Transcript NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK

Three Rivers District Council
AGENTS FORUM
12 June 2012
BIODIVERSITY AND PLANNING APPLICATIONS - AN UPDATE
Martin Hicks, Herts Biological Records Centre
What is planning?
• Is it to save the countryside? No
• Is it to build on the countryide? No
• Are most applications refused? No -80 – 90%
approved
• Planning is for the greater public good. This
has to involve all aspects of concern to society.
Development is one – so is the environment.
• The desire is to achieve good planning, as far as
possible – now guided by the NPPF.
What was the draft NPPF?
• Reform of planning guidance.
• Previous plethora of documents – 30 PPGs and PPSs, 2
circulars and 12 guidance letters. 1100 pages.
• Draft heavily criticised by most environmental groups –
Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, RSPB, National Trust,
CPRE, Open Spaces Society
• Wildlife Sites under threat
• Insufficient protection for Ancient Woodlands
• No suitable definition of Sustainable Development
• ‘Yes’ to development
• Final document was awaited with trepidation.
What is the NPPF now?
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Simplified planning for everybody’s benefit – perhaps oversimplified?
C60 pages, in many areas, detail little altered from draft.
Also reflects many elements of previous PPSs – including PPS9
Generally welcomed by Env organisations
What are its environmental credentials?
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Biodiversity is mentioned in:
Ministerial Foreword,
Achieving Sustainable Development,
Plan Making and
Decision–taking sections
Conserving and enhancing the natural environment – 17 (13%) the
highest number of paragraphs of all.
A significant emphasis and contribution to the document as a whole.
Of course, the devil is in the detail…
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP
Minister for Planning…and hellsfire Inspectorate
MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
• The purpose of planning is to help achieve sustainable
development.
• Sustainable development is about change for the
better, and not only in our built environment. Our natural
environment is essential to our wellbeing, and it can be
better looked after than it has been. Habitats that have
been degraded can be restored. Species that have been
isolated can be reconnected. Green Belt land that has
been depleted of diversity can be refilled by nature –
and opened to people to experience it, to the benefit of
body and soul.
ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy set out five ‘guiding principles’ of
sustainable development, one of which is:
living within the planet’s environmental limits;
7. There are three dimensions to sustainable development:
● an economic role
● a social role
● an environmental role – contributing to protecting and enhancing our
natural…environment; and, as part of this, helping to improve biodiversity…
8.These roles should not be undertaken in isolation, because they are mutually
dependent. Therefore, to achieve sustainable development, economic, social
and environmental gains should be sought jointly and simultaneously
through the planning system.
9. Pursuing sustainable development involves seeking positive improvements
in the quality of the built, natural and historic environment
The presumption in favour of
sustainable development
14. The heart of the NPPF is a presumption in favour of sustainable
development, a golden thread through both plan-making and decisiontaking - unless:
any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably
outweigh the benefits assessed against the NPPF or if specific policies in
the NPPF indicate development should be restricted*
*For example, those policies relating to sites protected under the Birds and
Habitats Directives (see paragraph 119) and/or designated as Sites of
Special Scientific Interest…; an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Core planning principles
17. These [include] …that planning should:
- contribute to conserving and enhancing
the natural environment… Allocations of
development land should be of lesser
environmental value…
- promote mixed use developments,
recognising that some open land can
perform many functions (such as for
wildlife or food production)
Will it deliver?
Delivering Sustainable
Development
3. Supporting a prosperous rural economy
28. …promote the development and diversification of
agricultural and other land-based rural businesses
7. Requiring good design
61. …policies and decisions should connect people and
places and integrate development into the natural, built
and historic environment.
8. Promoting healthy communities
76. Local communities through local and
neighbourhood plans should be able to
identify for special protection green
areas of particular importance to them...
for example because of its richness of its
wildlife
Designation of Local Green Spaces will
rule out new development other than in
very special circumstances.
9. Protecting Green Belt land
81. Once defined, Green Belts should plan
positively to enhance their beneficial use,
such as ….to retain and enhance
landscapes, visual amenity and
biodiversity;
92. Community Forests offer valuable
opportunities for improving the
environment around towns…providing for
recreation and wildlife….
