Purpose

The allocations protocol within the Chilterns
Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (CBSAC) Mitigation Strategy
sets out the types of development that the Council will consider
allocating Council owned Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace
(SANG) capacity to. SANG forms part of the mitigation needed to
absorb additional recreational pressure on the CBSAC arising from
new homes.
 

Decision

Decision made and reasons:
 
To approve the Revised Allocations Protocol for Council
owned Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) for the
Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation Mitigation
Strategy (CBSAC).
 
Reason
 
A revised allocations protocol is needed as the Council has
limited capacity remaining at DBC SANG sites and there is a risk
that much of this will quickly be drawn down by larger developments
through planning appeals, where decisions are made by a Planning
Inspector and not the Council.
 
The revised protocol focuses on providing DBC SANG
mitigation for sites that would otherwise have difficulty in
providing or securing SANG, and that also meet the Council’s
housing delivery priorities, such as DBC owned sites. The protocol
introduces a further restriction when the capacity of DBC SANG
sites falls below 10%, after which Council SANG capacity will be
reserved for developments of no more than nine homes, and DBC owned
sites only.
 
Development that does not meet the Council’s criteria
will be expected to meet their needs by providing their own SANG or
securing SANG from an alternative source. The Council’s
evidence shows that this can be achieved through the growing supply
of SANG sites within the borough that are being brought forward by
third parties and developers as off-site SANG. As a result, these
developments will still be able to provide SANG mitigation enabling
planning decisions to be made and housing delivery to
continue.