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Acle Road, Norwich of North Land / Habitats Regulations Assessment Assessment Regulations Habitats / Report for for Report NPS Property Consultants Property Acle Road, Norwich of North Land Land North of Norwich Road, Acle / Habitats Regulations Assessment Assessment Regulations Habitats NPS Property Consultants / Report for for Report NP S Author Graham Hopkins BSc (Hons) PhD PGCE FRES CEnv MCIEEM Consultants Property Job No. 140961/ 6396 Reviewed by Approved by Date Initial Alex Prendergast Danny Thomas 03/09/14 Revised Dr Rachel Saunders Tracy Simpson 10/10/17 The Ecology Consultancy Thorpe House, 79 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1UA T. 01603 628408 E. [email protected] W. www.ecologyconsultancy.co.uk Contents Executive Summary 1 1 Introduction 4 2 Background HRAs 6 3 Disturbance Impacts and Visitor Origins 7 4 Available Recreation Resources Locally 13 5 Refined List of Scoped-In Sites and Footpaths 19 6 Stage 1: Tests of Likely Significant Effects 24 7 In-Combination Effects 27 References 28 Appendix 1: Legislation and Process 31 Appendix 2: Background Information 36 Appendix 3: Figures 41 LIABILITY The Ecology Consultancy has prepared this report for the sole use of the commissioning party in accordance with the agreement under which our services were performed. No warranty, express or implied, is made as to the advice in this report or any other service provided by us. This report may not be relied upon by any other party without the prior written permission of The Ecology Consultancy. The content of this report is, at least in part, based upon information provided by others and on the assumption that all relevant information has been provided by those parties from whom it has been requested. Information obtained from any third party has not been independently verified by The Ecology Consultancy, unless otherwise stated in the report. COPYRIGHT © This report is the copyright of The Ecology Consultancy. Any unauthorised reproduction or usage by any person is prohibited. The Ecology Consultancy is the trading name of Ecology Consultancy Ltd. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (hereafter Habitats Regulations), before deciding to give consent or permission for a project which is likely to have a significant effect on a European site (either alone or in combination with other plans or projects) the competent authority is required to undertake an Appropriate Assessment of the implications for that site in view of that site’s conservation objectives. European sites are Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and also include Ramsar Sites. The proposals are for a scheme of 140 dwellings and associated open space on land off Norwich Road Acle. The scheme gained outline planning consent in January 2015 and this report examines the proposals in relation to the requirements of the Regulations and updates the initial report produced in 2014 in light of the need to apply to renew the outline planning permission. With the exception of an additional area of off-site informal open space secured by way of a Section 106 agreement, the proposed scheme details have not altered since the first report was produced. The provision of 140 dwellings is still anticipated to result in a projected increase in the population (by 322 residents compared to a current population of 2824). This Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) considers the potential increase in visitor numbers and recreation pressure on European sites resulting from increased number of residents living in the proposed project (development). Previously, Natural England had objected to the project, raising specific concerns over increased recreation pressure over two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) (component sites of the European sites): Damgate Marshes, Acle SSSI and Decoy Carr, Acle SSSI. At a plan level it was appreciated that green infrastructure and appropriate alternative greenspace could reduce the need for residents to visit European sites. As part of subsequent negotiations with the Local Planning Authority (LPA), in addition to the open space which was to be provided within the site itself, an additional area of land (1 hectare) is to be provided off-site. A review of visitor patterns is presented, based on a limited amount of available ‘postcode data’ for the Broads and then from the wider literature. As an initial scoping exercise a search radius of 6km is used, and within this the component sites of the European sites are identified and walking paths ‘promoted’ by local organisations or tourist books are identified. Literature evidence suggests that recreational visitors arriving on foot to countryside sites rarely travel more than 2km from home, thus 2km is used as a radius to refine the scoping area. Residents travelling by car would travel further, but with the large conurbations of The Ecology Consultancy 1 Land North of Norwich Road, Acle / HRA V2 / NPS Property