Norfolk proud to be part of once in a generation scheme to restore nature across England

Natural England announced on Friday (2 September) that 22 successful bids will be supported to deliver projects that restore nature, reduce flood risks and boost biodiversity. Three of the successful bids are for projects in Norfolk including the "Wilder, Wetter, Better for Wildlife" proposal in North Norfolk which was submitted by Norfolk County Council in partnership with Norfolk Rivers Trust and the Holkham Estate.

The project, which will convert over 1400 hectares of arable farmland on the Holkham Estate into new habitat managed for nature, has been carefully chosen and will fill in existing gaps in the habitat mosaic in the area. On completion, it means a total of 13,470 hectares of land will be managed for wildlife.

Cllr Eric Vardy, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste said "This fantastic project not only benefits the environment, but also help tackle climate change by supporting farmers and landowners to towards net zero through land use change. This is all part of our Natural Norfolk programme, through which we support Nature Recovery projects like this to help deliver point five of our Better Together for Norfolk vision - a greener more resilient future, preserving the quality of our natural environment for the prosperity of future generations."

The project will see us working with landowners along four chalk rivers (Hun, Stiffkey, Burn, Glaven) and the North Norfolk Coastal strip between Hunstanton and Weybourne (land between the sea and the A149).

Cllr Andrew Jamieson, elected member for the North Coast area and chair of the North Coast Partnership, said; "I am very pleased that North Norfolk's AONB has been chosen to host one of NE's Landscape Recovery pilot schemes. The Norfolk Coast Partnership will work with landowners and land managers to ensure that we all work together to improve the area where we live and work"

The project fully demonstrates the ecological significance and complexity of the local landscape in this part of Norfolk which has seen a recent ecological survey record nearly 11,000 different species of wildlife, including the Natterjack Toad, Spoonbill, and Grayling.

Successful projects will now be awarded a share of around £12 million in development grants to help them finalise their delivery plans. Defra aims to support them to complete their development phase as soon as possible and start implementation on the ground.