Biodiversity Archives - Planning Design Ltd

Artificial lawns

19th April 2023 by Gary Stringer

With the rise of artificial lawns on residential developments, our Architectural Technologist Joseph Cattmull looks at the debate between their perceived benefits versus environmental concerns.

Artificial lawns are becoming an increasingly popular option for new residential developments in the UK, but the debate surrounding their use is still ongoing. While there are some undeniable benefits to using synthetic turf, such as low maintenance requirements, uniform appearance, and durability, there are also plenty of concerns over their environmental impact and sustainability.

One of the main advantages of artificial lawns is of course their low maintenance requirements, which to some homeowners will make them appeal over a lawned garden. They are also highly durable and can withstand heavy foot traffic and harsh weather conditions, whilst being relatively quick and easy to lay.

However, the use of artificial lawns in new residential developments has raised concerns about their environmental impact. Synthetic turf is made from non-biodegradable materials, which can take hundreds of years to decompose. Further to this, they do not provide the environmental benefits of natural grass, such as air purification and soil stabilization. Artificial lawns also absorb and retain more heat than natural grass, contributing to the urban heat island effect. The urban heat island effect is where urban areas experience higher temperatures compared to their surrounding rural areas due to the absorption and retention of heat by buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. This additional retained heat is then re-radiated on top of the heat generated by human activities causing a localized increase in temperature.

In my opinion the use of artificial lawns further lowers the standard of residential development within the UK, where the standard of construction and design has decreased it would only be natural that this has begun to filter down to the gardens and landscaping designs. Aesthetic reasons alone should be enough to not use artificial lawns however the environmental impacts show that in using them we are completely contradicting the government and construction industry push for more sustainable development

The Moneyfields Mew in Portsmouth is a large-scale residential development that incorporates artificial lawns in its design. The synthetic turfs were chosen for their low maintenance requirements and uniform appearance, but their use has raised concerns among some residents about the environmental impact of the lawns and the lack of natural green spaces in the development. The lack of natural greenery in the development has also raised concerns about its impact on biodiversity and wildlife.

In conclusion, while artificial lawns may have some minor benefits, such as low maintenance requirements, their negative impact on the environment cannot be ignored and as an industry we have to strive for better.

Joseph Cattmull, Architectural Technologist, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Planning Success: Biodiversity gains in rural Derbyshire

28th November 202225th May 2022 by Gary Stringer

Planning & Design Practice is pleased to announce that retrospective planning permission has recently been secured for the retention of two wildlife ponds at Woodhay Farm, Marston Montgomery, Derbyshire, creating biodiversity gains.

Woodhay Farm is in the process of diversification and this latest approval relates to two wildlife ponds reconfigured following the change of use and conversion of a modern steel portal framed building under Class Q that we had obtained prior approval for.

The development provided an opportunity to maximise landscape, wildlife and biodiversity benefits through the reconfiguration of the ponds, creating an attractive landscape feature with excellent wildlife and biodiversity advantages.

A previous land owner diverted effluent from the farmstead into the pond for several decades which resulted in an extremely smelly and unattractive blot on the landscape.

The creation of the two wildlife ponds have significantly improved the character and appearance of the immediate and wider landscape through appropriate management. The ponds were designed to encourage wildlife to thrive on site and the surrounding land providing a great habitat for invertebrates, newts and frogs alongside attracting other wildlife such as snails, insects and birds.

When having regard to the condition of the pre-existing ponds the development has significantly increased the ecological value of the area and will benefit many different habitats within and immediately surrounding the site.

The assessment of Biodiversity Net Gain has become an increasingly important consideration for landowners, developers and Council’s following the publishing of the Environment Act (2021) which came into law in November 2021. An article on the importance and benefits of the Environment Act can be found here.

We have vast experience of working on rural projects for homeowners, landowners and farmers in rural areas. We can provide you with expert advice on issues to be taken into account prior to submission of your application through to receiving the decision. For a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 01332 347371.

Andrew Stock, Principal Planner, Planning & Design Practice Ltd.

Urban Design – A tool for change?

28th November 202224th May 2022 by Gary Stringer

As a society we need to take the power to create change. Jonathan Jenkin, Consultant at Planning & Design Practice sets out how Urban Design can be a tool to facilitate this ambition.

