Summary

The aim of the Countryside and Biodiversity Service is to protect and conserve the countryside and biodiversity throughout the borough's development needs. This is being achieved through various strategic documents such as the Oadby and Wigston Green Wedge Management Strategy, the Landscape Character Assessment, the Nature Conservation Strategy, Phase 1 Habitat Survey, Biodiversity Audit, the implementation of our Biodiversity Action Plan and various projects throughout the borough.

 

Countryside and Biodiversity

The Countryside has many functions. These range from being the place of work for our farmers, to acting as a sink for floodwater, providing the underlying ecosystems which will enable landscape to change and adapt as climate change occurs, and at a habitat level, ensures that specific species of flora and fauna can continue to thrive with the right management.

 

Biodiversity underpins everything we do. Short for biological diversity, biodiversity refers to all living things on earth from a humble ant to a giant redwood including human beings. For biodiversity to continue and thrive, an understanding is required of how mankind impacts on plants, animals, habitats and ecosystems. Without this understanding and ensuring that habitats are managed appropriately to support the functions that society needs and to ensure species continue to survive, we cannot truly achieve sustainable development and ensure that quality of life is met.

 

Phase one habitat survey and Biodiversity audit

The Countryside and Biodiversity Service provides an input into the Forward Plans Team and specifically into the emerging Local Development Framework. Work which the Countryside and Biodiversity Service has undertaken is a phase one habitat survey |and biodiversity audit for the borough.

 

Nature Conservation Strategy

The Nature Conservation Strategy is a method of focussing our commitment to safeguarding the environment of Oadby and Wigston. It sets out our policies and plans in partnership with other organisations for the management of nature conservation over the next ten years.