Issue - meetings

1.         That the County Council’s current Policy be altered by the removal of the requirement that proposals for SANGS are to be considered in the light of whether new housing development is being proposed on land in the Green Belt or on land covered by any other protective or environmental designation, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, ancient monuments, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or Areas of Great Landscape Value; such issues being left for determination by the relevant local planning authority;          

2.         That the County Council’s current Policy be altered by the removal of the requirement that an uplift payment is to be negotiated upon a site by site basis and instead a standard landowner charge per development be secured for the use of its land as SANGS, in addition to the on-site costs of bringing the land up to the required Natural England standards for use as SANGS in perpetuity with the necessary capital, maintenance and management costs, all being secured through developer payments;    

3.         That the question of whether future SANGS should be provided on individual County Council sites to continue to be considered and approved by the Cabinet Member for Transport & Environment, in consultation with the Strategic Director for Environment and Leader of the Council, on a site by site basis; and

4.         That the policy as set out in Annex 2 of the submitted report, be adopted.

Reasons for Decisions

The potential benefits of SANGS assist in the protection of the bird species which are considered to be at risk due to the ability of SANGS to influence the behaviour of heathland visitors;

As a result of the use of County Council land as SANGS capital, maintenance and management improvements can be undertaken on the land, at no cost to the County Council through developer payments, at the same time as supporting those affected local authorities in achieving their housing targets;

Use of County Council land as SANGS releases land for new development for which the County Council will receive a landowner charge in recognition of the uplift in value that the SANGS bestow on the proposed development sites.

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment introduced the report and set out the reasons and benefits for altering the existing Suitable Alternative Natural Green Spaces policy (SANGS) and to the removal of the requirement of an uplift payment on a site by site basis, to be replaced with a standard landowner charge per development. He considered that the proposed changes would enable the County to be fair to both developers and residents.

He also drew Cabinet’s attention to the map of Thames Basin SANGS (Annex 1, Appendix B of the submitted report).

Finally, Cabinet noted the S151 officer’s comments in relation to this decision which could result in a reduced income to the County Council. Both the Legal and Equality and Diversity implications were also noted.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the County Council’s current Policy be altered by the removal of the requirement that proposals for SANGS are to be considered in the light of whether new housing development is being proposed on land in the Green Belt or on land covered by any other protective or environmental designation, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, ancient monuments, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or Areas of Great Landscape Value; such issues being left for determination by the relevant local planning authority.

2.         That the County Council’s current Policy be altered by the removal of the requirement that an uplift payment is to be negotiated upon a site by site basis and instead a standard landowner charge per development be secured for the use of its land as SANGS, in addition to the on-site costs of bringing the land up to the required Natural England standards for use as SANGS in perpetuity with the necessary capital, maintenance and management costs, all being secured through developer payments.    

3.         That the question of whether future SANGS should be provided on individual County Council sites to continue to be considered and approved by the Cabinet Member for Transport & Environment, in consultation with the Strategic Director for Environment and Leader of the Council, on a site by site basis.

4.         That the Policy, as set out in Annex 2 of the submitted report, be adopted.

Reasons for Decisions

The potential benefits of SANGS assist in the protection of the bird species which are considered to be at risk due to the ability of SANGS to influence the behaviour of heathland visitors;

As a result of the use of County Council land as SANGS capital, maintenance and management improvements can be undertaken on the land, at no cost to the County Council through developer payments, at the same time as supporting those affected local authorities in achieving their housing targets;

Use of County Council land as SANGS releases land for new development for which the County Council will receive a landowner charge in recognition of the uplift in value that the SANGS bestow on the proposed development sites.