The London Assembly’s housing committee is calling for the creation of a Biodiversity in Housing supplementary planning guidance to protect London’s flora and fauna as density increases.
The committee published a report, At Home with Nature: Encouraging biodiversity in new housing developments, outlining a number of recommendations.
The committee is concerned that London’s biodiversity is being squeezed as planners and developers increase housing density in the capital.
It says: “Biodiversity is part of national, regional and local planning policies. Collectively these policies provide a good overall strategic vision for providing for nature in London. Unfortunately, these policies are not always translated at ground level.
“There are inconsistencies at borough level when it comes to approving planning applications. This is due to a lack of ecology expertise within planning departments and other pressures, for example housing target pressures, which can impact on decisions of the authority.”
Although London is still one of the greenest cities in the world, the committee fears that an increased housing density could lead to a more fragmented environment for nature.
According to the 2016 State of Nature report, 56% of species in the UK’s cities are in decline and 7% are under threat of extinction. Britain’s hedgehog population, for example, has halved since 2000.
Alongside the new planning guidance for biodiversity, the committee is also recommending that London mayor Sadiq Khan amends the London Plan to include the wording “net gain” to ensure biodiversity is enhanced and created, not just protected; that he should use Old Oak Common as a showcase of how biodiversity levels can still be increased in high-density building; and that a “green space factor” planning tool, similar to those used in Berlin and Malmo to ensure a minimum level of greenery in new developments, is introduced and piloted in opportunity areas, housing zones and developments of strategic importance.
Other recommendations include:
• planning departments should request minimum baseline surveys to accompany all planning applications;
• all developments must share ecological data with Greenspace Information for Greater London;
• the mayor should provide seed funding to Partnership for Biodiversity in Planning;
• an award celebrating biodiversity in housing should be sponsored by the mayor; and
• the mayor should commission best practice guidance for the industry.
Read the report in full here.
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