Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community Development Plan Document (DPD)

Chapter 4: Nature

The outdoor natural environment of the garden community will be its biggest asset. It will comprise green infrastructure where neighbours will spend time, play, interact and grow. It will provide a natural support system for both people and wildlife.

This chapter sets out the policy expectations in relation to nature and green- blue infrastructure. The natural environment of the Garden Community will be its greatest asset. Nature will be placed at the heart of the development to contribute towards nature's recovery, to realise the wellbeing and economic benefits to individuals, and to deliver nature-based solutions. A well-connected, multifunctional green-blue infrastructure network will help to create a community where neighbours can interact, live active lifestyles and where nature can thrive.

Section 1 Local Plan

Under the theme of Nature, the main requirements covered in this Plan, as set out in the policies of the adopted Section 1 Local Plan, include:

• Create distinctive environments which are based on comprehensive assessments of the surrounding environment and that celebrate natural and historic environments and systems, utilise a multi-functional green-grid to create significant networks of new green infrastructure including a new country park at the garden community, provide a high degree of connectivity to existing corridors and networks, and enhance biodiversity.
• Natural measures to avoid, protect and/or enhance wildlife areas within and surrounding the site such as Bullock Wood Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Ardleigh Gravel Pits SSSI, Wivenhoe Pits SSSI, Upper Colne Marshes SSSI and habitats sites of international importance.
• Measures to incorporate biodiversity creation and enhancement measures.
• A network of multi-functional green (and blue) infrastructure incorporating key elements of the existing green assets within the site and also including new community parks, allotments, a new country park and the provision of sports areas and play areas with associated facilities.
• Provision of water and wastewater mitigation measures including the use of open space to provide flora and fauna rich sustainable drainage solutions.

Principles

A PLACE SHAPED BY NATURE AND LANDSCAPE

The Garden Community will incorporate important existing landscape features and provide a high degree of connectivity to existing green corridors and networks. Alongside a new Country Park provided along the Salary Brook Corridor it will also deliver a variety of new spaces - parks, fields, wild spaces, communal spaces, private places, secret spaces.

A PLACE WITH THRIVING ECOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY

Net Gains in biodiversity and a thriving ecological network will shape the Garden Community ensuring native species thrive. Key assets within the Garden Community site including Salary Brook Local Nature Reserve, Welsh Wood Local Nature Reserve, ancient woodland, species rich hedgerows, areas of species rich grassland and valuable wetlands will be protected and/or enhanced and linked into the wider natural ecosystem network through habitat creation and management.

A PLACE WITH A PRODUCTIVE AND CLIMATE RESILIENT NATURAL LANDSCAPE

The landscape of the Garden Community will be informed by inclusive community design and provide a range of productive uses such as orchards, allotments, and growing fields. Natural flood risk management and carbon capture will be seamlessly incorporated in the ecological network, making the natural landscape "work hard" and deliver multiple benefits simultaneously.

NATURE ILLUSTRATIVE FRAMEWORK PLAN

*The location of specific land uses, facilities and activities are illustrative and subject to further masterplanning.

Justification

The Vision for the Garden Community is that the natural environment will be its biggest asset. Green-blue infrastructure will allow residents to spend time, play, interact and grow and will provide a natural support system for people and wildlife and help to integrate built elements into the existing landscape. Open spaces will be created that contribute to a safe and secure environment by means of natural surveillance, physical security, cohesion, and a sense of community ownership help to create socially inclusive, active communities and seek to build in opportunities for residents to be active through their everyday lives. This reflects the Section 1 Local Plan requirement of the creation of distinctive environments, which utilise a multifunctional green-grid to create significant networks of new green- blue infrastructure. It is important that the landscape architect and lighting designers coordinate their plans to avoid conflict between lighting, planting strategies and conservation. Safe public spaces should be created that have incorporated good, consistent, and well-designed lighting throughout the development whilst maximising natural surveillance opportunities. The detailed lighting design should evidence current relevant standards and or relevant industry standards.

An appropriate amount of Suitable Accessible Natural Greenspace (SANG) provision, in accordance with Natural England (NE) guidance will be required. This must follow Natural England's latest SANG Guidelines (and successor documents), which are currently set out in the document 'Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANGs) for the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area' (August 2021). Appendix 1 of the SANGs guidance provides a useful list of design features to be incorporated into publicly accessible green infrastructure and so provides a useful (but not exhaustive) checklist of design criteria to inform the detailed design of the landscape at later stages in the design process. The Councils encourage the incorporation of as many of these design features as possible. The developer should discuss the provision of SANG with Natural England.

Measures to integrate green and blue spaces into the built form will form part of the green-blue infrastructure network. This policy identifies examples of what sort of measures will be sought to maximise climate change mitigation and biodiversity extinction mitigation throughout the development. Appropriate ecological surveys and biodiversity net gain calculations will be required in support of planning applications and the mitigation hierarchy must be followed alongside good natural design principles. As required in the Section 1 Local Plan, avoidance, protection and/or enhancement of biodiversity assets within and surrounding the site; including Bullock Wood SSSI, Ardleigh Gravel Pits SSSI, Wivenhoe Pits SSSI and Upper Colne Marshes SSSI and relevant European protected sites.

Contributions will be secured towards mitigation measures in accordance with the Essex Coast Recreational disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (RAMS). Wintering bird surveys were undertaken as part of plan preparation and further wintering bird surveys as part of proposals at application stage for each phase of the Garden Community are required. Where the surveys show that mitigation is required, development must be phased to deliver habitat creation and management either on- or off-site to mitigate any significant impacts. Any such habitat must be provided and fully functional before any development takes place which would affect significant numbers of SPA birds.

