the most important places for wildlife and geology in Greater Lincolnshire.
A number of terms are used with relation to Local Sites, but these sites are currently known as Local Wildlife Sites (LWSs) and Local Geological Sites (LGSs) in Greater Lincolnshire. These sites are a recognition of wildlife or geological value and are a testament to the land management that is already being undertaken on them.
The majority of Local Sites are on private land. Site selection does not infer any rights of public access. A variety of introductory leaflets on how to manage you land for wildlife can be found in the Knowledge hub.
The GLNP works directly with local authorities to coordinate the Local Sites system in Greater Lincolnshire. Sites are selected by the Nature Partnership, based on recommendations made by its expert working groups known as the LWS Panel and LGS Panel. The Register of Local Sites is then submitted for inclusion within local authority planning policy.
Identifying these sites helps local authorities meet their obligations under legislation and government guidance, including reporting on the number of sites in positive management for Single Data List Indicator 160-00. The Local Sites partnership approach adopted by the Nature Partnership has been recommended by Defra and is in operation in different forms all over England.
There are currently 1270 Local Wildlife Sites (LWSs) and 95 Local Geological Sites (LGSs) in Greater Lincolnshire, with more selected by the GLNP each year. Surveys of LWSs began in 2004 and LGSs in 2008 and have been on-going ever since.
The guidelines and criteria for selecting Local Sites are written and developed by the LWS and LGS Panels. The Panels have been nominated by the GLNP to recommend sites for selection, and are made up of local specialists and experts from various Partner and non-partner organisations. These recommendations are then presented to the GLNP Steering Group for endorsement, before being passed to the local authorities for inclusion in their Local Plan or planning policy.