DRAFT Sustainability Appraisal Report for the Emerging Local Plan ...

County
7.12 Surrey Waste Plan (2008)
This plan seeks to move away from landfilling towards more acceptable ways of dealing with
waste.
7.13 Surrey Minerals Plan (2010)
Local
This plan provides a means of meeting the need for minerals from the sites which have the
lowest overall impacts when considering the county as a whole.
7.14 There are no specific local policies in relation to land and soil resources, however
Runnymede’s Contaminated Land Strategy aims to improve soil condition through
remediation of contamination encountered via planning regimes and specific contaminated
land legislation.
Current Baseline Condition
7.15 The SEA Directive and UK SEA Regulations require that an account be given of the current and
likely future composition and condition of the environment in the area covered by the
proposed plan. The environmental baseline presented in this section has been compiled from
available sources of primary and secondary data that in the main relate to RSF Indicators that
have been monitored by the Council in one form or another since 2004.
Land and Soil in Runnymede
7.16 Large areas of the 7,804ha of Runnymede are rural in character. In 2003 1,755.7 ha of land
was being used for agricultural purposes accounting for nearly a quarter of total land area.
78% of the borough has been designated as greenbelt. Agricultural land cover in the borough
leads to a band running through the middle of the borough where the highest concentrations
of agricultural holdings are found which are covered by Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs).
7.17 Agricultural land in England and Wales is classified using a system of grades, which denote
the land’s suitability for long‐term agricultural use. The grade given to an area of agricultural
land reflects the following factors:
The Climate: in terms of temperature, rainfall, aspect, exposure and frost risk;
The Site: in terms of gradient, micro‐relief and flood risk; and,
The Soil: in terms of texture, structure, depth and stoniness, and chemical properties
which cannot be corrected.
7.18 Natural England manages the Agricultural Land Classification ( 39) , which includes five grades
for agricultural land. Grades 1 and 2 land is that which is most flexible, productive and
efficient in response to inputs and which can best deliver future crops for food and non food
uses such as biomass, fibres and pharmaceuticals. Local planning authorities are advised that
if significant development of agricultural land is unavoidable, poorer quality land should be
used in preference to that of higher quality.
7.19 Most farm types found in Runnymede are classified as other (as per Defra agricultural census
2003). The main finding was Foxhills contained 15 holdings classified as other and 8 holdings
as cattle and sheep, lowland. Chertsey St Ann’s contained six holdings as other and three
holdings as cattle and sheep, lowland. Thorpe contained 5 holdings classified as other and
five holdings classified as horticulture. Therefore, data would suggest that there is no
agricultural land of Grades 1 or 2 present within Runnymede.
Previously developed land and contaminated land in Runnymede
7.20 Runnymede has an improving track record in the use of previously developed land for the
provision of new development. In terms of new dwellings, in 2003, 76% of new houses in
39 Natural England Technical Information Note TIN049
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