There is a requirement for sensitive habitats to be buffered, with additional planting or other agreed appropriate means to discourage access, and for substantial buffers against road corridors to be provided. Biodiversity net gain and a thriving ecological network is a strategic principle of the Garden Community. Where new areas of habitat are created, this should be targeted adjacent to or between retained existing areas of habitat in order to expand and link them, thus making them more resilient. Habitat creation and management should retain and enhance habitat links to the wider landscape, for example to the Colne Valley.

Biodiversity net gain calculations should be iterative The Councils consultants have undertaken biodiversity net gain calculations of the Councils Strategic Masterplan, which indicates that 12.5% biodiversity net gain can be achieved. Biodiversity net gain calculations will be updated by the developer for each proposal. The Councils will work with developers and provide coordination to maintain iterative biodiversity net gain accounting for the entire Garden Community. As a general principle, there are likely to be various development parcels/ proposals where the biodiversity net gain target cannot be met within the respective boundary. In these cases, the Councils will co-ordinate the 'banking' of gains achieved in the communal or green-blue infrastructure parcels, which can then be notionally apportioned off (or sold) to the developed parcels where net gain is not feasible to achieve. Biodiversity enhancements delivered in the link road and advance habitat creation in other areas of the site in the next few years could be 'banked' so that the wider Garden Community opportunity would have ready-made biodiversity units available. However, in line with the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, mitigate, compensate), the individual development parcels would have to demonstrate that all opportunities for biodiversity net gain within their parcels had been achieved first before relying on the banked biodiversity net gain value in communal green-blue infrastructure areas.

Applications for outline planning permission and phased development will require the submission of biodiversity gain information. Proposals for outline and phased permissions will require the applicant to outline strategies that will achieve the biodiversity gain objective across the whole site, and to demonstrate how this could be delivered on a phase-by-phase basis. This would include:

• the key principles that will be followed to ensure biodiversity gain commitments are achieved through subsequent detailed design
• how biodiversity net gain delivery will be tracked on a phase-to-phase basis, including the target percentage gains to be delivered at each stage. For most phased developments, the preference is for biodiversity gains to be 'frontloaded' into earlier stages. This will help to avoid the risk of net losses being caused by later stages being delayed or cancelled
• the approach to be taken in the event that subsequent phases do not proceed or fail to achieve their biodiversity net gain targets
• the pre-development biodiversity value for the whole site should be agreed as part of the site wide masterplan and used as the basis for agreeing detailed proposals through subsequent applications pursuant to the approved development
• a mechanism to link biodiversity net gain strategies to subsequent applications pursuant to the approved development

Properly managed trees and woodlands in urban and semi urban areas make a significant contribution to planning, design, and management of sustainable, resilient landscapes. Trees are important for health and wellbeing, wildlife and improving our environment. Increasing tree cover is one of the quickest and cheapest ways of mitigating climate change. The eastern half of the Garden Community offers the most opportunity for increasing tree canopy cover. Whilst tree planting and increasing tree canopy cover is encouraged, planting should only be undertaken in suitable locations and natural regeneration should be encouraged wherever possible. There is an opportunity to connect patches of existing woodland and ancient woodland within the Garden Community with the country park through new tree belt planting. Increasing tree cover in greenspaces – parks, playgrounds and around sports facilities, cemeteries/crematoria, verges, and other publicly open areas is the easiest and cheapest way of maximizing tree coverage. Tree creation in orchards, woodland, and arboretum should also be incorporated.

Allotments and productive landscapes help to promote healthy lifestyles by promoting healthy eating and community integration. There are excellent examples of community gardens being beneficial for children and adults with disabilities (e.g. learning and sensory). The strategic principles for the Garden Community include the provision of space for a range of productive uses such as orchards, edible walkways and allotments. Their importance should not be underestimated, and opportunities for their creation should be provided throughout the Garden Community.

The strategic principles for the Garden Community recognise that natural flood risk management and carbon capture will be seamlessly incorporated in the ecological network, making the natural landscape "work hard" and deliver multiple benefits simultaneously.

The NPPF and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) set out the requirements for the use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to minimise the risk of flooding from new development. The use of SuDS to manage water run- off is an important tool in minimising flooding by increasing the provision of permeable surfaces in an area that allows water to seep gradually into the ground, rather than running directly into a drainage network, thereby reducing the risk of overloading the system. SuDS can also reduce the impact of diffuse pollution from run-off and flooding. The effective use of permeable surfaces, soakaways and water storage areas should be incorporated. Early consideration should be given to the potential to use SuDS to identify when and where the use of such technologies is feasible and to also identify which type of SuDS is most appropriate to site conditions. Only where there is a significant risk of pollution to the water environment, inappropriate soil conditions and/or engineering difficulties, should alternative methods of drainage discharge of water from a site be considered.

A drainage plan and SuDS management and maintenance plan will need to be prepared to ensure that the need for SuDS has been properly considered as part of the planning application process. Developers will need to enter into early discussions with the Councils and the Lead Local Flood Authority and as part of discussions, maintenance and long term adoption responsibilities should be explored and agreed, as part of the SuDS approval process, prior to the start of development.

This policy should be read closely with GC Policy 9: Sustainable Infrastructure. GC Policy 9 also includes reference to green infrastructure and includes requirements for water supply and wastewater to ensure new development does not have an adverse effect on any habitats site or nationally protected sites and complies with environmental legislation.