23 Dec 2025
Campaigners fighting to prevent the development of Bedmond Lane wildlife meadow and Green Belt land adjacent to Heartwood Forest feared they had been dealt a devastating blow because county ecologists had downgraded their status.
Hertfordshire’s first Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) is part of a nationwide scheme which sets out a shared vision and identifies priority areas for investment and action, bringing together public, private and voluntary sectors, working closely with land managers, citizen scientists and local communities.
Herts had more than 70 sites put forward by local landowners for inclusion in the LNRS, with 751 survey responses from residents, organisations and community groups.
But missing from the final tally of sites are both the 12-acre Bedmond Lane wildlife meadow and Heartwood Forest, despite their rich biodiversity and ecological value.
Matt Dodds, planning and biodiversity manager for Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, previously said about Bedmond Lane: “The site itself is a species rich mosaic of habitats including species rich chalk grassland, species rich neutral grassland and scrub.
“It easily qualifies as a local wildlife site and the only reason that it is not designated as such is because the landowner permission required to designate the site has not been given. It is a de-facto Local Wildlife Site and should be considered as such.”
In the LNRS draft strategy document more than 80 per cent of the site was classified as an ‘Area of Particular Importance for Biodiversity’ (APIBs) and a further 15 per cent as an ‘Area that Could Become of Particular Importance for Biodiversity’ (ACPIBs).
But although the final LNRS report no longer includes Bedmond Lane, despite the weight of evidence from professional ecologists, this is because as the site is not formally designated as a Local Wildlife Site it cannot be treated as one for the purposes of mapping the APIB within the LNRS.
In fact, it has now been given a new designation as an Opportunity Area.
A spokesperson for Herts county council explained: “We agree that the Bedmond Lane Wildlife Meadow is a significant area for ecology and we have made sure this has been recognised in the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
“There are two (non-hierarchical) designations for sites that can be used in Local Nature Recovery Strategies :
Areas of Particular Importance to Biodiversity (APIBs) are those that already receive statutory protection (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest) or are locally designated (such as Local Wildlife Sites). The list of sites that can be included in this list is designated by the Secretary of State for the Environment;
“Opportunity Areas (OAs) are chosen based on their strategic significance for nature and the wider environment, aiming to provide the greatest benefit for nature and biodiversity.
“When reviewing the results of the public consultation, we realised that Bedmond Lane had been accidentally included in a data set for locally designated sites – which it is not.
“This meant we needed to move it from one category to the other (from being an APIB to being an Opportunity Area). This is an alternative category not a downgrade; in fact being an Opportunity Area opens the door to attracting funding as the existing ecological value and potential of the site for further nature benefit has been recognised and mapped.
“We hope this clarifies the situation and we look forward to working with all the individuals and organisations keen to help nature recovery in Hertfordshire as we set out to deliver the measures identified in the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.”
Campaigner Dr Robert Wareing, who has been battling for years to prevent the development of the site, made a detailed submission calling for the meadow to remain part of the Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, unaware of the change of status to an Opportunity Area.
He said: “Had I known in advance about all the areas of ‘Area of Particular Importance for Biodiversity’ or ‘APIB’ being predetermined by their official status, I would not have put the time and effort into my submission.
“Whilst I acknowledge the need for criteria to be clearly defined to ensure uniformity and fairness in their application across all the counties of England, I am shocked – and deeply disappointed – that they are so rigidly and narrowly defined without any discretionary element.
“I understand LNRS are simply following statutory guidance, however, Bedmond Lane Wildlife Meadow is exceptional and, in my view, there should, therefore, have been a facility to include it as an APIB.
“Given that the LNRS team failed entirely to take into account the extensive irreplaceable woodland habitat on this site which I described and evidenced through photographs, I feel rather let down, but we shall keep fighting the good fight for this wildlife meadow even if it seems rather an unfair – and steep uphill – fight!”
“Obviously HWMT recognise its importance and have been strong supporters of the site and its ecological value with initial feedback indicating their support of its designation of APIB to help showcase its important ecological value. Even though there is nothing legally binding to the landowner in a designation of a site, the importance of the location in planning for development is undermined by its lack of formal acknowledgement.”
Meanwhile elsewhere in the district, Heartwood Forest has also failed to make the grade of APIB, but it is not clear whether it too will be relabelled as an Opportunity Area.
Gee Smedley, from campaign group CLASH, which is fighting against the development of Green Belt land in north St Albans, said: “It is of immense frustration that ancient woodland and protected hedgerows have been stripped out of the APIB layer, which would fall under the ‘irreplaceable habitat’ definition.
“It is also of note that many of the sites striped out of the layers have aggressive development proposals. The striping of ancient woodland and protected hedgerow effectively gives carte-blanch permission to aggressively remove these habitats without any over sight under the LNRS. We all know that the LNRS is a tool to guide not on recovery but also urban development.
“The downgrading of Heartwood Forest which is both ancient woodland and an area working towards becoming a Site of Special Scientific Interest is nothing short of an abject failure of this process and a scandal.
“The original mapping was not a mistake when taking into account irreplaceable habitat of ancient woodland and protected hedgerow. We have no clear statement on why these areas have been removed.
“How can ancient woodland and protected hedgerow not be classified as irreplaceable habitat?
“I wonder whether the Forestry Commission was consulted during the process specifically on the application of what does and does not constitute ‘irreplaceable habitat’?”
