HARD work and dedication have been applauded at Cumbria County Council.

As part of government plans to recover nature on an England-wide scale, the newly formed Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) were congratulated by Environment Minister Rebecca Pow MP, who said: “The work that you have done on the pilot has shown real leadership and excellent collaboration with stakeholders.

“This work will be essential in helping us to inform how we deliver on our commitments to nature recovery across England through the strategies.”

Cumbria was named as one of five pilot areas to receive a share of a £1m fund from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in August 2020 to develop a draft LNRS pilot.

Cllr Celia Tibble, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I am delighted that the hard work of the Council has been recognised.”