Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
East Mill, Bridge Foot, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1XH
Tel: 01773 881188 Fax: 01773 821826
E-mail: enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk
James Arnold
Head of Planning and Environmental Health
Bolsover District Council
Sherwood Lodge
Bolsover
Derbyshire
S44 6NF
For the attention of Chris Doy
Your Ref: 12/00434/OUT
Our ref: PlanCon215-1i
23rd October 2012
Dear Chris,
Proposed: renewal of outline planning permission 09/00491/OUT for
residential development, Former Allotments on South side of Carr Lane,
South Normanton
Application No: 1/00434/OUT
Thank you for consulting the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with regard to the
above proposed renewal of outline planning permission. I am now responding
under the terms of the Service Level Agreement which Bolsover District
Council and the Trust have signed.
The following comments are aimed at providing accurate and up to date
information on the nature conservation issues associated with the proposed
development.
You will recall that we provided comments to you regarding this development
site in correspondence dated 9th December 2009 under the application
reference 09/00491/OUT which was subsequently approved.
We are aware that this previous application was supported by a Phase 1
Habitat Survey undertaken by Clear Environmental Consultants Limited on 9 th
December 2009 which is now three years old. We would normally expect an
application for the renewal of permission to be supported by up to date
ecological information. However, in this particular case, we are of the view
that given the nature of the habitats present on the site it is unlikely that any
significant changes with regard to nature conservation interest will have
occurred since the previous survey.
We would advise that the following comments provided in our earlier letter
continue to be relevant to this application:
Registered charity no. 222212
Company limited by guarantee no. 715675
Protecting wildlife, Restoring landscapes, Inspiring people
We would advise the Authority that the conclusion within the Ecology
Assessment that the habitats on the site are of low ecological value is likely to
be an accurate assessment. However, contrary to the view that the site was
considered suboptimal for supporting populations of reptiles we hold the view
that the thick vegetation cover of the former allotment site in proximity to the
adjacent churchyard has potential to provide suitable habitat for slow worm,
which is often the most frequent reptile in urban areas. Slow worms can occur
in areas of thick cover and spend a lot of time underground. They are
protected from injury or killing under section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside
Act 1981 (as amended). We therefore recommend that measures are put in
place to ensure that no offence is committed under this legislation during any
site clearance work.
We advise the Authority that no site clearance work should be undertaken
during the reptile hibernation period which extends from October to March.
We recognise that this might cause concern with regard to the maintenance of
the site in its present condition into the bird breeding season. However given
the likelihood that any potential hibernating slow worms will be underground
or at the base of thick herbage some cutting back of scrub and removal of
other likely bird nesting sites could be undertaken during the winter period
provided it is carried out in a sensitive manner, thus making the site less
attractive to breeding birds. The scrub clearance and subsequent ground
clearance/site preparation work should be undertaken under the watching
brief of a suitably experienced ecologist. These requirements should be
attached as a condition to any permission.
If it is not possible to clear any potential bird nesting habitat during the winter
period no further vegetation removal should be undertaken until late August.
We advise the Authority that there are unlikely to be any other protected
species issues arising with this application.
In our previous correspondence we also advised that beneficial biodiversity
measures should be incorporated within the landscaping proposals
associated with any reserved matters application.
It is hoped that the information provided is helpful to the Council. If you require
any further information or wish to discuss any of the comments made, please
do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely
Trevor Taylor
Local Wildlife Sites Officer (Planning)
ttaylor@derbyshirewt.co.uk