Object
Chichester Local Plan 2021 - 2039: Proposed Submission
Representation ID: 4778
Received: 17/03/2023
Respondent: Mrs Sue Talbot
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Yes
– The Ham Brook Wildlife Corridor area should be larger as shown in the proposed Neighbourhood Plan (Southbourne Parish Neighbourhood Plan, Submission Modified Plan 2014 – 2029 Ham Brook Strategic Wildlife Corridor Map (Plan D, page 47) as confirmed by District and Parish Council surveys, and validated by the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre.
Is the District Council Map definitive, or a strategic guideline? The Local Plan (Policy NE4, Map NE4a and para. 4.16) confirms definitive boundaries. Discussions with the National Park (Duty to Cooperate Statement of Compliance Jan 2023, page 38), agreed that details would be defined in Neighbourhood Plans.
Policy NE4 should state which plans confirm the boundaries of the Wildlife Corridors and Local Plan Map 4a needs amending to show a larger area for the Nutbourne to Hambrook Wildlife Corridor.
The Ham Brook Wildlife Corridor was included in the Local Plan following strong representations from the Southbourne Parish Council, Hambrook and Chidham Parish Council, and members of the public. Southbourne Parish Council organised surveys to support its inclusion but the area selected by the District Council is not as large as the area defined by the Parish Council.
The evidence commissioned by the District Council (Wildlife Corridors Technical Consultation Document, July 2021) shows contributory branches of the Ham Brook Chalk Stream to the west (Figure 1) which have not been included in the strategic corridor. It is not clear why. Chalk streams are rare and worthy of protection. Prolific evidence of water voles was discovered during the Parish Council survey of these side-streams.
The District Council bat survey had only two recording points, but despite this, bat activity was recorded to the west and north west of the currently proposed corridor (Wildlife Corridors Technical Consultation Document, July 2021 – Figure 2). Bat surveys organised and commissioned by the Parish Council were more wide ranging and fully support the identification of a wider area as shown in the Neighbourhood Plan.
At a meeting between officers of the District Council and the South Downs National Park (SDNP), SDNP officers “queried whether they [Wildlife Corridors] are substantial enough to perform intended function” (Duty to Cooperate Statement of Compliance Jan 2023, page37). This would appear to support the case for a larger and wider Corridor along the Ham Brook.
Conclusion - The Wildlife corridor should be extended to include the area shown in the Neighbourhood Plan on the basis of the evidence secured by both District and Parish Councils. Confirmation is required about whether boundaries are defined in the Local Plan or in Neighbourhood Plans.