Land Estate Committee (LEC) Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference agreed: November 2022
Next review date: September 2023

Purpose

1. 1. The Land Estate Committee (LEC) is a standing committee whose principal role is to advise the Board on the sustainable management of NRW’s land estate, to include investment in the estate, its management, and proposals for changes in its use.

Scope

1. 1. Its primary functions are to provide thought leadership and scrutiny of the use of NRW’s managed land estate, to ensure that it is used and managed in a way that promotes the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR).
   2. The scope of the land estate is limited to land under NRW’s ownership and/or management. LEC’s remit includes the Welsh Government Woodland Estate (WGWE); National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in NRW’s direct care; visitor centres; other established recreation or tourism facilities on the Estate; recreational use of bodies of water; sustainable commercial development on and/or using the NRW Estate including, for example, timber sales and tourism, recreation and culture developments; and reservoirs; mine tips; and metal mines on the NRW Estate. It excludes the management of flood assets including among other assets reservoirs covered by the Flood Risk and Incident Management function with the Flood Risk Management Committee.
   3. The LEC will complement and avoid overlap with the remit of the Protected Areas Committee (PrAC). The PrAC has particular responsibilities in relation to designation and protected areas and related case work and for mainstreaming “SMNR” through this context. Specifically, PrAC will be responsible for sub-committee level decisions on designation of areas of the NRW Estate.

Responsibilities

1. 1. To provide advice to the Executive Team, and make recommendations to the NRW Board as appropriate, to:
      1. Promote innovative and progressive ways of using and adapting NRW’s land estate to tackle the climate and nature emergencies;
      2. Leverage its collective authority, experience and influence with external partners such as local communities to work together in tackling the nature and climate emergencies;
      3. Consider and advise on high-level proposals for sustainable commercial development of the land estate, including diversification and promotion of green enterprise, with a focus on the 3Ps- planet, people and prosperity;
      4. Provide advice and direction in the development of strategy and policy in relation to the direct use of land by Government;
      5. Provide high level advice on development and delivery of the Land Stewardship Service Plan and the elements of the Commercial Service Plan related to the NRW Estate, including the Land Stewardship risk framework and relevant risks in the Commercial risk framework;
      6. Other key land estate management issues on a ‘needs-be’ basis.

Meetings

1. 1. The LEC will meet at most quarterly, typically around January and April to assist the programming and budgetary cycle. Additional meetings may be convened as required.
   2. The meetings will primarily be supported by the Secretariat team and members of the Land Stewardship team, supported by colleagues from sustainable commercial development and other subject matter experts as required.

Membership

1. 1. The LEC will be chaired by Professor Calvin Jones.
   2. Membership will include four non-executive Board members.
   3. The Executive Director of Evidence, Policy & Permitting; the Executive Director of Communications, Customer and Commercial; the Head of Land Stewardship; and the Head of Sustainable Commercial Development will also normally attend meetings.

Current Members (as at November 2022)

Chair Professor

• Calvin Jones

Members

• Peter Fox, Board member
• Geraint Davies, Board member
• Mark McKenna, Board member

Executive lead

• Gareth O’Shea - Executive Director of Operations

Other regular attendees

• Ceri Davies, Executive Director of Evidence, Policy & Permitting
• Sarah Jennings, Executive Director of Communications, Customer and Commercial
• Dominic Driver, Head of Land Stewardship
• Elsie Grace, Head of Sustainable Commercial Development
• Gavin Bown, Head of Service