What is urban design? This is the description on Wikipedia:

‘many assume urban design is about the process of designing and shaping the physical features of cities, and regional spaces, it is also about social design and other larger scale issues. Linking the fields of architecture as well as planning to better organize physical space and community environments.’

In its true sense urban design is about designing and shaping the physical features of our towns, villages, and cities to allow us to meet our social and environmental goals.

In its very essence it is a socialist idea where the people come together to design and build their own environment that better meets their own needs and those of future generations. In the face of the climate crisis, environmental degradation including poor water and air quality, increases in poverty, a health crisis caused by obesity, international conflict, and reductions in our commitment to community and society the challenge, for us as a society is greater than it has ever been, and urban design should be seen as a tool for real change.

We say we want to create beautiful places, which promotes social development, provide us as citizens with places to live, work, learn and be taken care of, which is integrated into the natural environment and promotes biodiversity.

But we do not give ourselves the tools to do this. We are dictated to by the needs of those who control the market in goods and services and the commoditisation of basic needs such as housing. In the last 40 years privatisations and the mantra of allowing the market to decide has emasculated the idea of community action in the pursuit of social and environmental goals. Capitalism should serve society and the environment unfortunately society has become the servant of those who control capital, and the environment is used by capital with little or no account given to its value. We need to regain control over many aspects of our lives. For a truly sustainable future we need to build social and environmental capital so that it can lead and direct capital to where it best serves our society and environment.

We need to make this change and to do so now, or the outlook for our children and grandchildren is truly bleak. We have to learn to live well within tight environmental limits while being able to meet our own goals and aspirations within a wider society.

To live well our basic needs must be met. We need good healthy food, we need good housing, a high-quality education system, a vibrant cultural life, an effective health system and rewarding jobs. All this within a clean and biodiverse environment where environmental capital is built and developed, paving the way for an even better world.

To start we need to plan for the long term. A national plan that sets out the baseline conditions and what we need to change for a sustainable society and community. This national plan should be a key battle ground where we as a nation agree the steps that have to be made and the time frame in which the necessary changes are brought about. Our aims for a better society and a better world for our children should be followed through at the regional and local level through elected representatives and our own involvement. We can as a society set our own standards, that private companies have to meet if they want to compete in our social market.

We can use urban design to create the physical framework of our better world. This starts of by looking at the baseline conditions of our own settlements and towns. Identifying what we have and what we need to change and accommodate. A thirty-year plan with clear goals, open to change, but with a set of basic conditions that have to be met. These basic conditions could include standards for housing for all, access to education, access to health services, the supply of good food, emission standards, air and water quality standards and the development of environmental resilience.

We should have the freedom to design and build places where they are needed not just on land that owners want to see developed. We need the power to develop and to protect. We need to protect the past but also, we need to create new stories and new histories. We need to build environmental capital, so that we can live in balance with the carrying capacity of our world and this requires radical change.

A multi-faceted approach to urban design, developed within with a clear set of social an environmental objective will help us to create a new more sustainable physical world where we have different but better, more fulfilled, and healthier lives. Using urban design powerfully is a tool for radical change.

As a society we need to take the power to create change. By doing this we take back control allowing us to make a real difference to our own and others’ lives.

Jonathan Jenkin, Consultant, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Main Image: Damstead Park – Alfreton

PDP secured outline planning consent for up to 149 dwellings, public open space and wildlife areas at land off Each Well Lane, Alfreton, Derbyshire.

Could Agricultural Transition and Biodiversity Net Gain be unlikely bedfellows?

28th November 202217th February 2022 by Gary Stringer

Our Director and Chartered Town Planner, Richard Pigott reflects on Agricultural Transition and the links with biodiversity net gain targets incorporated in the Environment Act 2021.