Consultants Norwich and Great Yarmouth 12-15km distant then it would be expected that at many sites where car travel is necessary the numbers of visitors from these large conurbations would far outnumber those from the project. Four paths promoted locally are identified, two of which are close to SSSIs: the Weaver’s Way and a small circular route included as part of the Burlingham Woodland Walks but isolated from the larger western network of paths (this path is therefore called Roman and Damgate Woods Walk). The Weaver’s Way passes adjacent to both of the SSSIs of concern to Natural England, with this being a long distance path. The smaller ‘local’ Roman and Damgate Woods Walk only passess close to SSSIs along the sections of its length also designated as the Weaver’s Way. Furthermore, The Roman and Damgate Woods Walk passes near (as part of the Weaver’s Way) and the remainder of the Roman and Damgate Woods Walk does not come within 250m of Decoy Carr, Acle SSSI. Neither Decoy Carr, Acle SSSI nor Damgate Marshes, Acle SSSI have public footpaths. In addition, the latter is not designated for birds as part of the Broadland Special Protection Area, and as such, it is considered likely that disturbance of the qualifying features of this site is less likely. Across the two local SSSI the non-bird qualifying features are likely to be of low sensitivity to disturbance: two snails and stands of saw sedge which is likely to be wet and inhospitable to casual walkers. Marsh harriers are recorded locally but only once and as such the general area is considered to be of low importance to marsh harriers. Adjacent to the project site runs a path leading to the Burlingham Woodland Walks, which comprises a network of 21km of paths with circular routes and small loops. This is promoted locally for public use. The proximity and quality of this existing promoted walk and paths is considered to be high and it is considered to represent high quality alternative green space for walkers and dog walkers: it will be the main walking routes used by residents. Integral greenspace on the completed project will also serve to reduce off-site recreation somewhat. It is concluded that the proposed project will not result in more than very low numbers of visitors to designated sites or their component SSSIs of Damgate Marshes, Acle SSSI and Decoy Carr, Acle SSSI. Any increase in visitors is likely to be minor and not apparent within the variation from visitors from other sources, such as larger nearby conurbations and tourists. It is therefore considered that there is sufficient confidence to conclude that the presence of 322 new residents to the west of Acle, within the completed project, will not result in more than relatively and absolutely minor increases in the numbers of visitors and therefore recreational disturbance to The Broads SAC, Broads Ramsar site and the Broadsland SPA and/or their individual component sites. There is sufficient confidence to conclude that there will be no impact on site integrity. As such an Appropriate Assessment is not required. The Ecology Consultancy 2 Land North of Norwich Road, Acle / HRA V2 / NPS Property Consultants In combination with other housing schemes the arguments presented in this HRA are equally valid and it is concluded that there will be no in-combination effects on site integrity. The Ecology Consultancy 3 Land North of Norwich Road, Acle / HRA V2 / NPS Property Consultants 1 INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW 1.1 As required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (hereafter Habitats Regulations), before deciding to give consent or permission for a project which is likely to have a significant effect on a European site (either alone or in combination with other plans or projects) the competent authority is required to make an Appropriate Assessment of the implications for that site in view of that site’s conservation objectives. The competent authority must consult the appropriate nature conservation body and have regard to any representations made by that body. 1.2 In response to the Broadland Site Allocations Development Plan Document, Natural England (2014a) had previously considered the site proposed for 140 new dwellings off Norwich Road in Acle, Norfolk, to be ‘unsound' due to possible increases in recreational pressure on European sites from an increased local population. In response to the initial application for this project, Natural England expressed concerns regarding recreational impacts on The Broads Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Broadland Special Protection Area (SPA) and The Broads Ramsar site (Natural England, 2014b). As such they requested a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) to determine whether the project is potentially likely to have a significant effect on the European sites. The Stage 1 HRA report was produced in 2014 (The Ecology Consultancy 2014). 1.3 The proposal for 140 dwellings has since gained outline planning consent (January 2015 (ref: 20141108)).