Our Normandy Village - Once its gone, its gone for good
Our Normandy Village - land near Pusseys Copse with Ancient Woodland
Our Normandy Village - view to the Surrey Hills National Landscape
Our Normandy Village - St Marks Church, Wyke, 15th c.
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Threat to the Thames Basin Heath Special Protection Area (TBHSPA)
A46 ‘strategic site’, is situated only 800metres away from the TBHSPA so is within the 400m - 5km zone of protection. The TBHSPA contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) recognised as one of the key Natura 2000 European sites. A46 Normandy and Flexford ‘strategic’ site will exacerbate all 5 threats. The 5 key threats of high rating are air pollution, human intrusion/disturbance, no funded management plan, recreational use (dog walking causing disturbance), species composition change.
A ‘Visitor Report’ by Natural England (2012) on the TBHSPA identified an increase of visitors to the area to exercise their dogs, 67% had a dog off a lead (potential disturbance to ground nesting birds), only 1% of visitors came from Normandy and Flexford postcodes. The new residents of the A46 ‘strategic site’ and their pets would have a detrimental affect. There is no evidence proving that SANG attracts dog walkers away from TBHSPA.
Natural England states: “Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are European designated sites, they are afforded protection under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. Generally speaking, when considering the impacts upon European sites, the Local Planning Authority, under the provisions of the Habitat Regulations, should have regard for any potential impacts that a plan or project may have”.
‘Natural England disagrees with the conclusions reached by the Habitat Regulation Assessment (HRA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and advise that the plan is
unsound on this basis’.
Natural England states further:
“We also have concerns that the Council does not appear to have adopted Government planning policy set out at paragraph 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) stating that local plans should meet objectively assessed development needs unless specific policies in the NPPF (such as protecting designated wildlife sites and landscapes) indicate development should be restricted.”
The Habitats Regulation Assessment document is incorrect. In Section 18 Policies 9. 10, and 13 are assessed but not the policies proposed in this version of The Plan. How can GBC assess incorrect policies.