New Local Plan

The Vision should include a statement regarding cherishing, protecting and enhancing biodiversity. Biodiversity is fundamental to healthy, functioning ecosystems and regular contact with nature contributes to the health and well being of individuals and communities.

We have serious concerns that building 18,000-24,000 new homes in Southend is unsustainable. However, Option 2 would have a lower impact on the open countryside than Option 3.

We have serious concerns about this option, which would result in the loss of much open countryside between the current urban fringe and the internationally important estuarine habitats of the River Roach to the north.

New housing developments and the houses themselves should be designed to integrate space for both wildlife and people, as well as to reduce carbon emissions and minimise water usage.

Good nature-friendly developments retain and protect existing wildlife habitats and connect them up with wildlife-rich gardens, verges, amenity green space, cycle paths and walkways. The aim should be to create a network of natural green corridors weaving through a development, into the surrounding urban and rural landscapes and contributing to the wider ecological network.

This approach improves air quality, reduce surface water flooding and makes developments greener and more attractive places in which to live. Residents should have easy access to safe, beautiful, natural spaces for exercise, play and social interaction. Contact with nature should be a part of everyday life.

New developments should provide:

* Real, measurable gains for wildlife and make a demonstrable, positive contribution to nature's recovery.

* Effective water management, pollution and climate control provided by green spaces, sustainable urban drainage, green or brown roofs where possible, trees, hedgerows, wildflower meadows and other natural features.

* Connectivity between wild places - enabling both wildlife and people to move through the landscape, and for natural processes to operate effectively.

* Improved health, wellbeing and quality of life for people living and working nearby.

* Easy access to high quality, wildlife-rich, natural green space for everyone, providing daily opportunities to experience wildlife.

Benefits of this approach

Housing developments designed with environmental sensitivity and green infrastructure at their heart can deliver multiple social, environmental and economic benefits. Nature-rich housing can provide benefits for everyone - from developers to home-owners.

Benefits for wildlife:

* No loss of key wildlife sites - better protection of the already diminished wildlife resource.

* More space for wildlife - a substantial increase in the creation and restoration of habitats, through additional funding and resources, for example Section 106 agreements and conservation covenants - contributing to an overall increase in the abundance and diversity of wildlife and an improvement of soil and catchment health.

* Improved connectivity of wildlife habitats - both within developments and linking to the wider landscape and ecological networks beyond.

* Buildings that are more wildlife-friendly - with bird and bat boxes, pollinator and insect-friendly structures and connected spaces for hedgehogs.

* Reduced emissions - reducing carbon emissions, pollutants and water use to help minimise threats to wildlife.

Benefits for people:

* Daily enjoyment of nature - people can experience and benefit from contact with wildlife and wild places in their daily lives, because there is wildlife around them near to home.

* Improved health - accessible natural green spaces for fresh air, exercise and quiet contemplation improve health and wellbeing, for example by helping to lower levels of heart disease, obesity, stress and depression.

* Protection against extremes of climate - natural green spaces and trees within urban areas help stabilise temperature and reduce pollution.

* Safer transport routes - networks of natural green spaces can provide safe and attractive pedestrian and cycle routes.

* Sense of community - natural green space in and around housing areas can provide a shared space for the local community to come together and socialise - reducing isolation.

Benefits for the economy and wider society:

* Cost-effective environmental protection - providing green space in and around housing is a cost-effective and sustainable way of increasing environmental resilience, for example by reducing surface water flooding and improving air quality.

* Employment - when communities get involved in the planning and management of the natural green space where they live this provides jobs and volunteering opportunities.

* Space for local food - networks of natural green space in and around housing areas provide opportunities for local food production, bee keeping, etc.

* Attracting investment - high quality developments rich in natural green space can attract further investment from business and visitors.

* Reduced health-care costs - people living in developments with more green space are likely to place fewer demands on the NHS, as they enjoy better health and higher quality of life.


Benefits for developers:

* Satisfied customers - houses and developments set in natural green space are more desirable to buyers.

* Market value - houses in greener developments can have a higher market value.

* Enhanced brand value - developers that take a lead on nature build their brand and change the sector as a whole.

* Improved high-calibre skills recruitment - such developers are also more likely to attract up-and-coming graduates by demonstrating a genuine commitment to the environment.

* Improved environmental performance - helping drive higher ranking in sustainability and nature indices, making the direct links to the benefits of a natural capital approach.

* Happier communities - new houses designed to retain existing natural features with high quality greenspace are more acceptable to existing residents.

Principles guiding this approach

All housing developments must result in:

* A measurable improvement for wild species and habitats, avoiding any loss of or damage to wildlife sites - new housing must not damage or destroy important national and local wildlife sites. Our natural environment is finite. These sites are remnants of a rich past and essential to our future.

* More than compensating for any habitat that is lost - where damage to existing habitats is unavoidable, mitigation must bring about an overall gain in habitats. This should be assessed objectively using an improved version of the Defra biodiversity metric.

* Creating new habitat - habitat creation should be a standard feature of all new housing development, wherever it is.

* Designing in existing habitats - new housing must work with as much existing habitat as possible. For example, retaining existing woods, copses, hedges and streams as integral parts of new developments.

All residents having lasting access to nearby nature, which means:

* Providing wildlife on the doorstep - space for wildlife must be designed into new development, much of this should be easily accessible to people.

* Ensuring our natural spaces are well managed for posterity - maintaining local green spaces is as essential as maintaining roads, power and other important infrastructure. Financial planning should account for this at the outset, through a service charge or capital endowment.

* Empowering communities - for major housing developments provision should be made to empower residents to come together to maintain shared spaces, grow food and understand the area they live in.

* Engaging civil society - local charities and social enterprises have skills and experience that will be vital to ongoing community engagement.

This can be ensured by:

* Using ecological network maps - such maps should be built from local, up to date data with the active involvement of civil society and must be the basis for deciding where new housing is (and isn't) located, and how close it is to existing natural areas and wildlife habitats.

* Developing within environmental limits - decisions about the planning, design and construction of new housing must be based on a thorough understanding of the natural environment's capacity to meet the demands placed on it.

* Employing ecological expertise - when making decisions on land use and new development planning authorities should consult experienced ecologists and ensure they have access to high quality wildlife and environmental data.

Developers should ensure new housing developments result in:

* Retention of key wildlife sites - better protection of the already diminished wildlife resource.

* More space for wildlife - a substantial increase in the creation and restoration of habitats, through additional funding and resources, for example Section 106 agreements and conservation covenants - contributing to an overall increase in the abundance and diversity of wildlife and an improvement of soil and catchment health.

* Improved connectivity of wildlife habitats - both within developments and linking to the wider landscape and ecological networks beyond.

* More than compensating for any habitat that is lost - where damage to existing habitats is unavoidable, mitigation must bring about an overall gain in habitats. This should be assessed objectively using an improved version of the Defra biodiversity metric.

* Creating new habitat - habitat creation should be a standard feature of all new housing development, wherever it is.

* Ensuring our natural spaces are well managed for posterity - maintaining local green spaces is as essential as maintaining roads, power and other important infrastructure. Financial planning should account for this at the outset, through a service charge or capital endowment.