Not too late to plan ahead

By Laura Brook
Conservation Officer

There are just seven days left to tell Lewes District Council what you think of their new Local Plan proposals. Their current 'Issues and Options' consultation provides an important opportunity to set the future direction of the District's development for the next 20 years. It's an early engagement stage, setting out broad ideas for a refreshed Lewes Local Plan, and your feedback can help shape it.

Read Lewes District Council's Issues and Options document

We know that Lewes District Council has big ambitions (set out in their Corporate Plan) to have the greenest Local Plan, and they have recently launched a Biodiversity Strategy outlining their priorities and commitments to nature. It's vital that the commitments made in these two documents are followed through in the new Lewes Local Plan to deliver real gains for wildlife. We've focussed our response to Lewes District Council on the importance of an up-to-date environmental evidence base (information on wildlife and habitats within the District) that is developed early, so that it can truly inform planning decisions. All too often we see environmental evidence coming too late in the process and being retrofitted into policy, leading to sub-standard outcomes for biodiversity.

The Issues and Options document doesn't give detail on housing allocations but does give information on broad options for growth. Whilst not all these options are likely to be taken forward, one thing remains the same: their impacts on nature must be considered first. Current government guidance requires local authorities to identify, map and safeguard local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological networks. By ensuring that local authorities are clear on this requirement, we’re keen to see that housing allocations are overlaid with this ecological information so that we can see where development could disrupt or sever networks for nature. With climate change making its presence ever more obvious, it is essential we ensure the landscape enables wildlife to move and adapt to the pressures we’re all facing.

There are also positives in this consultation - it's clear that the Council is looking ahead to the likely requirements of the new Environment Act  once it is given ascent (hopefully later this year). The Council is asking if they should seek a more ambitious 20% Biodiversity Net Gain for Major Development, when the Environment Act may only seek 10%. We are supportive of a more ambitious policy on this requirement and encourage the Council to pursue this. They are also keen to incorporate the emerging concept of Nature Recovery Networks within the local plan, and are seeking views on how to make this effective.

Read our full response to Lewes District Council here

There's still time for you to look at the consultation, which closes on 3 September 2021. Please do get involved and have your say via the Lewes District Council website.