St Edmundsbury Core Strategy (December 2010)

Policy CS2 - Sustainable Development4.18 A fundamental aim of the Core Strategy is to ensure that development withinthe borough is sustainable. Sustainable development is a core principleunderpinning all spatial planning. Sustainable development aims to ensure a betterquality of life for everyone, now and in the future. The principles of sustainabledevelopment should form the basis for individual decisions which people takeregularly about where to live, and work, shop, where to travel, how to dispose ofwaste, and how to use energy and other natural resources efficiently. Sustainabledevelopment will not only underpin the policies and proposals in the LocalDevelopment Framework but will also form the basis of decisions on individualplanning applications.4.19 There are certain broad requirements which all development should meet ifit is to be acceptable. Proposals must be acceptable in terms of their: impact onthe landscape, natural environment and cultural heritage; quality of design;sustainable use of resources; amenity; highway safety; and infrastructure.4.20 The landscape of the borough is both natural and man-made. Over timemany features in our local environment have been lost through development andchanges in farming practices and land management. Local authorities have a dutyto protect biodiversity and enhance the natural and built environment, andnational policies and international, European and UK regulations protect thecountryside, landscape and its geodiversity and biodiversity for its own sake.Policies in the Core Strategy and the Development Management DPD support theirprotection and the potential impact that development might have on them.4.21 Sites protected for their international, European, national or local importancefor their biodiversity or geodiversity value are illustrated on Map 2.1 in Section 2of this document.4.22 The various designations and data available for the borough indicate therange, richness and diversity of the landscape. These include the underlyinggeology, the quality of the farmland, the presence of trees and woodlands,brecklands, historic parklands, ponds, and river valleys. Although existingdesignated sites are protected, conservation alone is not enough, and the councilwill continue to protect and manage designated sites across the borough.4.23 Within St Edmundsbury there are three sites of European conservationinterest which have been assessed through a Habitat Regulations AssessmentScreening, to ensure that the policies within the plan have no likely significanteffect on the European sites. (1) The results of the Habitats RegulationsAssessment Screening shows that the broad locations for growth, identified inpolicies CS11 and CS12, are not likely to have significant effects on the Europeansites. The following avoidance and mitigation measures are included to ensurethat the Core Strategy is not likely to have a significant effect on the interestfeatures of the SPA;1. The identification of a 1,500m buffer zone from the edge of thoseparts of the SPA that support or are capable of supporting stone curlews2. The identification of a 400m buffer zone from the edge of those partsof the SPA that support or are capable of supporting nightjar orwoodlark.36