In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, Councillor Jerry Hyman proposes the following motion:
“That the Council instructs Officers to
(i) reinstate the moratorium on the granting of consents to new housing within the visitor catchment zones of the Thames Basin and Wealden Heath SPAs (which was implemented temporarily from May last year), with immediate effect, and to
(ii) suspend the Waverley Avoidance Strategy,
(and to advise relevant developers and other interested parties as appropriate),until such time as the requisite evidence and appropriate assessments have been produced in accordance with all relevant legislation;
and in order to enable limited development to be lawfully consented through the ‘exceptions tests’ of ‘Habitats’ Art.6(4) and Reg,64,
that the Council further instructs Officers to write to Natural England requesting that they provide the information necessary for Waverley to conduct complete appropriate assessments of the Local Plan, Avoidance Strategy and relevant planning applications, to specifically include all currently available and relevant information evidence in respect of
(iii) the robustness of the current (2009) TBHSPA Delivery Framework strategy and SANG Standards,
(iv) population data and dynamics (historic to date, and trends) for the 3 relevant bird species, for the Thames Basin and Wealden Heath SPAs,
(v) the current Conservation Status, and the necessary specific Favourable Status Conservation Objectives for the habitats and species of those SPAs,
(vi) the measured effectiveness of On-site, Local and Strategic SANGs in displacing visitor pressure and disturbance from the SPAs to SANGs,
(vii) the extent to which SANG provision and promotion encourages dog ownership in the area over time, and
(viii) the measured effectiveness of the SAMM Strategy,
and if any of that requested information is not currently available, that Officers request that Natural England advises when that information is likely to become available.”
The Leader has confirmed that the motion will be dealt with at the Council meeting.
Minutes:
43.1 Cllr Jerry Hyman proposed the following motion, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12:
“That the Council instructs Officers to
(i) reinstate the moratorium on the granting of consents to new housing within the visitor catchment zones of the Thames Basin and Wealden Heath SPAs (which was implemented temporarily from May last year), with immediate effect, and to
(ii) suspend the Waverley Avoidance Strategy,
(and to advise relevant developers and other interested parties as appropriate),until such time as the requisite evidence and appropriate assessments have been produced in accordance with all relevant legislation;
and in order to enable limited development to be lawfully consented through the ‘exceptions tests’ of ‘Habitats’ Art.6(4) and Reg,64,
that the Council further instructs Officers to write to Natural England requesting that they provide the information necessary for Waverley to conduct complete appropriate assessments of the Local Plan, Avoidance Strategy and relevant planning applications, to specifically include all currently available and relevant information evidence in respect of
(iii) the robustness of the current (2009) TBHSPA Delivery Framework strategy and SANG Standards,
(iv) population data and dynamics (historic to date, and trends) for the 3 relevant bird species, for the Thames Basin and Wealden Heath SPAs,
(v) the current Conservation Status, and the necessary specific Favourable Status Conservation Objectives for the habitats and species of those SPAs,
(vi) the measured effectiveness of On-site, Local and Strategic SANGs in displacing visitor pressure and disturbance from the SPAs to SANGs,
(vii) the extent to which SANG provision and promotion encourages dog ownership in the area over time, and
(viii) the measured effectiveness of the SAMM Strategy,
and if any of that requested information is not currently available, that Officers request that Natural England advises when that information is likely to become available.”
The Leader had confirmed that the motion would be dealt with at the Council meeting.
43.2 The Mayor invited Cllr Hyman to explain the purpose of his Motion. Cllr Hyman explained that the purpose was a simple, process matter that would show how the council’s responsibilities to endangered species could be met. It followed on from his questions to the Executive and Council in October, and the Climate Emergency motion passed by the Council in September. The Officer report on the Climate Emergency had referred to the Intergovernmental Science – Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report highlighting nature’s dangerous decline and unprecedented rates of species extinction. The Council had accepted its responsibility in respect of endangered species, and the purpose of the Motion was to show that it was serious about that. National Planning Policy Guidance on Appropriate Assessments was issued in the summer, and the Council had accepted that it had to carry out Appropriate Assessments of mitigation measures in respect of endangered habitats. The Motion was simply a matter of whether the Council had an Appropriate Assessment: if it didn’t, councillors would be expected to vote in favour of the Motion; if it did have an Appropriate Assessment that was complete, councillors would all vote against.
43.3 Cllr Hyman explained that he had written to the Chief Executive earlier in the day asking for a statement on whether the Council had an Appropriate Assessment, because there would be no need for a seconder or a debate if that was the case. He had found the responses to his questions to the Executive and Council in October to be contradictory on this point, and he had asked for clarification from the Chief Executive. Cllr Hyman confirmed that he had not sought a seconder to his motion, as he was seeking the clarification requested from the Chief Executive so as to know whether his motion was required.
43.4 The Mayor noted that Cllr Hyman did not have a seconder, and suggested that he follow the matter up off-line. The email to the Chief Executive had come too late in the day to allow time for it to be considered fully. However, the Mayor invited the Borough Solicitor, Daniel Bainbridge to comment.
43.5 Mr Bainbridge summarised the advice the Council had received over the last 12 months from Counsel – Wayne Beglan, Cornerstone Chambers – and more recently in the presentation to all Members from Stephen Whale. The headline points from Wayne Beglan’s advice were:
- The provision of adequate SANGs or SAMMs has become an orthodox response to forms of development which would otherwise cause an adverse effect on a European site such as the Thames Basin Heaths SPA.
- The Council does have convincing objective evidence that the Farnham Park SANG and SAMM strategy are effective and the Council’s adopted policy approach is legally compliant with the requirements of the Habitats Regulations.
The headline points from Stephen Whale’s presentation on 6 November 2019, were:
- The government regards SANGs as being mitigation measures in that “their primary purpose is to draw recreational pressure away from sites and so prevent an adverse effect from occurring”.
- The efficacy of SANG is not up for debate by Waverley in the determination of planning applications because our local plan, which itself has been found sound, includes policies endorsing the provision of SANG. The efficacy of SANG may only be up for debate in an academic sense, but that is an entirely separate point.
43.6 Mr Bainbridge concluded that the Council has received advice on this a number of times; Members had received presentations on this; the Appropriate Assessment in the Local Plan has been found sound, and the Local Plan itself had been found sound and was beyond challenge.
43.7 In the light of what had been said, and that he had not had a response to his question, Cllr Hyman asked Members if there was a seconder of his Motion. There was not a seconder. The Mayor thanked Cllr Hyman, and closed the matter.