Policy EN2 - Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Support

Representation ID: 4552

Received: 27/11/2023

Respondent: The Woodland Trust

The LP should give strong weight to LNRSes for development site allocation at a local level.
• This will be essential to embed avoidance of impacts to existing sensitive natural assets, by providing a ‘spatial’ element to site allocation decisions. It is vital that development is allocated in a way which protects important sites for nature, maintains ecological integrity and maximises potential enhancements from land in recovery.
• Once a site has been allocated in a local plan, it is more likely to receive planning permission, so it is essential to embed ecologically coherent criteria for spatial prioritisation at the framework level.
• LNRSes should also be used to inform priority locations for the provision of green infrastructure, and habitat creation and enhancement through BNG.

Support

Representation ID: 4563

Received: 01/12/2023

Respondent: Mr Kevin Corby

Agree 100%

Support

Representation ID: 4604

Received: 04/12/2023

Respondent: Mr Nigel Roberts

Totally support it.

Object

Representation ID: 4746

Received: 12/12/2023

Respondent: Miss Serena Solanki

Overall I support the need for a local nature recovery strategy but unsure how the council will achieve this.
The policy is wishy washy and doesn't have SMART targets or address the Biodiversity Net Gain amendments to Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Policy
How will the new legislation be enforced to ensure BNG is achieved? What expertise and experience does Rutland County Council have to measure and monitor nature recovery?
The local biodiversity survey and report hasn't been published and so a baseline hasn't been established to measure recovery or improvement.

Support

Representation ID: 4779

Received: 16/12/2023

Respondent: Mrs Julie Park

Only if Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust are involved in writing up this Policy as there is no such expertise within Rutland County Council

Support

Representation ID: 5108

Received: 03/01/2024

Respondent: Natural England

Natural England welcomes the inclusion of this policy and suggests further additional explanation should be included within the explanatory text of the policy.

Support

Representation ID: 5452

Received: 04/01/2024

Respondent: Mary Cade

Blue and Green Ecological Corridors and Stepping Stones need to be mentioned here, and the terms carefully explained in the Glossary. Cross border cooperation is essential when considering 'corridors' and 'stepping stones'. It is essential that Local Nature reserves, candidate wildlife areas etc are not included in Site Allocations, since an allocated site is more likely to gain Planning Permission.

Support

Representation ID: 5625

Received: 05/01/2024

Respondent: Mrs laura alcock

All areas of nature should be fully protected. Rutland lacks in protecting nature and biodiversity, focus should be to increase these areas.

Support

Representation ID: 5710

Received: 06/01/2024

Respondent: Braunston-in-Rutland Parish Council

Fine words!
If we didn’t destroy nature in the first place there would be no need to replace it!

Object

Representation ID: 5757

Received: 06/01/2024

Respondent: Ms Rachel Butler

LNRS inclusion is very welcomed, however this policy needs to ensure designations in the existing BAP are carried forward for example Quarry Farm, which is classed as a Candidate Local Wildlife Site in the BAP. RCC has rightly called an Ecological Emergency, the wording needs including & the policy needs strengthening as Rutland County Council has identified a lack of SSSIs for instance.

Support

Representation ID: 5855

Received: 06/01/2024

Respondent: RCC Expert Panel on Carbon Reduction

Add mention of ecological corridors and stepping stones in both policies EN2 and EN7. Add “...through habitat creation, protection, enhancement, restoration, management, ecological corridors and stepping stones.”

In the Glossary these two terms need to be simply explained:
• Ecological corridors - areas of semi-natural habitat to be protected and enhanced to allow movement of species. Extend and connect these corridors where appropriate with new native plantings.
• Stepping stones - unconnected areas of semi-natural habitat close to corridors, allowing more mobile species to move through the landscape.
Ref - https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/f43a9840-db4d-4ca4-9236-8b1dda3e32ef/ecological-corridors-and-stepping-stones

Support

Representation ID: 5876

Received: 07/01/2024

Respondent: NGO East Mercia Rivers Trust

LNRS is critical to address RCC's declared Climate & Ecological Emergencies. RCC recognises it has a lack of SSSI's within the county & no sites which are designated priority habitats should be developed.