I attended an event this week on Agricultural Transition which is being described as the most significant change in agricultural policy for over 50 years. As a consequence of Brexit the UK has the opportunity to devise its own system of rural grants and payments that provide help to the farming industry. This was of particular interest for two reasons. Firstly, because many of our clients are farmers or own rural properties and it is important to have some understanding of the pressures they are facing in this period of transition so that we can advise them on potential farm diversification projects. Secondly, there are a multiplicity of new environmental schemes which have implications for the whole development industry in light of the legal requirement (by virtue of the Environment Act 2021) that all development must achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity by late 2023 . Biodiversity net gain can be achieved on-site, off-site or through a combination of on-site and off-site measures. To achieve biodiversity net gain, proposals must follow the ‘mitigation hierarchy’ which compels planning applicants to avoid harm in the first instance, then mitigate or finally compensate for losses on-site, off-site or through a combination of the two solutions. These measures will be required in planning conditions and legal agreements.

In some cases, applicants/developers will own land nearby that can help them to achieve the 10% figure but in more cases it will be necessary to identify land in 3rd party ownership that can be ‘improved’ and managed in an ecologically friendly way for at least 30 years in order to obtain planning consent. This could either be done by approaching landowners directly or by approaching a 3rd party organisation who effectively act as an agent, bringing together landowners and developers – as one such company puts it, “Through a network of habitat banks, we’ve launched Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Credits – a groundbreaking new product that gives developers a simple, risk-free way to implement BNG and at the same time provides the opportunity for landowners to diversify their business. It has the power to unlock sustainable development and restore nature.

Whether this approach will be quite so simple in practice remains to be seen. Will the costs of BNG credits be prohibitive, making some development unviable? Will there be enough BNG credits to go round once the legal requirement takes effect in around 18 months time? Is there the resource to enforce such management agreements in the long term?

These are interesting times for the agricultural industry and it could well be that Biodiversity Net Gain is coming along at the right time for farmers and landowners.

Richard Pigott, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

2020 Vision – Designing the decade ahead

18th December 2019 by Gary Stringer

Here at Planning and Design Practice 2019 has been a good year for our business. We have completed more work and had more success than in any previous year. Our successes have been highlighted in our regular newsletters, on our web-site and on social media. We expect growth to continue and I would like to thank all our clients and our staff for their support and hard work this year.

The election result was decisive. We have an elected government with a large majority which includes a broader based constituency. We will be leaving the European Union at the end of January 2020 but with an agreement in place.

The current government policies towards planning and architecture, the National Planning Policy Framework and the National Design Guide are likely to remain in force. The protection of Green Belts will continue as will the emphasis of developing brownfield land.

The government has trailed a white paper on accelerating and simplifying the planning process while continuing with its ‘beauty’ agenda, which seeks to protect the appearance and character of both town and countryside; this creates tension between the two aims which will play out in decisions where NIMBY and Neighbourhood Plans are a factor. Good architecture will continue to be important and the Paragraph 79 option will remain in force.

For the development industry, for both planning and architecture there is more certainty. The Conservative Party has promised to achieve the construction of 300,000 new homes a year by 2024 with a continued emphasis of home ownership. However the government has been running a multi-tenure approach and it is expected that this will continue. The gains by the Conservatives in the North of England might help to support council house building and building by Housing Associations and by Community Land Trusts. Homes England has been playing a more active role.

Climate Change is likely to drive policy in 2020 which will combine with Brexit to put into place new policies to reduce carbon emissions and to improve biodiversity. The Environment Bill consultation period has ended and it is likely that all new developments will have to provide a 10% net biodiversity gain. The implications of this are that for most planning applications, an initial baseline ecological report will be required.

In architecture, low carbon building and use will become key requirements. Part of this will be because Parliament and local Councils have declared a Climate Emergency and now need to act. Architecture and the built environment is one area where change can be effected quickly, added to this, the UK is to host the 2020 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, when the government will need to outline its measures to the rest of the world as to how it intends to combat climate change. The Climate Change conference is also an opportunity to promote trade and business and to sell UK ideas and systems to help solve the international crisis.

Architecture will be asked to meet new standards, through changes in building regulations and through Supplementary Planning Guidance and Local Plan Policies which are likely to require zero/near zero carbon homes and business premises and in addition buildings, structures and use of land which will allow biodiversity to thrive, where space is shared between people and the natural world. This will be a challenge for all participants and for the architectural profession.

We look forward to 2020 and the next decade, a time that will be marked by big policy shifts. It is also the start of a 5 year parliament when the government will want to be seen as ambitious. The government will also want to mitigate the impact of Brexit and development and construction is a means by which the economy can continue to grow when cross border checks could adversely impact on other sectors of the economy.

