Comment

Representation ID: 56185

Received: 08/08/2013

Respondent: Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (NERC)and paragraph 117 of the NPPF, place duty on the Planning authority to preserve and promote biodiversity. All identified sites have potential to include habitats and species of principal importance for nature conservation and are also likely to be priorities within the Local Biodiversity Action Plan.

To comply with statutory duty and national policy, local authority needs robust and up-to-date ecological information for all site allocations so that priority habitats and species are identified and acknowledged before any decisions are made on development ie pitch densities which could in turn impact on habitats or species.

To ensure future planning applications have appropriate regard to protection and enhancement of biodiversity the Plan needs a specific policy to embed these principles as current Warwick District Local Plan does not have one.