This project is being led by Morecambe Bay Partnership and Natural England as part of the Headlands 2 Headspace programme with additional funding from Defra. The aim is to develop strategic opportunity mapping of coastal habitats and embed the aspirations of the mapping and the LNP within the Morecambe Bay CCT Economic Plan. It will support better integrated local delivery of natural environment objectives leading to improved local decision making.
The proposed opportunity mapping will enable datasets for key habitats around the Bay area to be drawn together that show how connected, and fragmented, habitats are and enable us to assess priority areas of search to mitigate risk, improve resilience and enhance connectivity. It will provide a strategic framework for future activity, ensuring that the partners and players within the LNP and CCT have a stronger basis on which to make decisions and target resources to improve the area’s natural capital, visitor economy and quality of life.
The project will:
1. Develop an integrated approach that strengthens the area’s natural capital.
2. Improve the awareness of the current extent, condition and management of important / priority habitat around the Bay area.
3. Help us better understand the spatial framework of the Bay area’s natural capital, and its risks and opportunities.
4. Embed how local communities value their local environment to help shape and prioritise future action and integrate it with economic planning.
5. Promote understanding of the value of the environment with communities, publish summary conclusions and spatial maps, and share learning with LNPs and CCTs nationally.