The County Council's Bridge maintenance team now have a formalised process of consultation in which they obtain information about both the natural and cultural environment before carrying out or planning bridge maintenance in the county.
Stafford Borough Council, as part of its programme for sustainable development, has been proactive in biodiversity conservation for several years and has achieved many tangible benefits.
Local Area Agreements (LAAs) were introduced in 2004 and have been evolving ever since. They constitute a three-year agreement, between central government (represented by the Government Office in each Region) and a local area (represented by the local authority and other key partners through the Local Strategic Partnership. The agreement sets out a single set of priorities and targets for a local area.
National Indicator 197 ‘Improved Local Biodiversity’
Of the 198 proposed indicators, only one (National Indicator 197) encompasses direct and quantifiable biodiversity targets. National Indicator 197 – ‘Improved Local Biodiversity’ or ‘The Biodiversity Indicator’ as it has become known, looks to measure the performance of local authorities for biodiversity by assessing the implementation of active conservation management of ‘Local Sites’.
