Surrey Nature RecoveryLGR StoryMap
Surrey Nature RecoverySurrey local government reorganisation · 2027
East and West Surrey will inherit different landscapes, habitats and opportunities. Scroll to see how the geography changes—and why the Local Nature Recovery Strategy must continue to join it together.
Begin the five-minute story01 · The change
Surrey County Council and the eleven districts and boroughs will be replaced by two unitary councils.
Dissolved authority boundary calculated from the October 2026 OS Boundary-Line release.
02 · The natural inheritance
Woodland covers around a quarter of Surrey. The East–West analysis will distinguish all woodland from ancient woodland: two related but very different responsibilities.
Placeholder split. Production analysis: latest National Forest Inventory and Natural England AWI.
03 · The existing foundation
Areas of Particular Importance for Biodiversity bring together nationally and locally important sites and irreplaceable habitat. They are the foundation from which recovery must grow.
Calculated from the published APIB service after unioning overlaps.
04 · What sits beneath the total
The overall APIB figure combines different protections and irreplaceable habitats. Their geographies overlap, so these rows are individual distributions—not parts to add together.
But not every inheritance is lopsided: LNR and ancient woodland extents are close to evenly divided.
Clipped, dissolved hectares from APIB types. Designations overlap one another.
05 · The opportunity
ACIB identifies land that could become important for biodiversity. It is a strategic opportunity map—not a commitment, allocation or instruction to a landowner.
Calculated from the published ACIB service after unioning overlaps.
06 · From opportunity to action
Potential measures translate county-wide priorities into spatial opportunities for woodland, grassland, heathland, wetlands and rivers.
Feature counts describe mapped records, not unique hectares; measure polygons can overlap.
07 · The shared responsibility
Habitats, species and ecological networks do not stop at an administrative boundary. Different natural identities should lead to distinctive priorities—but not separate strategies.
Keep one evidence base. Coordinate planning and investment. Deliver one LNRS across East and West.
Prototype status. Values marked XX are deliberately unfinished. SNCI figures will be limited to SBIC-approved aggregates; restricted geometry will not be published.
Core production sources: OS Boundary-Line, National Forest Inventory, Natural England Ancient Woodland Inventory and Priority Habitats Inventory, national designation datasets, and the published Surrey LNRS APIB, ACIB and potential-measure services.