ࡱ> \^['` .bjbjLULU  QšF . 4!0d!,'9.'' ,g ! !gd! 4@"b   4 "   Woodland Trust briefing paper for the House of Commons debate on the National Planning Policy Framework, 20th October 2011 The Woodland Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity. We own and manage over 1, 000 sites across the UK and have more than 300,000 members and supporters. The planning system is a crucial tool for protecting and enhancing the natural environment. In June the Natural Environment White Paper committed the Government to institute: a strategic approach to planning for nature within and across local areas. This approach will guide development to the best locations, encourage greener design and enable development to enhance natural networks. We will retain the protection and improvement of the natural environment as core objectives of the planning system. Given the many ecosystem services woodland delivers it is vital that the reform of the planning system protects and enhances the natural environment. The definition of sustainable development The Woodland Trust welcomes the recognition that the principle of sustainable development should be at the core of the planning system. However, the Trust would prefer a more detailed definition of sustainable development than the one provided by the Brundtland Commission as we believe that the present proposals may be difficult to implement in practice. As an alternative, the Government should adopt the definition of sustainable development contained within the 2005 UK Sustainable Development Strategy as this is less ambiguous and therefore simpler to enforce. Another concern that the Trust harbours is the increasingly muddled use of terminology throughout the draft NPPF. At the beginning the document quotes sustainable development in its own right. However, further into the Framework the term is used interchangeably with sustainable economic growth something that is particularly noticeable in the chapters pertaining to economic development. The Trust has, however, welcomed the commitment given by Baroness Hanham during a debate on planning reform to review the wording in relation to sustainable development. Environmental protection ancient woodland The draft NPPF retains some explicit protection for ancient woods and trees. Ancient woodland covers a mere 2% of the land area in the UK, is our equivalent of the rainforest and once lost ancient woodland cannot be recreated. Despite its irreplaceable nature, 85% of all ancient woodland remains outside of legislative protection and is therefore at considerable risk if it is not given explicit and meaningful protection within the planning system. Regrettably however there is still a caveat in the NPPF that overrides the protection for ancient woodland if the benefits of development 'outweigh the loss'. Given the very strong emphasis on the importance of development within the Framework, this caveat leaves serious cause for concern. Cases such as Oaken Wood in Kent where 33 hectares of ancient woodland are currently under threat from quarrying proposals demonstrate that the Trusts fears are well founded. Since 1998 the Trust has contested 256 cases in England where 558 ancient woods, representing a total of 883 hectares, were under threat from development. This demonstrates that the ambiguity in the planning system continues to allow development pressures to threaten ancient woodland. At the Trust we are not opposed to economic growth. However, sustainable development means recognising the existence of environmental limits and they in turn mean halting the loss of ancient woodland, an irreplaceable habitat. Meanwhile it is welcome that the draft NPPF proposes a system of Local Green Space designations in order to empower communities to protect and care for their environment. The Trust is, however, concerned by some of the limitations being placed on the use of this designation. For instance Paragraph 131 states The Local Green Space designation will not be appropriate for most green areas or open space. It is therefore disappointing that the majority of green or open spaces will not be appropriate for designation. This point needs clarifying as it appears to be at odds with the original aim of the policy which was to empower communities to preserve their most treasured green spaces. Environmental enhancement - woodland creation The first ever National Ecosystem Assessment was published this year and highlighted just how important woods and trees are to society. It is therefore welcome that the core principles contained within the draft NPPF recognise the planning system's role in protecting and enhancing environmental assets. Nevertheless, the Trust would like the draft NPPF to be far more explicit in highlighting how woodland creation can enhance design whilst simultaneously delivering on the climate change, flooding and public health agendas. From the public health perspective, woodland is a particularly valuable type of green space as it encourages exercise, helps reduce the mental stresses of modern society and improves air quality by reducing the incidences of respiratory diseases. Woodland can augment public health outcomes, thereby saving millions in costs. Around 110 billion is spent each year in the UK on healthcare, equal to 8.5% of all income. It has been estimated that if every household in England had good access to quality green spaces such as woodland it could save around 2.1 billion annually. The draft NPPF should also be more explicit in highlighting how trees can aid water management and enhance quality. Scientific models demonstrate that woodland located on floodplains can mitigate large flood events by absorbing and delaying the progress downstream of major flood events. It is also worth noting that the chapter in the draft NPPF detailing policies on climate change neglects to mention how tree planting can facilitate carbon sequestration which is surprising given that forests are a recognised global store of carbon. Retention and expansion of forests will also deliver many wider benefits to society which may help to counter the negative impacts of climate change this point should be recognised in the planning system. The duty to co-operate The Localism Bill and the draft NPPF replace the regional structures with a duty on local authorities and prescribed bodies to co-operate with each other. It is welcome that local plans are instructed to include a clear strategy for the environmental enhancement of an area. The draft NPPF also lists climate change mitigation and adaptation and protection and enhancement of the natural environment as strategic priorities. Read alongside the Localism Bill which instructs the appropriate persons or bodies to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis the draft NPPF does provide a forum for larger than local strategic planning which is more robust than the Governments original proposals on the subject. However, we are concerned that the duty to co-operate may prove ineffectual in those instances where one or more partners are refusing to progress a shared strategic priority. To resolve this shortcoming the duty to co-operate in the Localism Bill should be amended to strengthen the engagement required of a person beyond merely considering actions. It is also noticeable that the duty to co-operate covers Local Enterprise Partnerships but neglects Local Nature Partnerships. As environmental protection and enhancement are instilled as core strategic priorities in the draft NPPF these omissions are surprising. It is important that the delivery of green infrastructure is seen as equal to all other forms of economic development. For more information please contact Lee Bruce on either 08452 935 551 or HYPERLINK "mailto:LeeBruce@woodlandtrust.org.uk"LeeBruce@woodlandtrust.org.uk       PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 1  Defra, Natural Environment White Paper (2011), p.3, at: HYPERLINK "http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm80/8082/8082.pdf"http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm80/8082/8082.pdf  Defra, The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy (2005), at: HYPERLINK "http://archive.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/publications/uk-strategy/documents/SecFut_complete.pdf"http://archive.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/publications/uk-strategy/documents/SecFut_complete.pdf  House of Lords, 13 October 2011, coloumn 1868, (Baroness Hanham), at: HYPERLINK "http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/111013-0001.htm" \l "11101346000721"http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/111013-0001.htm#11101346000721  Department for Communities and Local Government, Draft National Planning Policy Framework (2011), p. 48, paragraph 169, at: HYPERLINK "http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/draftframework"http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/draftframework  Ibid.  Ibid, p. 37.  National Ecosystems Assessment, UK National Ecosystem Assessment Understanding natures value to society (2011) at: HYPERLINK "http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/Resources/tabid/82/Default.aspx"http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/Resources/tabid/82/Default.aspx  Draft National Planning Policy Framework, p. 5.  Woodland Trust, Greening the Concrete Jungle (2010).  For further information on this please consult: Thomas, H. and Nisbet, T. (2006) An assessment of the impact of floodplain woodland on flood flows, Water and Environment Journal, vol 21, (2), pp 114-126.  Draft National Planning Policy Framework, p.8, paragraph 24, bullet point 7.  Ibid, p. 7, bullet point 5, paragraph 23.  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