LNRS user guides: Farmers, growers, and graziers

Help identify practical actions, strengthen funding bids, and work with others to support wildlife.

The LNRS provides guidance to help local people plan nature recovery actions, but it is still essential to seek advice and any necessary permissions before starting work on the ground. See our before you start guide for more details.

More than 70 per cent of Oxfordshire is used for agriculture, which means farmers, growers, and graziers are key stewards in the work to restore and enhance nature. We know the support systems have been changing and challenging, making this harder than ever for many farmers. The Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) has been designed to help you identify practical actions, strengthen funding bids, and work with others to support wildlife alongside food production. You can use it knowing that many local nature recovery organisations, local authorities, and funding bodies endorse it and have been closely involved in its creation.

Check the local habitat map

Some parts of Oxfordshire are especially well-suited for restoring and connecting areas of nature. Use the Local Habitat Map to:

See if any habitat creation, enhancement, or species-specific actions are mapped on your farmland.
Develop collaborative project plans across neighbouring farms with actions for habitats and species that you can invite funding for.
Give evidence to support your funding applications
Demonstrate how your land fits into the wider nature network across the county/country.

The map recommends actions and tries to attract funding to those areas, but the map does not mean you have to deliver the actions or use the land for nature recovery.

You are not required to follow the map; it's a tool that offers opportunities to help you plan and coordinate. The LNRS can help groups of farmers and land managers shape nature recovery priorities for their area, and encourage collaboration across holdings and landscapes. Even if your area isn’t mapped, you can still take plenty of actions.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) projects

If you provide biodiversity units or set up a habitat bank that delivers actions mapped in the LNRS map, you’ll get a 15% increase on (BNG) units.

For example, any 1 Biodiversity Unit you would have created using the Statutory Biodiversity Metric becomes 1.15 Biodiversity Units when it’s delivered within LNRS priority areas. This can have real financial benefits for those considering offering Biodiversity Units through nature recovery projects. You can read more on GOV.UK.

Take action alongside food production

There are many ways to support biodiversity on farmland, and you may well be doing a lot of these already. Even if your landholding isn’t mapped in the LNRS, you can take a look at the statement of biodiversity priorities to see which you are already taking and whether you might be able to do actions that complement the agriculture and food-production.

The statement of biodiversity priorities also lists important actions to take for woodlands, grasslands, ponds, orchards, and other habitats that you may own or manage. You could point to the LNRS recommendations as evidence during funding applications to show that the management or creation of such habitats is key for helping to achieve our ambitions for nature. Consider choosing or modifying actions to align with your farm type, land, and capacity.

Support rare and threatened local wildlife

Nearly 900 species in Oxfordshire are threatened or at risk with extinction. The species priorities list explains which species need extra help locally, which may be on/near your land, and what you could do to help. Your land could make a real difference.

The list includes black poplar, curlew, yellow wagtail, turtle dove, nightingale, tree sparrow and house martin. Search the list for 'agricultural' icon to help plan a species-focused project or add biodiversity value to an existing scheme.

Learn more

Read an up-to-date account of nature in the county and the challenges it faces. The document also explains why we are creating this strategy and how it relates to government ambitions and legislation. You can read and explore sections of our description of strategy area document.

This helps explain the context of nature recovery and how farmers are a vital part of it.

Planning and policy connections

Local planning authorities must take the LNRS into account when preparing local plans. LNRSs do not force the owners and managers of the land identified to make any changes. Instead, the government is encouraging action through, for example, opportunities for funding and investment (see page 4 of the local nature recovery strategy statutory guidance). The NFU has stated that any LNRS-linked actions should remain optional and not limit funding access. The strategy is expected to help shape future funding options, including land management schemes - though these links are still evolving and the LNRS is a strategy to create a connected network of nature and is not a farming or food production strategy.

How the strategy will evolve

The LNRS will be refreshed every 3-10 years, meaning local feedback and updated data will continue to shape the maps, priorities, and species list. There will be opportunities to suggest changes and share what’s working on the ground, and we will meet with farmers and landowners throughout the coming years to help them understand and use the LNRS.

Resources and support

If you're interested in helping to deliver on your land and with neighbours, you could consider joining River Catchment Partnerships or Farm Cluster groups in Oxfordshire.

River catchment partnerships

River catchment partnerships focus on improving rivers and water environments. You can explore these Oxfordshire groups:

Farm cluster groups

Farm clusters are led by farmers who work together to support nature, wildlife and climate action. You can explore clusters nationally or look at these Oxfordshire examples:

Chilterns National Landscape area

North Wessex Downs National Landscape area

Cotswolds National Landscape area

Advice and funding

You can get advice and support from the following organisations:

NFU guide to LNRS offers events and a guide to Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) for landowners.
CLA (Country Land and Business Association) hosts events and advises members.
Freshwater Habitats Trust offer support for creating ponds and wetlands
Wild Oxfordshire give advice and resources for nature recovery
Future Nature WTC (BBOWT consultancy) for ecological advice for land and farm projects
Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE) may offer grants for nature recovery

Local wildlife sites

If you have a local wildlife site on your land, you can contact BBOWT for advice on management and funding. A summary leaflet for landowners is available.