Support

Representation ID: 5920

Received: 07/01/2024

Respondent: Mr Rob Cooke

This is important, and should join up with LNRs from neighbouring authorities

Support

Representation ID: 6436

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: Mrs Hilary Smith

I support this policy

Support

Representation ID: 6859

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust

The Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) welcomes the inclusion of this policy, however is disappointed to see the lack of
information provided to explain why this policy is needed beyond the listed legislative requirements alone.
Given that the authority has declared an Ecological Emergency, further information should be provided to outline the intrinsic and economic need for spatial strategies for nature’s recovery.
A Local Plan should provide a positive vision for the future of the county whilst addressing serious environmental priorities, therefore great weight should be given to LNRS’s – both for appropriate development site allocation and biodiversity offsetting/enhancement purposes.

Object

Representation ID: 7323

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: Manor Oak Homes

Agent: Mr Andy Moffat

The supporting text refers to developments that are not subject to mandatory BNG but the Policy that states that (all) “Development proposals will be expected to demonstrate that a 10 positive contribution will be made to regional Nature Recovery Networks and the Local Nature Recovery Strategy and for maintaining or creating local ecological networks through habitat creation, protection, enhancement, restoration and/or management”.

Support

Representation ID: 7371

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: The Society of Merchant Venturers

Agent: Savills

This approach is broadly in line with the requirements of Paragraph 185 of the NPPF

Indeed, ‘Land at Uppingham Road’ and ‘Land south of Stamford Road’ (ref. H1.3) have potential to accommodate high quality development and supporting uses, including green infrastructure such as nature recovery (including biodiversity net gain and habitat creation), in line with the aims of Policy EN2.

Object

Representation ID: 7458

Received: 07/01/2024

Respondent: Cottesmore Parish Council

This policy relates to strategies that haven’t be prepared as yet – so assuming RCC has to produce its own Local Nature Recovery Strategy – when will this happen and how will it relate to the Local Plan?

Object - policy needs further clarification

Object

Representation ID: 7565

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: House Builders Federation

HBF suggest the environment section of the Plan and the policies within it are not as clear and logical as they could be. Would would suggest for example that the ordering of the issues/policies of the Plan could usefully be changed so that BNG is dealt with before LNRS.

HBF suggest that the BNG policy (and the Environment Chapter in general) needs to more clearly set out how the Plan will adopt recommendations and guidance from the
Local Nature Recovery Strategies (once these have been prepared) and set out the specific BNG solutions that the Council would like to be prioritised when off-site
credits are needed to achieve BNG policy compliance.

The Plan needs to set out receptor sites and appropriate area(s) for BNG off-site unit delivery so that an
ecologist can run the BNG statutory metric correctly, because the local significance of BNG is one of the inputs into the Metric.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are new initiative, and one has yet to be prepared that covers Rutland. As the LNRS emerges it will be important for this Local Plan to
be kept under review and further public consultation on the interaction between the two documents and/or changes to Local Plan policy to reflect the LNRS may be
needed.

Support

Representation ID: 7748

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: Anglian Water

Anglian Water welcomes Policy EN2 on Local Nature Recovery Strategies and is supporting our responsible bodies across the region to produce baseline mapping, identify priorities and so deliver landscape scale connectivity along linear features such as river catchments as well projects like natural flood management which can deliver multiple benefits for nature and nearby communities

Object

Representation ID: 7890

Received: 07/01/2024

Respondent: CPRE Rutland

Unclear, When will RCC’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy be published for consultation?

Support

Representation ID: 7942

Received: 08/01/2024

Respondent: Ryhall Parish Council

EN2 Local Nature Recovery Strategy - Support
Ref Quarry Farm