11. Conserving and enhancing the natural
environment
109. The planning system should contribute to and enhance the
natural and local environment by:
● protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, geological
conservation interests and soils;
● recognising the wider benefits of ecosystem services;
● minimising impacts on biodiversity and providing net gains
where possible, contributing to the Government’s commitment to
halt the overall decline in biodiversity, including establishing
coherent and resilient ecological networks
• preventing soil, air, water or noise pollution
110. Development plans should minimise
…adverse effects on the local and
natural environment and allocate land of
least environmental or amenity value
111. Policies and decisions should
encourage effective re-use of previously
developed (brownfield) land provided it
is not of high environmental value.
113. LPAs should set criteria based policies against
which development proposals affecting protected
wildlife or geodiversity sites or landscape areas will be
judged. Distinctions should be made between the
hierarchy of international, national and locally
designated sites,** so that protection is
commensurate with their status and gives appropriate
weight to their importance and the contribution that
they make to wider ecological networks.
**[Circular 06/2005 provides further guidance in respect of
statutory obligations for biodiversity and geological
conservation and their impact within the planning
system] [and remains valid – where appropriate – until
re-written].
114. Local planning authorities should:
●set out a strategic approach in their Local
Plans, planning positively for the
creation, protection, enhancement and
management of networks of
biodiversity and green infrastructure;
and
115. Great weight should be given to conserving
….Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty…the
conservation of wildlife and cultural heritage
are important considerations in all these areas.
116. Planning permission should be refused for
major developments in these designated areas
except in exceptional circumstances and in the
public interest.
117. To minimise impacts on biodiversity and
geodiversity, planning policies should:
●plan for biodiversity at a landscape-scale
across LPAs
●identify and map components of the local
ecological networks, including the hierarchy of
international, national and locally designated
sites of importance for biodiversity, wildlife
corridors and stepping stones that connect
them and areas identified by local
partnerships for habitat restoration or
creation;
●promote the preservation, restoration and recreation of priority habitats, ecological
networks and the protection and recovery of
priority species populations, linked to national
and local targets, and identify suitable indicators
for monitoring biodiversity in the plan;
●aim to prevent harm to geological conservation
interests; and
●where Nature Improvement Areas are identified
in Local Plans, consider specifying the types of
development that may be appropriate
118. When determining planning applications,
LPAs should conserve and enhance
biodiversity by applying the following principles:
●if significant harm resulting from a development
cannot be avoided (through locating on an
alternative site with less harmful impacts),
adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort,
compensated for [biodiversity offsetting]), then
planning permission should be refused;
●proposed development adversely affecting a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (either
individually or in combination) should not
normally be permitted. An exception should
only be made where the benefits clearly
outweigh both the impacts on the site and any
broader impacts on the national network of
SSSIs
●development where the primary objective is to
conserve or enhance biodiversity should be
permitted;
●opportunities to incorporate biodiversity in and
around developments should be encouraged;
● permission should be refused for development resulting
in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats,
including ancient woodland and the loss of aged or
veteran trees beyond, unless the need and benefits of
the development clearly outweigh the loss; and
• the following should be given the same protection as
European sites:
– potential Special Protection Areas and possible Special
Areas of Conservation;
– listed or proposed Ramsar sites;
– sites identified, or required, as compensatory measures for
adverse effects on European and the above sites.
119. The presumption in favour of sustainable
development does not apply where development
requires appropriate assessment under the Birds or
Habitats Directives
120. To prevent unacceptable risks from pollution
…policies and decisions should ensure development is
appropriate for its location. The effects of pollution
…on the natural environment should be taken into
account.
125. Planning policies and decisions should limit the
impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark
landscapes and nature conservation.
13. Facilitating the sustainable use of minerals
143. In preparing Local Plans, local planning
authorities should:
• set out environmental criteria…against which
planning applications will be assessed to ensure
operations do not have unacceptable adverse
impacts on the natural and historic
environment…
• put in place policies to ensure worked land is
reclaimed at the earliest opportunity… including
for …geodiversity, biodiversity, native
woodland…
PLAN MAKING
Local Plans
156. LPAs should set out the strategic priorities for the
area in the Local Plan and include policies to deliver:
• climate change mitigation and adaptation, conservation
and enhancement of the natural and historic
environment, including landscape.
157. Crucially, Local Plans should:
• identify land where development would be
inappropriate, for instance because of its
environmental or historic significance; and
• contain a clear strategy for enhancing the natural,
built and historic environment, and supporting Nature
Improvement Areas where they have been identified.
