Adur & Worthing Councils adopt new vision for nature

Released: Wednesday, 15 October 2025

We have adopted a bold new vision for nature that sets out landscape-scale ambitions coupled with urban action to protect and restore the area's natural environment - from the Downs to the coast.

The new approach builds on the successes of existing actions and goes further to ensure all the strands are pulled together to create five corridors for nature. Partnership working will be the core of future projects, to enhance and protect nature within and across the area.

The vision contains vital building blocks to support nature, including a pesticide-free policy for both councils, ambitions to strengthen wildlife corridors with a new street tree planting strategy and work with communities and partners to help protect key habitats such as the Adur Estuary and Cissbury Fields.

Since 2022, Worthing has phased out the use of glyphosate-based pesticides in public spaces, which are shown to negatively impact pollinating insects, ecosystems and have been linked to a number of health concerns.

We have now adopted a no-pesticides policy for all the land we manage, moving instead to work with environmentally-friendly non-chemical products to help protect insects, birds and aquatic life. We also plan to involve communities in local handweeding projects to further reduce the need for chemical controls.

Increased urban tree planting across Adur and Worthing is a key ambition. As well as improving the look of the area, trees reduce heat, absorb carbon dioxide, reduce air pollution, regulate the water cycle and provide much-needed food and shelter for wildlife.

Building on the successful partnership with Trees for Streets, which has seen 160 community-sponsored trees planted across Worthing in three years, a new, joint street tree planting scheme is in development to ensure the continuation of urban tree planting across both councils.

In Adur, there will be an increased focus on helping preserve and enhance the Adur Estuary, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), that hosts saltmarsh and mudflats - two rare and vital habitats that support a diverse range of migratory bird species.

As owners of the land, we will continue to work in partnership with the Friends of the Adur SSSI group and the government-backed Adur River Recovery project.

In Worthing, we aim to help restore rare chalk grassland by working with our nature partners to create a thriving landscape at Cissbury, benefitting nature, the climate, people's health and wellbeing, and the local economy. A key part of this is the use of conservation grazing at Cissbury Fields, to increase biodiversity across the wider landscape.

These are just two of the ongoing projects that contribute to the creation of five interconnected 'nature recovery corridors' of land and waterway. These include the Cissbury landscape, the River Adur, Brooklands Park, the green open spaces between Goring and Ferring, and the coastline. We will work closely with organisations and members of the community on a range of initiatives to create, monitor and maintain the network linking up these green and blue spaces so that wildlife can thrive.

Councillor Andy Harvey, Adur's cabinet member for the environment and leisure, said:

“From the coastline to the downs and everything in between, we're fortunate to have such a diverse range of habitats across Adur that are capable of supporting so much wildlife.

“I'm really excited by our new vision for nature, which has great ambitions to unlock the potential of our open spaces and enable local conservation groups to be at the forefront of its development.”

Councillor Vicki Wells, Worthing's cabinet member for environmental services, said:

“Worthing has made great strides in response to the biodiversity crisis since 2022 and building on this solid foundation, we must go further for nature. England is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and everyone can help as part of the national, ecological call to action.

“The councils' new long-term vision to support the area's natural environment, demonstrably strengthens the town's support for biodiversity. Crucially, it encourages and empowers residents to take part too.”

We are hosting a session at The Shoreham Centre on Thursday 20th November 2025 to hear from residents and interested parties how we work together to best care for nature in Adur and Worthing. To register your interest in the event, visit: