Biodiversity-Strategy-January-2023

13 4.0 Delivering on Our Existing Commitments • Action 24: Conserve and promote the natural, built and cultural heritage of our district: • Development and delivery of a Heritage Action Plan. Performance Improvement Plan • The Council’s Performance Improvement Plan outlines five Improvement Priorities which will be the focus of its improvement activity over the 2020-24 Council term. Three of these have direct relevance to this Biodiversity Strategy, namely: • Positive Climate Action. • Promoting and Supporting Health and Well-being. • Developing Our Tourism Potential. Local Development Plan 2030 The Local Development Plan (LDP) sets out the spatial strategy for the future planning and sustainable development of the District until 2030. Sustainable development is at the heart of the LDP, with the natural environment and biodiversity a key element of this. Locally, our natural environment contributes towards our growing tourism market, economic development and the associated health benefits it affords. The objectives and policies of the LDP seek to protect, conserve, enhance, restore and halt the loss of biodiversity and habitats. Policies in the LDP which seek to protect open spaces will help to develop and enhance biodiversity. This ensures the protection and provision of green and blue infrastructure within towns and villages with links to the surrounding countryside. Natural open spaces provide opportunities for recreation, assist in flood management and help improve biodiversity in and around settlements. Climate Change and Sustainable Development Strategy 2020-2030 and Climate Change and Sustainable Development Action Plan 2021-2024 The Climate Change and Sustainable Development Strategy and Climate Change and Sustainable Development Action Plan 2021 – 2024 have set out the practical steps the Council can take over the coming years to minimise the impacts of climate change, but also suggests ways we can counter the severity of the Climate Emergency. The Strategy sets out how the Council will work towards the achievement of the United Nations’ 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals by moving closer to building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for our people, our environment and our economy. This includes a range of actions to mitigate climate change impacts through carbon sequestration and to help in building biodiversity resilience, covering Local Development Plan Draft Plan Strategy 2030