(05813-2024) Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is a spatial strategy for nature and environmental improvement, required by law under The Environment Act 2021. The WMCA has been assigned by the Secretary of State as one of 48 responsible authorities, which will lead the production of the WMCA's LNRS and this is a new statutory duty. Together, the strategies will cover the whole of England with no gaps and no overlaps.

The WMCA requires consultancy support from an organisation(s) with significant knowledge and experience in:

• amalgamating, interpreting, and developing spatially lead evidence and policy around nature recovery and nature-based solutions in urban settings.

• bringing innovation and ideas to find solutions and making recommendations to multifaceted questions around nature recovery, habitat restoration and connectivity, land use, planning and climate adaptation.

• interpreting relevant statutory requirements, policy, and delivery advancements at a national level, regional and local level.

• engaging and communicating to a wide range of audiences, including the general public as well as reflecting the needs of stakeholders at the regional and local level. The LNRS Team will be commissioning some dedicated support to produce communications assets, but the consultant for this contract will be expected to work alongside that.

After undertaking a closed ITT exercise (using WMCA's internal procurement guidelines and processes for below threshold opportunities) to which six suppliers were invited to bid, the bid submitted by SLR Consulting Ltd was deemed the most economically advantageous (following a fair and transparent evaluation process). SLR is a proven consultancy who will bring a multi-disciplinary team with technical experts in ecology, geology, landscape, planning, air quality, climate change, environmental assessment, natural capital, agriculture and GIS. This expertise coupled with the methodology proposed gives the WMCA project team confidence of successful delivery.