New ambition to double rich wildlife habitats in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire revealed

An ambition to double the area of rich wildlife habitats and natural green space across Peterborough and Cambridgeshire has been revealed.
The launch event at O and H Hampton. Cllr Peter Hiller, Richard Astle from Natural Cambridgeshire, Roger Tallowin, general manager at O and H, Matthew Bradbury, CEO of Nene Park Trust, and Cllr Marco Cereste. EMN-190730-101902009The launch event at O and H Hampton. Cllr Peter Hiller, Richard Astle from Natural Cambridgeshire, Roger Tallowin, general manager at O and H, Matthew Bradbury, CEO of Nene Park Trust, and Cllr Marco Cereste. EMN-190730-101902009
The launch event at O and H Hampton. Cllr Peter Hiller, Richard Astle from Natural Cambridgeshire, Roger Tallowin, general manager at O and H, Matthew Bradbury, CEO of Nene Park Trust, and Cllr Marco Cereste. EMN-190730-101902009

Natural Cambridgeshire wants to see the land managed for nature rise from eight per cent of the county to 16 per cent, the national average.

The ambition has been drawn up by a partnership which includes local authorities, agencies, conservation charities, housing developers and community groups.

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Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, and Cllr John Holdich, leader of Peterborough City Council, launched the project at separate events. One was at O&H Hampton’s offices as the company’s Hamptons project is delivering new areas of nature rich landscape.

Richard Astle, chair of Natural Cambridgeshire, said: “A doubling of nature is a critical part of responding to the climate challenge, with nature providing an essential role in our ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

“If we act now and put nature at the heart of our area’s growth agenda, we have an opportunity to reverse that trend and ensure that people and nature thrive together.”

To reach the target, the partnership will focus on: the delivery of existing habitat restoration schemes, opportunities provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s economic growth agenda, re-focusing of agricultural subsidies on the delivery of public services, including climate change mitigation, improving current green spaces and creating new sources of investment in nature.