Using a proportionate evidence base
158. Each LPA should ensure that the Local
Plan is based on adequate, up-to-date
and relevant evidence about the
economic, social and environmental
characteristics and prospects of the
area.
Environment
165. Planning policies and decisions should be
based on up-to-date information about the
natural environment … Working with Local
Nature Partnerships where appropriate, this
should include an assessment of existing and
potential components of ecological networks
…strategic environmental assessment should
be an integral part of the plan preparation
process, and should consider all the likely
significant effects on the environment, economic
and social factors.
166. Local Plans may require a variety of other
environmental assessments, including under
the Habitats Regulations where there is a likely
significant effect on a European wildlife site (not
necessarily within the local authority
area)…Wherever possible, assessments
should share the same evidence base and be
conducted over similar timescales, ensuring the
purposes and requirements of different
assessments are respected.
DECISION-TAKING
186. LPAs should approach decision-taking
positively to enable delivery of
sustainable development.
187. LPAs should secure developments
that improve the economic, social and
environmental conditions of the area.
Pre-application engagement and front-loading
192. The right information is crucial to good decisiontaking, particularly where formal assessments are
required (such as Environmental Impact Assessment,
Habitats Regulations Assessment and Flood Risk
Assessment). To avoid delay, applicants should
discuss what information is needed with the LPA and
expert bodies as early as possible.
193. LPAs should publish a list of their information
requirements for applications, which should be
proportionate to the nature and scale of development
proposals and reviewed on a frequent basis. LPAs
should only request supporting information that is
relevant, necessary and material to the application in
question.
“Habitat Regulations” species
Wildlife and Countryside Act
Protection of Badgers Act 1992
Legislation
•
The NPPF does not over-ride the legal obligations or status afforded to all
protected species, although this will vary in respect of the legislation
concerned. The most strict provisions apply to European protected species
(i.e. those species protected under the Habitats Regulations).
•
Further guidance is found within Circular 06/2005.
•
‘The presence of a protected species is a material consideration when
a planning authority is considering a development proposal that, if carried
out, would be likely to result in harm to the species or its habitat (98).’
•
‘It is essential that the presence or otherwise of protected species, and the
extent that they may be affected by the proposed development, is
established before the planning permission is granted, otherwise all
relevant material considerations may not have been addressed in making
the decision….developers should not be required to undertake surveys for
protected species unless there is a reasonable likelihood of the species
being present and affected by the development (99).’
European Protected Species
• The species protection provisions of the Habitats
Regulations contain 3 tests which must be applied by
NE in order to determine whether to grant a license.
• Local planning authorities must apply the same three
tests when deciding whether or not to grant planning
permission, where a EPS may be harmed.
1. the activity must be for imperative reasons of overriding
public interest or for public health and safety
2. there must be no satisfactory alternative
3. favourable conservation status of the species must be
maintained
Information HBRC (LRC) holds:
Species
data
Including
protected
species
Information HBRC holds:
Nationally
designated
sites
(e.g. SSSIs)
Information HBRC holds:
Locally
important
sites
(‘Wildlife Sites’
ratified by the
Wildlife Sites
Partnership)
Habitats – such as orchards, grasslands and hedgerows
Information HBRC holds:
• Phase 1 habitat
survey (1996)
Information HBRC holds:
• Landscape
scale areas
(e.g. Key
Biodiversity
Areas in
LBAP)
Natural England’s standing advice
flowchart
Determining applications
197. In assessing and determining
development proposals, LPAs should
apply the presumption in favour of
sustainable development.
Planning conditions and obligations
203. LPAs should consider whether otherwise
unacceptable development could be made acceptable
through the use of conditions or planning obligations.
204. Planning obligations should meet all of the following
tests:
• necessary to make the development acceptable in
planning terms;
• directly related to the development; and
• fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the
development.
Summary: So….
1. Has biodiversity been sufficiently considered
within the NPPF? Yes
2. Is the framework adequate to deliver
biodiversity conservation? Yes – although
details need to be worked through and tested standards and thresholds open to
interpretation.
3. Should biodiversity be considered as an integral
part of the planning process, where
appropriate? Yes
So is Greg Clark really the Devil?
…or the Government’s Green Man?
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP Minister for Planning …and Morris dancing?
Only time will tell……..