Report of the Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control

This report provides an update on delivery of the Biodiversity Strategy that was endorsed by Executive in October 2022. The report also includes information on the findings of the open space audit that will inform the development of the emerging Local Plan.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control that provided an update on delivery of the Biodiversity Strategy that was endorsed by Executive in October 2022.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background;

·         Describing the objectives of the Biodiversity Strategy; and

·         Information on the findings of the open space audit that would inform the development of the emerging Local Plan.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         The need to communicate to residents those areas of land designated to be areas for meadows and wildflowers, as the perception was often that the Council had failed to cut the grass;

·         Enquiring where the 344 sites referred to in Recommendation 3 being rated as below quality and/or value thresholds were;

·         Would the Local Plan increase biodiversity;

·         The need to ensure green space was maintained, including those associated with the highways network;

·         Noting that the focus of the study referred to was on sites with public access that were larger than 0.2 hectares and the need to acknowledge the importance of smaller green spaces, especially in the city centre;

·         Recognising the importance of access to quality green space for residents;

·         Noting the impact of the urban heat island effect.

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control acknowledged the comment regarding the importance of communicating with residents the approach to meadows and wildflowers and stated that she would discuss this further with the relevant Executive Member. She said that an exercise was underway to provide a visual aid that mapped the 344 sites referred to in Recommendation 3. She stated that the Local Plan would make it mandatory for 10% increase in biodiversity associated with all new developments and this would be regulated through the establishment of long-term management plans to be formalised through legal agreements and conditions.

In response to a specific question regarding the location of the Tiny Forest and data relating to training referred to in the report that had been delivered by partners and the cohorts of people involved she advised that she would follow that up outside of the meeting.

The Director of Planning, Licensing and Building Control noted and agreed with the comment made regarding the importance of smaller green spaces. She advised that the ambition was to increase Sites of Biological Importance and there was a pipeline of work at pace to increase the number of nature reserves across the city.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport responded to a comment from a Member regarding the communication with Councillors regarding events by stating that this would have been done using the usual channels.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development reiterated the importance of accessibility to quality green space to local residents and stated that he welcomed the introduction of the Local Plan as means to increase biodiversity and mitigate issues such as the urban heat island effect.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport acknowledged the discussion regarding grass cutting, meadows and the use of verges to promote and encourage biodiversity and encouraged Members to pursue this with their respective Neighbourhood Teams. She concluded by thanking all of the officers involved in this important area of work and acknowledged the importance of this work for the city. She stated that this work had been recognised nationally as a model of good practice.

Decision

To note the report.

[Councillor Weist declared a personal and non-pecuniary interest as she had previously been an employee of Groundwork.]