Local Nature Conservation Sites (LNCS)

Stirling Council is proposing to designate 17 areas of land as Local Nature Conservation Sites (LNCS). These are the first sites to be assessed from a much longer list of approximately 200 potential LNCS. 

These sites have local nature conservation value on account of the following:

• Species diversity, species or habitat rarity, naturalness and extent of habitat
• Contribution to national and local biodiversity objectives
• Potential contribution to the protection or enhancement of connectivity between habitats or the development of green networks
• Potential to facilitate enjoyment and understanding of natural heritage and geodiversity value

The Wildlife Information Centre, in partnership with Stirling Council, have teamed up with local environmental voluntary groups to identify potential LNCSs. 17 sites have been found to have sufficient biodiversity to merit formal designation within the Stirling Local Development Plan.

The Stirling Local Development Plan says that any site identified as a LNCS should not be adversely affected by other development proposals. As part of Stirling Council’s Climate and Nature Emergency Plan LNCS designation will contribute towards the specific goal of optimising biodiversity and increasing carbon storage potential of nature within Stirling. Our target is to have 100 designated sites throughout the Stirling Council area by 2030.

To see the proposed sites in the first phase please download the map below. Further information for each individual site is set out in the site statement, you can also download for more info.

Comments and feedback are welcome and can be submitted via the Engage Platform. Any comments should be submitted by the closing date of the consultation – Monday 14 November 2022. Due consideration will be given to any responses received, these will be summarised and reported to a future meeting of the Council’s Environment and Housing Committee, along with a recommendation as to whether sites should now be formally designated.

Please contact the Planning and Policy Team at ldp@stirling.gov.uk for further information.