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How to make space for nature and people in the Sid Valley?

  • by JW

“We do, though, have the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan which does try to balance nature and people – and provides a good solid framework for development in the Sid Valley – if it isn’t ignored…”

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Natural England  is the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England – and actually has a responsibility to protect it. And as a quango it is both close to central government, but independent of it – which can be quite a balancing act.

Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England, has just written a piece for the Green Alliance blog, where he is trying to strike a balance between making space for nature and people – and where specific policy ideas are highlighted: 

The status quo is both choking development and the revival of our natural world…

The restoration of our natural world is best achieved at scale, rather than in small increments. With land in high demand and short supply this means we must integrate nature’s recovery with other land uses at the outset, so that we can exploit the opportunities for housing, infrastructure, food production, recreation and nature across landscapes, all at once. A land use framework, expected this year, will be one vital step toward taking this more joined-up approach, leading to the more efficient use of our islands’ limited space.

The amount of building envisaged to address the housing crisis is significant but, with the government linking new development to environmental improvements through the Nature Restoration Fund, so too are the potential benefits for the natural world. Natural England’s science and advice is supporting the government’s new approach and, if we can make this work, we could be at the threshold of a golden era of sustainable development…

According to Natural England’s Green Infrastructure research, more than one in three people (38 per cent) do not live within a 15 minutes’ walk of a green space, and they tend to be from more deprived communities. Putting nature at the heart of future plans will transform the quality of the places where people live, in turn attracting increased economic investment.

Several other bodies have been pushing for a Multifunctional Land Use Framework: the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission feels it would mean that “better decisions are made about how land is used – ensuring that new housing is close to public transport”, for example; but back in March, parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee was asking where the Land Use Framework is, as it considered the impact of climate change on food security.

Further promises have been made  by government, including last December’s planning proposals to get Britain building and turn the tide on nature’s decline – which largely prompted the article from Tony Juniper – but it’s all still very much in the realm of possibility, in that “a new Nature Restoration Fund would enable developers to meet their environmental obligations more quickly and with greater impact – accelerating the building of homes and improving the environment”.

And finally, it was back in January 2023 that Natural England launched its Green Infrastructure (GI) Framework “to support the creation of good quality Green Infrastructure which maximises benefits for people and nature” – and indeed, Green Infrastructure could deliver quality of life and environmental benefits for communities, but it isn’t happening – and isn’t scheduled to happen any time soon.

This blog has looked at how we make use of our land and indeed how we should be using our land. It has considered examples of nature restoration – of wetlands in the Sid Valley. And it has delved quite deep into what we mean by green infrastructure, only recently questioning the lack infrastructure re Sidmouth’s proposed housing allocations.

So, we have a few un-joined-up local initiatives and a lot of non-delivery of national policies when it comes to “making space for nature and people”. And without any such clear frameworks, there is very likely to be a lot of frustration over the future development of the Sid Valley.

We do, though, have the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan which does try to balance nature and people – and provides a good solid framework for development in the Sid Valley – if it isn’t ignored…