Carlisle District Local Plan.indd - Carlisle City Council

Carlisle District Local Plan 2001 - 2016 Revised Redeposit draft6.8 The Plan area includes 34 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). These sites have beenidentified by English Nature and are the subject of a formal procedure of notification underthe 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. As such, they represent sites important for natureconservation defined on the basis of national criteria and are identified as sites of nationalimportance in PPG 9. They include a wide variety of sites of different types from largeareas of salt marsh on the Solway, to Pennine moorland and small sites with some specificinterest, such as geology. Section 28G of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000)places on Local Authorities a duty to take reasonable steps to conserve and enhance theflora, fauna, geological or physiographical features of SSSI in the course of exercising theirfunctions.6.9 Development will only be permitted if the need for the development clearly outweighs thenature conservation interest of the site, or the development can be subject to conditions orobligations that will prevent damaging impacts on wildlife habitats or important physicalfeatures. Potential detrimental effects could arise in a number of different ways, eitherthrough the destruction of important features, or indirectly by, for example, introducing largenumbers of visitors to a sensitive site.6.10 The Government Public Sector Agreement target for SSSI is that there should be no lossin area of SSSI and that 95% of SSSI areas are maintained in or are recovering towardsfavourable condition before 2010. Other indicators include the populations of wild birds inthe region, and the enhancement of the north west region’s biodiversity resources. Targetsfor these indicators are to maintain an upward trend in all bird numbers, to reverse the longterm decline in farmland birds, and to deliver the North West Region’s biodiversity targetsfor priority habitats.6.11 English Nature has undertaken work on a national series of 25 rivers in England to benotified as SSSIs. The River Eden has been designated as a SSSI because of the importanceof its water quality, fishery and wildlife interest.POLICY LE4 Other Nature Conservation SitesDevelopment which would have a detrimental effect on Regionally ImportantGeological/Geomorphological Sites, County Wildlife Sites and other sites of natureconservation significance, Local Nature Reserves and Ancient Woodlands will not bepermitted unless:1. The harm caused to the value of those interests is clearly outweighed by the needfor the development; and2. Where practical, any environmental feature lost is replaced with an equivalentfeature.6.12 In addition to SSSI’s, there are a number of other important geological andgeomorphological sites in the Plan area. Designations of Regionally Important Geological/ Geomorphological Sites (RIGS), aim to maintain and enhance specific features of rockand landform and the dynamic natural processes which create them. They are worthy ofprotection for their educational, research, historical or aesthetic importance and have thebacking of English Nature.6.13 North Pennines Geodiversity sites are representative examples of particular geologicalfeatures in the context of the North Pennines AONB. There is one site within the district atForest Head Quarries, Hallbankgate, which is one of a range of sites contained within theNorth Pennines AONB Geodiversity Audit and Action Plan.September 2006 99