State of the Region

IRS Framework Objective 6 - Diversity of Environment

To protect, enhance and manage the rich diversity of the natural, cultural and built environment and archaeological assets of the region.

Key Messages

• There has been an increase in the number of registered historic parks and gardens in the East Midlands since 2001/02. There are currently 135 on the national register but this has decreased from 139 in 2006.
• Bird populations have remained above the 1994 baseline of 100 between 1999 and 2005, but fell from 112 in 2004 to 107 in 2005.
• In 2007 there were 126 East Midlands Grade I and II* listed buildings at risk of decay, a small increase of 0.2% from 2006. The proportion of listed buildings at risk is slightly higher than the England average (4.4% compared with 3.2%).
• 70.08% of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) in the East Midlands are in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition in 2007, which is an increase of 17.95% since 2005 but is below the rate for England at 75.55% and is well below the 2010 target of 95%.. There is much variation in the percentage of SSSIs in a favourable or unfavourable recovering condition across the region.

Commentary

The historic environment includes not only those buildings and areas with statutory protection (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, conservation areas, registered historic parks and gardens, registered battlefields and World Heritage Sites) but also those assets which are locally valued and important. The English Heritage Buildings at Risk (BAR) register includes Grade I and II* listed buildings and structural scheduled ancient monuments (SAMs) at risk. The figure for Grade I and II* listed buildings alone, at risk was 126 in the 2007 compared to 120 in 2006. Figure 6.1 shows that the percentage of Grade I and II* listed buildings at risk had decreased from 5.1% in 1999 to 4.4% in 2007. There has been a small increase of 0.2 % buildings at risk from 2006 to 2007. The effectiveness of the Buildings at Risk indicator as a proxy for monitoring the impact of the implementation of policy on the historic environment is still limited by the lack of consistency of collection of data on Grade II BARs. The national register only covers Grade I and II* BARs but these represent only a fraction of the 29,552 listed buildings in the East Midlands in 2007.

Figure 6.1 - Percentage of Grade I and II* Listed Buildings at risk of decay: 1999 - 2007

There has been an increase of 9 registered historic parks and gardens between 2001/02 and 2007. However, a small decrease from 139 in 2006 to 135 in 2007, can be seen in figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2 - Registered Historic Parks and Gardens: 2001/02 – 2007 

Biodiversity means the variety of life among plants and animals. Conservation and enhancement of this variety is a key test of sustainable development. There are data limitations that limit the timeliness of some of the indicators but the region continues to make progress, although in some areas still lags behind the nation as a whole. Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPS) are the framework within which nature conservation targets and priorities have been established. The implementation of Local Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAPS) will need to be reflected in Development Plans and Community Strategies. One measure of biodiversity namely the population changes in wild birds (especially farmland and woodland species) are likely to be significantly influenced by land management approaches and other environmental factors (e.g. climate change) that fall outside the general control of East Midlands Regional Assembly, the Regional Planning Body. Figure 6.3 shows that bird populations have fluctuated between 1994 and 2005, with a decrease from 112 in 2004 to 107 in 2005, but they have continued to be higher than the 1994 baseline of 100, since 1999.

Figure 6.3 - Bird population indices. All bird species (1994=100) : 1994 - 2005

The condition of SSSIs in England is assessed by Natural England. There are six reportable condition categories: favourable, unfavourable recovering; unfavourable no change; unfavourable declining; part destroyed and destroyed. Sites that are favourable and unfavourable recovering are both described as meeting the Government's Public Service Agreement (PSA) requirement.

According to the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) Annual Monitoring Report in 2006/07, as of July 2007 70% of the SSSI area in the East Midlands compared to 73.0% in England were classed as favourable or unfavourable recovering. However, the Government’s PSA target is to have 95% of the SSSI area in favourable or recovering condition by 2010, so there is some way to go before that target is met. Figure 6.4 shows that since 2005 the % of SSSI area in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition has increased by 17.95%.

There is much variation in the percentage of SSSIs in a favourable or unfavourable recovering condition across the region. The percentage of SSSIs in favourable or unfavourable recovering conditions are greatest in Northamptonshire (68.65%) and Lincolnshire (59.96%) but are below the national figure of 75.55%. Figure 6.5 shows that current levels are well below the 2010 target of 95%. The lowest percentage is in Nottinghamshire where at 34.55% it is 41% less than the figure for the East Midlands.

Figure 6.4 - % of SSSIs in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition: 2005 - 2007

Figure 6.5 - Percentage of SSSIs in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition in counties and unitary authorities: 2007

Indicators: IRS Framework Objective 6 – Diversity of Environment

Key to the Table

Comments on Table

(a) Note that although these indicators are in the RSS, alternative, supplementary data was provided in the 05/06 RSS Annual Monitoring document

County and Unitary Indicators

Source: Natural England 2007

*Leicestershire includes Rutland

Further sources of evidence:

• HM Government, The UK Sustainable Development Strategy: Securing the Future, TSO, March 2005.
• ‘English Heritage, 'Heritage Counts: The State of the East Midland’s Historic Environment' 2005
• East Midlands Biodiversity Forum, 'Putting Wildlife Back on the Map – The East Midlands Biodiversity Strategy' Final Draft (January 2006)
• East Midlands Integrated Toolkit - Natural Resources
• HELM - Historic Environment Local Management -

Links to relevant sections in the Integrated Regional Strategy (IRS)

• Environment

Links to relevant sections in the East Midlands Integrated Toolkit (EMIT)

• Culture
• Natural Environment
• Built Environment

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