Broads Plan 2022 - 2027

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Appendix A: Broads Plan partners

Partners | Partnerships

Many organisations, groups, partnerships and individuals will help the Broads Authority to deliver this plan’s strategic objectives. While we cannot list them all here, key partners and partnerships are shown below (see Appendix B for a list of abbreviations).

Partners

Willow trees along the River Waveney

Anglian Water provides a water supply to much of the Broadland catchment and sewerage services throughout the catchment. Essex & Suffolk Water supplies water to parts of the south and east of the catchment.

British Marine and its regional association the Broads Hire Boat Federation represent operators of holiday hire cruisers, yachts and day boats.

The Broads executive area straddles six District Council areas: Broadland, East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth, North Norfolk, Norwich and South Norfolk. The councils provide a range of community services including housing, planning (outside the Broads executive area), and waste collection and recycling. The coastal councils are also coastal erosion risk management authorities.

Within the Broads area, the Environment Agency is responsible for water quality and resources, fisheries, conservation and ecology, the regulation of major industry including waste and the treatment of contaminated land, and for managing flood risk from main rivers, reservoirs, estuaries and the sea.

Historic England is a public body offering expert advice on heritage issues and promoting the wider conservation of the historic environment. English Heritage, as an independent charity, oversees the National Heritage Collection of historic properties.

Internal Drainage Boards are independent public bodies responsible for managing water levels in low-lying areas. As the district land drainage authorities, IDBs supervise land drainage and flood defence works on ordinary watercourses.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) champions British agriculture and horticulture, campaigns for a sustainable future for British farmers and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members.

The National Trust is a charity working to preserve and protect historic places and spaces. It is one of the UK’s largest landowners and owner of a large number of heritage properties, including historic houses and gardens, industrial monuments, and social history sites.

Natural England aims to enhance England’s wildlife and landscapes and maximise the benefits they bring to the public. It focuses on agri-environment land management, habitat and landscape conservation, coastal public access and National Trails, and conservation designation.

Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council are responsible for a wide range of public services within their respective counties including social care, public safety, roads and transport, education, environment and waste management. As highway authorities, their responsibilities include public rights of way for the Broads. The councils are also the Lead Local Flood Authorities, responsible for managing the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses and leading on community recovery.

The Norfolk Rivers Trust works to restore, protect and enhance the water environments of Norfolk for wildlife and people through conservation, education and advice.

The Norfolk & Suffolk Broads Charitable Trust (Broads Trust) manages the ‘Love the Broads’ fundraising initiative and promotes improvements for people who work in, live in and visit the Broads.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust and Suffolk Wildlife Trust are charities working to protect and enhance county wildlife and wild places including reserves, and promote environmental education. Norfolk Wildlife Trust is the oldest Wildlife Trust in the country.

More than 90 parish council areas sit partly within the Broads executive area. The level of government closest to the community, the councils represent local interests, deliver services to meet local needs and support community life and wellbeing.

The RSPB is a nature conservation charity that protects and manages special places for wildlife, saves species from extinction and encourages people to experience and help protect wildlife and nature.

The Royal Yachting Association and the regional Norfolk and Suffolk Boating Association represent the interests of private users of pleasure craft.

Partnerships

The Broadland Catchment Partnership aims to improve the water environment and provide wider benefits for people and nature through a coordinated catchment-based approach. The partnership is co-hosted by the BA and the Norfolk Rivers Trust.

The goal of the Broadland Futures Initiative (BFI) is to agree a framework for future flood risk management that copes more effectively with our changing climate and rising sea level. The BFI is represented on the Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance.

The Broads Biodiversity Partnership (hosted by the BA) seeks to improve biodiversity through a coordinated approach at a landscape scale.

The Broads Environmental Education Network involves education bodies, charities, businesses and others in improving people’s understanding of the Broads, including through the ‘Broads Curriculum’ online resources for schools.

The Broads and Norfolk Coast Land Managers Board manages the local Farming in Protected Landscapes grant scheme, supporting farmers and land managers to carry out projects that benefit the natural environment, mitigate climate change impacts, provide public access and support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses.

The Broads Local Access Forum is a semi-independent body established under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. It advises the Broads Authority on improving and promoting access to land within the Broads and adjacent parts of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Broads Tourism is a forum for local tourism businesses through the Visit the Broads DMO. It aims to promote the Broads as a high quality, ‘green’ visitor destination through quality standards, staff training and clear, coordinated messages that define the area’s status and special qualities.

The Greater Norwich Development Partnership involves Broadland, Norwich and South Norfolk councils working on a Joint Core Strategy that sets a long-term vision and development objectives for the area. The Broads executive area must be regarded in the Joint Core Strategy.

National Parks England promotes the needs of the country’s 10 National Parks. More widely, National Parks UK looks after the interests of the 15 National Parks in England, Scotland and Wales.

The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership works with businesses and public sector partners to drive enterprise in Norfolk and Suffolk.

The Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership has a shared vision for the conservation, enhancement and restoration of the county’s biological diversity.

The Norfolk Coast AONB Partnership and Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB Partnership are designated as outstanding landscapes whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so precious that it is in the nation’s interest to safeguard them. Part of the Norfolk Coast AONB overlaps with the Broads Authority executive area.

The Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership and GeoSuffolk record, conserve and promote appreciation of the local geological and geomorphological diversity.

The Norfolk & Suffolk Nature Recovery Partnership was set up to help deliver the 25-year Environment Plan commitment to create a national Nature Recovery Network of biodiversity-rich places.

The River Wensum Strategy Partnership delivers projects to enhance the river corridor through Norwich and increase its access and use by the public.

Next section: Appendix B - Abbreviations