Response from Mr Christopher Patching (Individual)
1. Mr Christopher Patching (Individual) : 16 Apr 2012 10:58:00
Before completing this online representation please tick the box to show you have read the 'Guidance Notes for Making a Representation'
I have read the guidance notes
Policy/Site No.
LA1.10 Existing Green Infrastructure - Site Omission
If you have selected a ‘Site omission’ please enter the site reference or location and relevant policy below
HEVERSHAM AND LEASGILL SITE R75
1.1 Do you consider that the South Lakeland District Council Land Allocations DPD is legally compliant?
No
1.2 If NO please identify which test of legal compliance your representation relates to by selecting the relevant option(s) below and completing section 1.3.
The processes of community involvement in developing the DPD are not in general accordance of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI)
1.3 Please give details of the change(s) you consider necessary to make the South Lakeland District Council Land Allocations DPD legally compliant, having regard to the test you have identified at question 1.2 above.
It would be helpful if you could state your proposed change to the DPD and the reasons why you think it is necessary.
People have not been made fully aware of the need to put forward areas of "local green space" that they feel are important to their community, as part of the allocations of land document.
2.1 Do you consider that the South Lakeland District Council Land Allocations DPD is sound?
No
2.2 If NO please identify which test of soundness your representation relates to by selecting the relevant option(s) below and completing section 2.3.
The DPD is not consistent with national policy.
2.3 Please give details of the change(s) you consider necessary to make the South Lakeland District Council Land Allocations DPD sound, having regard to the test you have identified at question 2.2 above.
It would be helpful if you could state your proposed change to the DPD and the reasons why you think it is necessary.
The government is putting greater emphasis on areas of local green space through the NPPF whereby local communities, through local and neighbourhood plans, should be able to identify, for special protection, green areas of particular importance to them. The criteria for land which could be included under these local designations would be flexible to suit local need (Refer to Impact assessment NPPF). It indicates that this work can only be undertaken when plans are prepared or reviewed. We should be careful to consider the best use for Greenfield land and not automatically assume it will be for housing and feel it is vitally important to map the revised areas of local green space before development begins. In this respect we feel a full review of local green space and the criteria by which it is determined is now required as part of the allocations of land document
Local green spaces can perform many functions, not just areas for recreation and are made up of many physical components which can include woodlands, agricultural land, fields, village greens, open spaces, churchyards, allotments, hedges, trees, ponds etc. It can add to the areas network of green infrastructure by the creation of areas for wildlife and providing environmental connectivity (wildlife corridors or stepping stones), protection of areas for their visual amenity, conserving views from and into green landscapes, their historic importance, conserving historic landscapes, woodlands etc. If planned carefully it could also allow us to adapt to the effects of climate change (i.e. surface water drainage/storage), use of areas for food production, preserve green space for the use of future generations, support biodiversity and help conserve and enhance the natural, local and historic environment which surrounds us, maintaining our connection with it and so promoting a "sense of place”.
The importance of green infrastructure is now being recognized as a life support system, as part of a multi-functional network of natural components of green and blue spaces lying within and between cities, towns and villages that provides multiple social, economic and environmental benefits (which is necessary to deliver sustainable development).
The CLERE Model for multifunctional green space identifies 5 broad types of green space: community, landscape, ecosystem, recreation and economy.
(Refer to North West Green Infrastructure Guide).
We live in the area of Heversham and Leasgill. The Cumbria landscape character assessment shows the villages as lying in an area characterized as Broad Valleys (8b):
Characterized by wide and deep valleys with open floodplains, rural farmland, pockets of scrub, woodland and coniferous plantations, hedges and stone walls, road and railway lines often follow the linear valley contours.
• Traditional villages and their siting that follows the grain of the valleys are sensitive to unsympathetic expansion. Tradition stone bridges and roads could be sensitive to flooding events and highway improvements.
• Development for infrastructure and housing should be carefully sited, avoiding open valley floors, obstruction of corridor views and set high standards of landscape treatment. It should minimize impact on local character through ensuring design and scale respects the local vernacular and character. Fringe development should be discouraged in non-traditional materials that will affect the setting of the village.
The villages lie on the lower Eastern slope of the open floodplain (valley) which is the upper tidal estuary of Morecambe Bay and the river Kent.
It is an area of recognized international and national importance for wildlife and forms part of the Morecambe Bay Wetlands project for the reintroduction of wetlands to this area and encompasses the wetlands of Foulshaw moss SSSI, Morecambe Bay SSSI/Ramsar site and is a BAP Priority Habitat area.
We think that site R75 should be considered as local green space for Heversham and Leasgill. It highlights areas where the current designations for local green spaces are lacking when compared to the NPPF vision for local green spaces and their function within a wider network of green infrastructure, for example:
The problems with flooding, due to surface water drainage, on the A6 have been identified and this site is used to mitigate these problems by storing the flood water.
This site is also immediately adjacent to the flood plain and wetland areas of the Kent Estuary and the BAP Priority Habitat Area (refer to maps).
This site also has the only open, far reaching views, over the valley as you travel along the road through the village so would maintain the communities only connection with this wider valued landscape.
It would also have a significant visual impact, as you travel around the coast (the Cumbrian Coastal Way emerges onto the A6 at this point) as it is a steep sloping site and therefore any development would be very prominent.
It would also allow wildlife habitats room to migrate inland, with the effects of climate change, providing a continuation of the wildlife corridor along the Coastal Way and act as a stepping stone to the higher ground, namely Heversham Head Plantation, which is also an area of local/national importance.
It also has local importance as the historic boundary between Heversham and Levens which ran through the middle of this site.
It would also relate to the Core Strategies vision for the future …”although settlements have grown, there is a network of green spaces maintained within them providing a link with the wider countryside”.
For these reasons we think it should now be designated as a local green space.
3.1 If your representation is seeking a change, do you consider it necessary to participate in the oral part of the examination?
NO, I do not wish to participate at the oral examination
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