The tension between developments, the economy, meeting our social needs while also protecting our environment will intensify and we now need to enhance the natural world to help us move toward balance and away from the continued destruction of the natural world. It will be a challenging decade.

On behalf of Planning Design Practice I would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and a prosperous 2020.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Please note: Our offices will close at 5pm on Monday 23 December and we return from 9am on Thursday 2 January 2020.

Queen’s Speech plans on climate change welcomed

15th October 2019 by Gary Stringer

The government has unveiled plans on building safety, the National Infrastructure Strategy and a goal for the UK to lead global action against climate change in the Queen’s Speech of Monday 14 October.

Given the very real issues around climate change and the environment Planning & Design are very pleased to see the following in the Queen’s Speech yesterday.

“My Ministers remain committed to protecting and improving the environment for future generations. For the first time, environmental principles will be enshrined in law. Measures will be introduced to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution and restore habitats so plants and wildlife can thrive. Legislation will also create new legally-binding environmental improvement targets. A new, world-leading independent regulator will be established in statute to scrutinise environmental policy and law, investigate complaints and take enforcement action [Environment Bill].”

This means, that for the first time, environmental principles will be enshrined in law. Measures will be introduced that improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution and restore habitats so plants and wildlife can thrive, increasing biodiversity. Legislation will also create new legally-binding environmental improvement targets. A new, independent regulator will be established in statute to scrutinise environmental policy and law, investigate complaints and take enforcement action.

This commitment to the environment is endorsed by the RTPI but they make the point that without well-resourced planning teams it will be difficult to deliver on this pledge.

RTPI Chief Executive Victoria Hills said “The Royal Town Planning Institute welcomes the government’s intentions announced in today’s Queen’s Speech for a white paper on more decision-making powers to be devolved in England, to deliver a national infrastructure strategy, to create a new scrutiny body for environmental ambitions and to lead global climate change action.

“We remind Government that the planning system and planning professionals are essential to make all these intentions a reality, and that local authority planning needs to be resourced appropriately.

“The RTPI, which represents 25,000 planning professionals, looks forward to working with the Government to find the spatial solutions to deliver its ambitions.”

At Planning & Design we have seen a real reduction in the planning service available to us and our clients, but we hope that this will improve as we move forward and embrace the formidable challenges and additional responsibilities ahead of us.

“As architects and planners we are in a good position to use our professional skills and experience to design buildings which can better cope with climate change, which is going to affect everyone, says Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director of Planning & Design.

“This means being aware of the latest research, developments and materials in order to design buildings which are highly insulated to be warm in winter whilst cool in summer, generate energy through solar power, have heating systems which use very little energy and do not use gas, oil or burn coal or wood.”

Biodiversity Net Gain – Impact on Planning Applications

19th August 20198th May 2019 by Gary Stringer

In the Spring Statement the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that the government will use the planning system to mandate a net biodiversity gain from new development. However, the Consultation by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) left open questions about how the scheme will work in practice.

Biodiversity net gain will be measured by Defra’s biodiversity metric. The metric developed by Defra and Natural England allows practitioners to assess a habitat in terms of its value to wildlife, condition and size and thus calculate habitat losses and gains.

Under the NPPF development ‘should’ enhance the environment by minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity. Defra propose making this mandatory by updating planning guidance. This is likely to come forward in the Environment Bill due to be published before the summer.

The aim will be to avoid harm, then seek to mitigate harm before being allowed to compensate for habitat loss. Lichfield DC currently mandate a 20% gain in net biodiversity and this seems to work as they report average net gains of 60%.

Defra are considering an exemption for small schemes 10 units or 1,000sqm, also to exempt development on Brownfield Land and on commercial industrial land.

Offsetting could involve more Section 106 monies and Ecology reports will add £2,000+ to the upfront costs of a planning application submission.

Artificial lawns

Planning Success: Biodiversity gains in rural Derbyshire

Urban Design – A tool for change?

Could Agricultural Transition and Biodiversity Net Gain be unlikely bedfellows?

2020 Vision – Designing the decade ahead

Queen’s Speech plans on climate change welcomed

Biodiversity Net Gain – Impact on Planning Applications

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