Memorandum by Natural England (CRED 19)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Natural England believes that it is important
to maintain high environmental standards for new housing during
the current economic downturn. In particular:
— Attention should be focussed on the
preparation and review of spatial plans and their associated development
briefs or masterplans to ensure that appropriate sites and high
quality schemes are in place when the housing market recovers.
— Recent advances in the environmental
quality and resource efficiency of new housing should be maintained
and standards should not be lowered for short term expediency.
— Multi-functional green infrastructure
should continue to be provided as an integral part of the creation
of sustainable communities.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Natural England is a statutory body
created in 2006 under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities
Act and charged with the responsibility to ensure that England's
unique natural environment, including its flora, fauna, land and
seascapes, geology and soils are protected and improved.
1.2 Natural England's purpose is to ensure
that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed
for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing
to sustainable development.
1.3 Natural England welcomes the opportunity
to submit evidence to this Inquiry.
1.4 Natural England engages in the spatial
planning system to protect and enhance the natural environment.
We are a statutory consultee on spatial plans (regional spatial
strategies and local development frameworks) and many development
proposals; and we are actively engaging in the Growth Areas, Growth
Points and proposed Eco-towns to ensure they deliver high quality,
environmentally sustainable development.
1.5 Natural England recognises the need
to put in place measures to address difficulties in the housing
market resulting from the current economic downturn. We note,
but have no comment to make on, the package of measures put in
place by the Government to assist the delivery of new housing.
Our evidence is focussed on the need to maintain high environmental
quality standards during the current economic climate and to focus
effort on strategic planning to ensure that sustainable communities
can be effectively delivered once the market recovers.
2. LONG TERM
STRATEGIC PLANNING
2.1 The current economic downturn provides
an opportunity for regional planning bodies and local planning
authorities to focus attention on plan-making and to put in place,
or review, regional spatial strategies and local development frameworks
to set the long term framework for development. With fewer planning
applications likely to be submitted, local authorities should
be able to switch resources away from development management to
plan-making. In this way, allocated housing sites can be effectively
and swiftly delivered when the housing market recovers.
2.2 Developers and other stakeholders should
also take the opportunity presented by the downturn to actively
engage with planning authorities and jointly progress Area Actions
Plans, masterplans or development briefs for identified housing
sites, in consultation with local communities. This will ensure
that all stakeholders are committed to the delivery of allocated
housing sites and should speed up the processing and implementation
of planning applications once the market recovers.
3. ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
3.1 The creation of high quality places
where people want to live is a fundamental component of the Government's
housing policy. The current economic circumstances should not
be used to reduce the costs of delivering new housing by lowering
environmental standards. New homes are likely to be in place for
at least 100 years. They should be built in the right place, avoiding
environmental assets such as protected sites, habitats and species.
In addition, they should be built to last and be able to adapt
both to the changing needs of families and the impacts of climate
change.
3.2 Natural England believes that the quality
of new housing needs to be substantially improved, both in terms
of design quality and resource efficiency. Government commitment
to achieving high quality sustainable housing (as set out in Planning
Policy Statement 3—Planning for Housing (2006) and Supplement
to Planning Policy Statement 1—Planning and Climate Change
(2007) has been substantially strengthened in recent years
and it is imperative that it is maintained during the economic
downturn. Natural England's views on housing are set out in our
attached policy: Housing Growth and Green Infrastructure (2008).
In addition, Natural England has, together with the other statutory
environmental agencies, set out its views on the environmental
quality of new housing in Environmental Quality in Spatial
Planning (2005).
3.3 Natural England supports recent initiatives
such as the Code for Sustainable Homes which aims to improve the
environmental performance of new housing. In times of rising fuel
costs, energy efficient measures are likely to become more important
to householders concerned about the running costs of their homes.
The Government should grasp this opportunity to encourage developers
to build homes to higher levels of the Code on new developments.
The Government should also ensure that the Code is swiftly incorporated
into Building Regulations so that developers operate on a level
playing field. Measures should also be taken to improve the energy
efficiency of existing housing stock.
4. GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
4.1 Natural England promotes the concept
of green infrastructure- networks of multi-functional green space
that provide a wide range of environmental and quality of life
benefits. Green infrastructure includes private gardens, parks
and other open spaces, allotments and woodlands. We believe that
the provision of green infrastructure is as important as the provision
of "grey infrastructure" such as roads and sewers and
should be an integral part of the creation of sustainable communities
throughout England. This view is endorsed in Planning Policy Statement
12 Local Spatial Planning (2008) which defines green infrastructure[11]
and states that it is the role of spatial planning to orchestrate
the necessary social, physical and green infrastructure to ensure
sustainable communities are delivered.
4.2 Green infrastructure networks should
be identified in regional and local plans and strategies and designed
into all major development and regeneration schemes from the outset.
Focussed green infrastructure strategies should set out the strategic
networks at regional or sub-regional scales with local development
frameworks setting out policies to ensure the delivery of green
infrastructure as an integral part of new development and local
networks designed into area action plans, masterplans and site
development briefs.
4.3 Planning obligations and the proposed
Community Infrastructure Levy are an important mechanism to fund
green infrastructure and local authorities must continue to negotiate
with developers to ensure that green infrastructure is provided
and funded alongside other types of infrastructure and community
facilities.
4.4 The Growth Areas are leading the way
in the development of green infrastructure, with Thames Gateway
already well advanced in the preparation of its green infrastructure
guidance. The River Nene Regional Park (within the Milton Keynes/South
Midlands Growth Area) has recently won a Royal Town Planning Institute
award for its approach to green infrastructure. Natural England
is working in Growth Areas, Growth Points and influencing the
proposed Eco-towns to ensure green infrastructure is delivered
as an integral part of new sustainable communities. We have also
provided advice to Eco-town promoters and planners on green infrastructure.[12]
Research for Natural Economy North-West (a joint programme by
the Regional Development Agency and Natural England) has demonstrated
the economic benefits of green infrastructure with the region's
environment generating an estimated £2.6 billion in Gross
Value Added and supporting 109,000 jobs.[13]
4.5 It is especially important during difficult
economic times that people have access to natural green space.
The importance of green space to health has been recognised in
a range of recent studies which have shown that contact with and
appreciation of nature can contribute to people's health and wellbeing
and reduce stress. Indeed, a Mori Poll in 2004 showed that 74%
of adults agreed that being able to use a local park or public
open space was important for their general health.[14]
Natural England promotes Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards
(ANGSt[15])
as part of its approach to green infrastructure and it is important
that these standards are incorporated into new development and
not weakened in an attempt to reduce costs. Other initiatives
such as the Green Gym run by the British Trust for Conservation
Volunteers, which has developed over 50 examples of such schemes,
also make a valuable contribution to improving health and wellbeing.
11 Green Infrastructure is defined as a "Network
of multi-functional green space, both new and existing, both rural
and urban, which supports the natural and ecological processes
and is integral to the health and quality of sustainable communities". Back
12
The Essential role of green infrastructure: eco-towns green
infrastructure worksheet. TCPA, Communities and Local Government,
Natural England, 2008. Back
13
ECOTEC (2008) The economic benefits of Green Infrastructure: the
public and business case for investing in Green Infrastructure
and a review of the underpinning evidence; and ECOTEC (2008) The
economic benefits of Green Infrastructure: Developing key tests
for evaluating the benefits of Green Infrastructure. Back
14
Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 2006. Back
15
No person should live more than 300 metres from their nearest
area of natural green space of at least 2ha in size. Back
| 
