Somerset Council has launched an online survey to help shape the county’s Local Nature
Recovery Strategy (LNRS) which will provide a single vision for nature recovery in Somerset.

You can read more about the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and how it will be used here, but one point of interest is that it will be used as a long-term decision-making tool to help guide mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain and other planning tools such as Green Infrastructure.

This is important to us, as it gives us another opportunity to show Somerset Council how valuable
Packsaddle Community Fields are to local nature, as well as to ourselves.

Councillor Dixie Darch, Somerset Council Lead Member for Environment and Climate Change said, “I encourage Somerset residents from all parts of the county, rural or urban, to join in and tell us how and where nature matters to them. Getting involved will help shape a greener more sustainable Somerset, and ensure this new strategy meets the needs of communities, farmers, businesses, and above all, our precious wildlife.”

The link to complete the survey is here.

The deadline for completion is 30th April but try and complete it sooner if you can.

We thought it would be helpful to give you some guidance on completing the survey so below are suggestions to help and encourage you to take part in the survey. You may have things you want to say beyond our ideas below! It’s also worth knowing you can save your progress and come back later at any time but this isn’t a particularly long survey to complete.

Here are our suggested guidelines on completing the survey:

About you

Fill in your personal details

Local Nature Recovery Strategy Theme: I care most about nature because….

Rank your top 3 reasons

Is there any habitat, species or place in Somerset that you consider to be particularly precious?

You only have 400 characters to answer this. The suggested text below is 361 characters. You are welcome to use this text, but better still adapt it and put it into your own words if you can.

Packsaddle Community Fields, Frome are important to the local community and wildlife. The
fields are a peaceful haven to exercise, enjoy nature and meet neighbours. Wildlife like
hedgehogs, shrews and scores of bird species have made it their home. They should not be
built on, but preserved and enhanced for the community, wildlife and for generations to come

Which of the following do you think are the most critical issues in relation to nature in Somerset over the next 5 years?

Rank your top 3, but we suggest including Access, Loss of Habitat, Loss of Green and Heritage Spaces.

Themes of interest (with our suggested responses)

Heathlands and Uplands. Would you like to give your views? No
Farmed Landscapes. Would you like to give your views? No
Trees woodland and hedgerows. Would you like to give your views? No
Grasslands. Would you like to give your views? No
Peatlands. Would you like to give your views? No
Water, wetlands and marine. Would you like to give your views? No

Habitat mosaics and connectivity. Would you like to give your views? No
Urban green spaces. Would you like to give your views? Yes
Are you in favour of the draft outcomes? Yes
Do you feel anything should be added or amended? No

What actions do you think are needed to achieve these outcomes?

Say something like:
Don’t build over ecologically rich habitats like Packsaddle Community Fields.
Don’t sell off Council land for development that is full of diversity and an important local asset for the community.

How do you think you might be able to contribute to achieving these outcomes?

Leave blank unless you have something to contribute here.

Personal Information – complete this section

Email address – submit

Thank you for taking the time to complete the questionnaire. Each response will show
Somerset Council how much the fields mean to the community and how important it
is to protect them.