The Cannock Chase National Landscape Partnership is looking to invite new advisors to its governing body – the Joint Committee.
As a non-voting partner, your voluntary role will be to advise and influence policies and actions to ensure that the natural beauty of Cannock Chase is conserved and enhanced, and that the designated landscape continues to benefit local residents, businesses and visitors.
The invitation comes at a crucial time for our protected landscapes with calls for them to be more alive with nature, help combat the challenge of climate change, and be more accessible and relevant for the people who visit, live and work in them.
Councillor Victoria Wilson, Chair of the Cannock Chase National Landscape Joint Committee said, ‘This is a great opportunity for people to step forward and help shape one of England’s finest landscapes. If you have the energy and enthusiasm to protect this much loved area please get in touch to find out more’.
We want to be a more diverse and inclusive partnership. We are keen to hear from individuals or organisations who feel that they can represent and speak for a range of people in different sectors and interests in the area including black and ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ groups, young people, education, the arts, health and wellbeing, climate change.
We are looking for people with the right skills and experience backed up by a love for this nationally protected area. Meetings of the Joint Committee are held in person, 3 times a year (March, July and December). You will be expected to read agenda papers, take soundings from colleagues as appropriate, and come to meetings prepared to contribute and advise. The length of the role is not time-limited.
If you would like to help shape the future of this nationally protected landscape, please contact Ian Marshall on 01785 276051 / 07989 148731 or email: [email protected]
If you wish to be considered as an advisor, you will then be asked to provide a short statement expressing your interest and setting out the contribution you feel you can make. Submissions of interest will be put to the Joint Committee for consideration at its December meeting.
Information about Cannock Chase and our work to look after it can be found at www.cannock-chase.co.uk
Notes
- At just 26 square miles Cannock Chase is mainland England’s smallest National Landscape
- It includes the largest surviving area of lowland heathland in the Midlands, designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
- More than 30% of the National Landscape is of high value for nature
- Its rich cultural heritage includes more than 1,000 cultural heritage assets
- Approximately 50% of the Chase is land that is accessible to the public
- Formal legal responsibility for protecting and conserving the natural beauty of the Chase lies with the five local authorities that cover the area: Staffordshire County Council, Cannock Chase Council, Stafford Borough Council, Lichfield District Council and South Staffordshire Borough Council. They work in partnership with local communities and user groups, landowners, emergency services and the Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Partnership to look after this nationally important landscape. This involves balancing the interests of all those who use and enjoy the Chase, as well as addressing the pressing issues of the day, such as, pressures from surrounding housing development, increasing recreational use, a warming climate, and the impacts of invasive non-native species, including pest diseases.
