Agenda item

The Chief Executive delivered the following updates to his report:-

·       The Protected Landscapes Partnership search for a Chair has had a good response and DEFRA will follow the process to appoint a Chair.

·       The NPE update is around the new duty which we have had for around 2 years now, the Government is seeking to remove this duty.  The Authority is currently writing to all local MP’s to raise awareness and profile of this situation.

·       DEFRA recently launched 2 new research projects – Culture, Visions and Governance research and reviewing the Capital Expenditure.

·       There is still no news on the settlement from DEFRA.

·       The CEO attended EMCCA – where Mayor Claire Ward spoke.  The aim is for East Midlands to be the fastest growing visitor economy in the country (growth in numbers and also in spend) and also the aim for this region to have the greenest visitor economy in the country – Growth and Sustainability.

·       Wild Fires – The CEO participated in a call to try and develop a UK wide response/position/strategy on Wild Fires and the intention is to develop a collective position and strategy.

·       Members asked if it is known how much has been allocated to maintain Snake Pass.  This is something the regional mayor is saying is one of the priorities of the budget.  Exact numbers are not known currently.

·       There was a question regarding the section on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and how we are going to progress the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.  We are taking Nature Recovery forward in lots of ways.

·       The Chair and CEO were thanked for their updates. Tribute was paid to Sarah Bird who has played a very important role for her work with the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.  Members asked how it would be possible to grow the visitor economy in a green and sustainable way with reduced funding. The CEO has already input into the Destination Management Plan for the region which is the strategic document for the economy and the CEO has also fed information into the Mayors’ Nature Task Force and the Local Visitor Economy Partnership.