I love the Brecks – not least, because a visit takes you to a place obviously different. A distinctive landscape shaped by soil, low rainfall and thousands of years of human activity.
We've followed the fate of one of the Brecks most distinctive inhabitants, the stone-curlew, through this blog. The proposal to dual the A11 put this sensitive nocturnal migrant wader centre-stage and the eventual outcome was well balanced between the need to tackle a serious road improvement project and ensure that the future of one of Breckland's own was secure.
Planning in the Brecks has increasingly recognised the importance of the area's natural environment and we have been impressed by the progress made through the Local Development Frameworks that have been produced recently (positive case-studies we will regularly return to as the English planning system undergoes a substantial re-organisation).
So I was particularly interested in the news, today, of the findings of a major survey into Breckland's biodiversity. The study was undertaken by the University of East Anglia and documented 12,500 different species with some 2,000 of national conservation concern.
For over 25 years, we've been working with farmers and landowners to help stone-curlews boost their numbers (an update on that story will be coming soon) and with enlightened planning and a thorough survey of the area's natural richness – the future should be bright for this unique corner of the world.
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