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Joe Yardley of the Stags Planning and Design department, discusses the effects that the new Cornish climate emergency DPD will have on development within the county.
On April 1, Cornwall County Council adopted its climate emergency development plan document (DPD), which has implications for all new developments within the county. In essence, all new development must now include a green infrastructure (GI) plan.
The Town and Country Planning Association define the term GI as “a network of multi-functional green space and other green features, urban and rural, which can deliver quality of life and environmental benefits for communities.” GI is not a new planning concept; however, this is the first time such a tool has been insisted upon by Cornish planning officers.
As quoted within the Climate Emergency DPD, Policy G1: Green Infrastructure Design and Maintenance states: “Green Infrastructure should be central to the design of schemes… All developments should be planned around the protection and enhancement of nature.” For all those thinking of developing land within the county, this now adds an extra layer to be considered at the design stage. The inclusion of this mandatory policy is applicable to all developments; however, the Council do allow that the scale of the GI that is expected to be included is proportionate to the scale of the proposed development. This, of course, means a single plot development of one dwelling would not be expected to meet the same targets as a larger edge-of-town housing estate, or any larger scheme, residential or otherwise.
While this measure is a completely new planning consideration within Cornwall, the Planning and Design team at Stags has a wealth of experience, with the inclusion of biodiversity enhancement measures when dealing with other Planning Authorities. An example of this would be Dartmoor National Park where such measures have been in place, and present a similar planning challenge to those in Cornwall.
If you are thinking of undertaking new development within Cornwall and would like professional advice on this new planning consideration, please contact Joe Yardley of the Stags Planning and Design department via j.yardley@stags.co.uk or 01392 439046.
For more information on the GI plan…
https://www.cornwallislesofscillygrowthprogramme.org.uk/projects/green-infrastructure-growth/
