Bird Aware Solent Strategy
Over 60,000 new homes are planned to be built around the Solent Coast SPA’s (Special Protection Areas) by 2034, with research showing that the subsequent increase of visitors to the coast will cause disturbance to birds in the area. The Bird Aware Solent Strategy aims to reduce this impact through specific management measures to enable visitor enjoyment of the coastal areas rather than by restricting recreational activities in the area. The measures and monitoring of their effectiveness will be funded by developer contributions for all new homes built within 5.6km of the SPA’s.
A small part of the South Downs National Park lies within the 5.6km zone. All new residential developments within this zone which result in a net increase of number of dwellings are required to mitigate the negative impact of the development by way of a financial contribution unless the developer can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the SDNPA and Natural England that it will provide alternative bespoke mitigation which will fully mitigate the recreational impact of the development. The strategy is referred to within Strategic Policy SD10 (part 7) of the South Downs Local Plan.
Developer contributions are transferred quarterly to the Bird Aware Solent. All details of expenditure by the Partnership are included in the Bird Aware Solent Strategy annual report which includes details on how the contributions have been spent as well as setting out the plans and budget for the following year.
National planning policy requires local planning authorities to work together to address strategic, cross-boundary matters. The Bird Aware Solent partnership is a good example of joint working, with fifteen local planning authorities supporting the delivery of a package of strategic mitigation measures.
Further information about the Partnership and the full strategy are available at www.birdaware.org.
What Will I Pay?
The baseline developer contributions, payable to the South Downs National Park Authority, is charged on a sliding scale based upon bedroom numbers per dwelling. These figures are increased on 1 April each year in line with the Retail Price Index.
The contributions payable for 2023/24 are:
- 1 bedroom property £443
- 2 bedroom property £639
- 3 bedroom property £834
- 4 bedroom property £980
- 5 bedroom property £1150
- Flat Rate £740 (usually in cases of caravans, tents or gypsy and traveller sites)
From 1 April 2024 the contributions payable for 2024/25 will be :
- 1 bedroom property £465
- 2 bedroom property £671
- 3 bedroom property £875
- 4 bedroom property £1029
- 5 bedroom property £1207
- Flat Rate £777 (usually used in cases of caravans, tents or gypsy and traveller sites)
Is My Development In The 5.6km Zone?
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