ECO-minded council chiefs have given the green light to a Biodiversity Action Plan for Warwick district.
The move follows the unanimous declaration of an ecological emergency by Warwick District Council back in October 2022.
And councillors have now agreed a programme of work to develop the action plan in a bid to position WDC as a leading organisation to protect, enhance and restore biodiversity in the district.
The council will now seek to appoint expert consultants to work with them to develop the plan, which will be brought back to the Cabinet for approval by the end of the year.
In developing the plan, WDC will seek to understand the national context around protecting and enhancing biodiversity, including the COP15 ambition of 30 per cent protection by 2030 (known as “30 by 30”), understanding the council’s areas of influence where biodiversity can be enhanced and considering the local habitats and species that need to be prioritised as part of the plan.
WDC climate change spokesperson Coun Alan Rhead said: “This council has a demonstrable track record of actively supporting biodiversity through a range of measures, evident in the work carried out by our Green Space team and biodiversity offsetting as part of any planning conditions. But we must recognise with the declaration of an ecological emergency that more must be done to ensure our ecosystems continue to thrive.
“I’m pleased to see that the Biodiversity Action Plan will be progressing and that we’ll have a solid strategy in place providing the framework for habitat and species conservation across our district.”
The aim is to develop the Biodiversity Action Plan Strategy for approval by December 2023 to align with the review of WDC’s Climate Change Action Programme.
More information on WDC’s work on biodiversity to date can be found at www.warwickdc.gov.uk/biodiversity
