Lancashire County Council secures further £2.3m. to help restore the Ribble Valley’s Forest of Bowland

The cabinet member for Environment and Climate Change said the council is currently delivering a £1.4m. project of restoration work on 168 hectares of peatland.

Coun. Shaun Turner added that the latest £2.3m. in funding will allow it to extend this work.

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Turner said: "We have been appointed as the responsible authority for the development of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for Lancashire.

"This will establish priorities and map the proposals for specific actions and will be key to driving and targeting nature recovery.

"Ahead of taking on this role, we have strengthened the county's Biological Heritage Site system - these are our locally important wildlife sites.

"We host and manage environmental records for the county, helping to ensure that weight is given to protecting Lancashire's natural environment when planning decisions are made.

"We employ specialist ecologists to ensure our own developments contribute to a net gain of biodiversity

"Working with partners we have secured funding for an ambitious programme to plant 170 hectares of rural woodland and 30,000 new trees by 2025.

"We have also been working with partners on peatland restoration projects in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for the last 10 years. We are currently delivering a £1.4m project of restoration work on 168 hectares of peatland and have just secured a further £2.3m to extend this work to five more sites in the Forest of Bowland and Bowland Fells – helping nature to recover whilst also capturing carbon and reducing flood risk."