Local nature reserve ( LNR ) is a statutory designation for certain nature reserves in Great Britain . The Wild Life Conservation Special Committee established them and proposed a national suite of protected areas comprising national nature reserves , conservation areas (which incorporated suggestions for Sites of Special Scientific Interest ), national parks, geological monuments, local nature reserves and local educational nature reserves.
12-656: Downham Woodland Walk is a linear park and local nature reserve in Downham in the London Borough of Lewisham . It is also a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation , Grade 1. The site is owned and managed by Lewisham Council. The walk dates back to the nineteenth century, and with the construction of the Downham housing estate in 1920 it became an important green space for local residents. The eastern section between Moorside Road and Downderry Road existed in 1805, and it has
24-508: A guide to their selection and declaration , 2000). Planning authority A local planning authority ( LPA ) is the local government body that is empowered by law to exercise urban planning functions for a particular area. They exist in the United Kingdom and India . The role of mineral planning authority is held by county councils, unitary authorities and national park authorities. The role of waste planning authority
36-580: A number of species indicative of ancient woodland , such as wood anemone and dog's mercury . West of Downderry Road the walk is narrower and the flora is less diverse. The walk has a good variety of birds and a number of rare invertebrates, such as the leaf beetle Chrysolina oricalcia and the ant Lasius brunneus, while hawthorns have a population of the nationally scarce jewel beetle Agrilus sinuatus. The walk runs west from Moorside Road, opposite Undershaw Road, to cross Downderry Road, and then turns south to Oakridge Road. It then runs west again to finish at
48-402: Is held by county councils, unitary authorities and national park authorities. For most matters, the planning authority is the borough, district or unitary council for the area. The non-metropolitan county councils (where they exist) are the planning authorities for minerals, waste and their own developments, such as most schools, care homes, fire stations and highways. The Mayor of London has
60-409: Is not, or may have other designations (although an LNR cannot also be a national nature reserve ). Except where the site is an SSSI, there is no legal necessity to manage an LNR to any set standard, but management agreements often exist. An LNR may be given protection against damaging operations. It also has certain protection against development on and around it. This protection is usually given via
72-586: The local plan (produced by the planning authority ), and often supplemented by local by-laws. However, there is no national legal protection specifically for LNRs. Information on LNRs is available from the Countryside Council for Wales ( A Place for Nature at your Doorstep: the role of Local Nature Reserves , 2004), Natural England ( Local Nature Reserves: places for people and wildlife , 2000) and Scottish Natural Heritage ( Local Nature Reserves in Scotland:
84-528: The Countryside Act 1949 combined elements of several of these categories in its definition of a nature reserve (Section 15). The hope of the Special Committee was to see sites protected which represented sites of local scientific interest, which could be used by schools for field teaching and experiment, and in which people with no special interest in natural history could "... derive great pleasure from
96-481: The junction of Oakridge Road and Bromley Road. 51°25′48″N 0°00′09″E / 51.4299°N 0.0024°E / 51.4299; 0.0024 Local nature reserve There are now over 1,280 LNRs in England, covering almost 40,000 hectares, which range from windswept coastal headlands and ancient woodlands to former inner city railways and long abandoned landfill sites. The National Parks and Access to
108-453: The owner. The land must lie within the area which the declaring authority controls. LNRs are of local, but not necessarily national, importance. LNRs are almost always owned by local authorities, who often pass the management of the LNR onto County Wildlife Trusts . LNRs also often have good public access and facilities. An LNR can also be an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) , but often
120-576: The peaceful contemplation of nature ." A Local Nature Reserve (capitalised) is a statutory designation made under Section 21 – "Establishment of nature reserves by local authorities" – of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 by principal local authorities (district, borough or unitary councils) in England , Scotland and Wales . Parish and town councils in England have no direct power to designate nature reserves, but they can have
132-568: The powers to do so delegated to them by their principal local authority using section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 . The first LNR in Scotland was established in 1952 at Aberlady in East Lothian . To establish a LNR, the declaring local authority must first have a legal interest in the land concerned, for example, they could own it, lease it or have a nature reserve agreement with
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#1732855056911144-463: The right to become the local planning authority for individual applications already submitted to a local planning authority. As of August 2023 the local planning authorities in England are: There are 25 local planning authorities in Wales. Of these, 22 are local authorities and 3 are national park authorities. In Scotland , where all of the local authorities are unitary, the term 'planning authority'
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