© Tom Marshall
Cumberland Council Local Plan Consultation - have your say
Why is this important?
Cumberland Council is currently seeking your views on whether you agree or disagree with the ‘issues’ they have identified for the area, options for how these may be tackled and are also asking what other issues you feel are important to be addressed.
Your input will feed into the Cumberland Local Plan – a plan that will apply for a minimum of 15 years. Any new development in the area will be guided by the policy set out in the final local plan. So, this public consultation is important. It gives you the opportunity to have your say on the strategic policies that will impact on where you live and work.
On their website, Cumberland Council list the ways you may respond (online forms, email or by post).
We would encourage you to respond to the whole plan, which can be viewed here. However, if you do not wish to respond to the whole plan, you have the option to respond to specific points.
Below, we have highlighted a select number of questions, directly related to nature and our environment and provided suggested wording that it would be helpful and for you to include in your response. These comments will make louder our combined voice for nature and our environment.
Question 115 – on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document - Environment
Should the Council be considering a policy that requires development to deliver more than 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG)?
Response: yes
• If yes, what should the level be,
Response: There should be a universal adoption of a required minimum 20% biodiversity net gain within relevant policy by all of Cumbria’s planning authorities.
• What scale of development should it apply to (i.e. number of housing units or minimum site size)?
Response: There should be a universal adoption of a required minimum 20% biodiversity net gain within relevant policy by all of Cumbria’s planning authorities.
• What evidence can be provided in support of such an approach?
Response: All development should deliver biodiversity net gain (irrespective of scale).
· The Government’s own Impact Assessment, highlights that 10% represents only the minimum needed to maintain the status quo. View here.
· Kent Local Nature Partnership did a study exploring +10% scenarios and also have justification for 20%. View here.
· Surrey Nature Partnership produced this document to justify going above 10% in their local plan. View here.
· eftec and The Wildlife Trusts report A Well-functioning BNG Market. View here.
· The Wildlife Trusts’ Housing Principles Briefing. View here.
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) ensures that developments have a measurably positive impact ('net gain') on biodiversity. Find out more.
Question 116 of the full consultation (on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document – Environment)
Do you agree that biodiversity net gain (BNG) should apply to development that is currently exempt, for example custom and self-build housing?
Response: Yes, biodiversity net gain should apply to currently exempt custom and self-build housing.
Question 120 of the full consultation (on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document – Environment)
Should the Local Plan identify and protect such green areas/wedges? If yes, is there anywhere in particular that you consider should be protected in this way?
Response: Yes. Green areas and wedges should be protected. The local plan must ensure there are open areas in and around new developments to maintain the distinction between the countryside and providing recreational opportunities for residents (along with the health and wellbeing benefits these bring - in turn having a positive impact on the need for people to access health services). Green wedges and corridors are important for individuals, communities and for wildlife and our environment too.
By protecting green spaces around villages and smaller communities, it protects them from being absorbed by larger towns and developments.
People benefit from regular contact with nature. Accessible green spaces fresh air, exercise and quiet contemplation improve health and well-being (eg lower levels of heart disease, obesity, stress and depression). One study found that people who spend an average of two hours or more per week in nature over a year are more likely to report being in good, or very good, health.
Natural green spaces and trees in urban areas help stabilise temperature, improve air quality and reduce flooding.
Natural green space around housing provides shared space for local community to come together and socialise – reducing isolation.
Houses in greener developments can have a higher market value and enhance the brand value of the developer
Question 121 of the full consultation (on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document – Environment)
Should the Local Plan seek to identify Local Green Spaces?
• Yes – for all towns and villages.
• Yes – for the main towns and larger villages.
• Yes – for the main towns only.
• No
Response: Yes - for all towns and villages.
Question 127 of the full consultation (on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document – Environment)
Should the Local Plan require all developers and developments to install ‘habitat bricks’ (for small nesting birds, bats, and invertebrates) in all new housing developments?
Or should there be a minimum housing unit number per development for when the installation of ‘habitat bricks’ would be required? What should that minimum number be and why?
What evidence exists to support such an approach?
Response: Habitat bricks should be installed for wildlife in all new housing developments. Specially designed bricks can be installed into new housing or retrofitted to provide homes for nesting birds, such as swifts, and roosting bats.
In research on attitudes of housing occupants to bird and bat boxes "The decision to buy a house is unlikely to be influenced by the presence of an integral box (85%) however if it did influence the purchase it was only ever positive (15%)." (The Attitudes of Housing Occupants to Integral Bird and Bat Boxes)
Other research found "in a district where nearly all buildings had been renovated in the past 10 years, we recorded a remarkably high density of Swifts breeding in nest-boxes." (Nest-boxes for Common Swifts Apus apus as compensatory measures in the context of building renovation: efficacy and predictors of occupancy)
Question 128 of the full consultation (on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document – Environment)
Should the Local Plan require developers to install ‘hedgehog highways’ in new developments? If yes, should this apply to all types of development or should there be a minimum site size/housing unit number per development for when ‘hedgehog highways’ would be required?
What evidence exists to support such an approach?
Response: Yes, the Local Plan should require developers to install 'hedgehog highways' and this should apply to all developments. Up to 335,000 hedgehogs are estimated to die on British roads annually, and with hedgehog numbers in decline, we need to do everything we can to help them.
Research suggests that hedgehogs view large roads as barriers. (Roads as barriers to movement for hedgehogs).
Research by Hedgehog Street showed "a 39% increase in hedgehog sightings after people made highways to enable hedgehogs to get into their gardens."
Question 129 of the full consultation (on the online response form this comes under the section Main Document – Environment)
Are there any other species for which specific provision should be made? (Please provide as much detail and evidence as possible to explain your answer)
Response: yes, in addition to habitat bricks (including swift and sparrow bricks, other small nesting birds, bats, and invertebrates) and hedgehog highways, all new developments should be required to make accommodation for other species. This includes:
· features and corridors for reptiles and other mammals
· swallow and house martin purpose build nest cups and ledges
· for developments near rivers and/or lakes – consider provisions for kingfishers
· in rural and rural fringe areas (eg barn conversations) – barn owl boxes as either a requirement if barn owls are present or as an enhancement
· lighting designed to avoid disturbing wildlife
· native wildflower verges along roads and formal open spaces
· nature friendly trees, hedgerows and shrubs providing a variety of nectar and fruit
· water and other habitats integrated into development (ponds and scrapes offer a wide range of shelter and habitat)
· nature friendly plants used in landscaping
· wildlife permeable boundaries between gardens and open space
· street trees for wildlife, shade and improved air-quality
· consideration given to green and brown roofs
· inclusion of sustainable urban drainage solutions
(The Wildlife Trusts’ Swift and Wild – how to build houses and restore nature together booklet)