Put nature recovery at the heart of all we do

Last Updated on December 10, 2024

Work with local and central government along with key stakeholders to restore and protect at least 30% of Sussex land and sea for nature by 2030. This is both our strongest defence against climate change and  the foundation of a functioning economy. A sustainable natural environment forms one third of the essential components for sustainable development.

Biodiversity scorecard for Brighton – 54%

Brighton and Hove is a ‘single tier council’. The average score for a single tier council was 27%

Brighton and Hove Council got scored well on issues such as use of peat free compost in landscaping; banning pesticides on all council owned and managed land; its green flag status for parks; and its requirement for a higher biodiversity net gain on new developments – but this score may go down in the light of the council’s decision to resume the use of insecticides.  

However, its score may be revised downwards in the light of the council decision to resume the use of glyphosate on the city’s streets this past year.

A coalition of 50 civil society organisations led by Pesticide Action Network UK have signed and submitted a letter to Brighton and Hove council urging them to reconsider their decision in the light of clear medical evidence that links Glyphosate exposure to a range of chronic diseases. You can read more details, including a link to the letter here.

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With regard to specific questions posed by Climate Emergency UK, Brighton and Hove Council scored less well as follows:

Are two thirds of the local wildlife sites in the council’s area in positive conservation management?

This question was weighted ‘medium’

Score 0/1

Criteria  met if 66% or more of local wildlife sites in the council’s area are in positive conservation management. Only English councils will be assessed on this question, as there is no data available to mark Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

Evidence: statistical dataset on local sites in positive conservation management Below is a screenshot from the dataset for Brighton and Hove which shows that less than half of wildlife sites were in positive conservation management. Leicester, Nottingham and Slough were some of only 16 councils who scored full points.

Comparison with other councils

81 out of 186 councils got full marks for this question.

Those scoring a 1.0/1 include Brent Council which has 79% of sites in ‘positive conservation management; Lambeth has 72%; Nottingham city council has 67%.

In the case of Brent Council they are testing out ‘Green Neighbourhood Pilots’ with the goal of making the borough more biodiverse by 2030. They are also developing a green map of Brent to identify green spaces and environmentally friendly facilities. A separate a blue map will show waterways in the borough. The council regularly inspects trees to ensure they’re healthy, and limits tree felling to essential circumstances.

Brighton is likely to be taking similar actions but it is the scale of action and resource commitment perhaps accounts for the differences in scores

Does the council employ a planning ecologist to scrutinise planning reports for biodiversity net gain?

This question was weighted ‘medium’

Score 0/1

Criteria met if the council employs a planning ecologist on 3 days or more a week (0.6 FTE).

Evidence: no evidence was available and it is not clear if a Freedom of Information request was put to the council