Policy ENV1: Green Infrastructure Network
Policy ENV1: Green Infrastructure Network
- The Parish contains a variety of green and blue infrastructure that provides an environmental support system for the community and wildlife, including a County Wildlife Site existing in Horsford Woods. The Neighbourhood Plan designates this as a Horsford Green Infrastructure Network, as shown on the Policies Map, for the purpose of creating and contributing to multi-functional green infrastructure links including the completion of a Green Circular Path.
- As appropriate to their scale, nature and location, development proposals that lie within or adjoining the Network are required to have full regard to maintaining and improving the functionality of the Network, including delivering the nationally required minimum 10% net gain in biodiversity, and integrating existing green and blue infrastructure assets in the overall design of their layouts and landscaping schemes.
- Proposals that will lead to a loss of land lying within the Network and that will undermine its integrity will not be supported. Development proposals that will lead to an extension of the Network, including the provision of the Green Circular Path will be supported, provided they are consistent with all other relevant development policies of the development plan.
- Any proposal that can demonstrate that off-site compensation to mitigate for biodiversity loss is necessary must follow a sequential approach to its delivery. The gain should be delivered within or adjoining the network where the land is suited in principle for delivering the necessary gain. If this is not practical, then gain should be delivered on land within an adjoining Parish that is suited in principle for delivering the necessary gain. Only if it can be shown that this is not practical may the gain be delivered on other land.
View the Interactive Green Infrastructure Network Map on the Policy Map page
- The Greater Norwich Growth Board defines green infrastructure as the provision of connected and multi-functional green spaces. It includes all forms of green spaces such as sports and recreation grounds, allotments, parks, and natural open spaces. It also includes Blue Infrastructure such as rivers, canals, ponds, wetlands, and floodplains. Clause A of the policy defines the presence of green and blue infrastructure assets in the Parish. The Policies Map shows the full extent of the Network, and the proposed Green Circular Path, which allows applicants to determine if their proposals should take this policy into account.
- The policy therefore refines the provisions of GNLP Policies 2 and 7.4 in relation to multi-functional green infrastructure by identifying local green and blue infrastructure assets and opportunities to improve them. The policy approach is also in accordance with the vision and principles of the Greater Norwich Green Infrastructure Strategy currently being reviewed to build on the overall ambitions of the adopted strategy:
- Sustaining and enhancing the character and local distinctiveness of riverscapes, landscapes and townscapes
- Making space for wildlife
- Providing a high quality, multi-functional and connected network of accessible green spaces for people
- Adapting to climate change through sustainable planning and design.
- The network therefore also identifies elements of the Greater Norwich Green Infrastructure Strategy in Horsford and the opportunities for improvements from site allocations in Policy SS2 of this Plan. Horsford lies in the Northern Greater Norwich Area of the Local Green Infrastructure Corridor Network with Local Green Infrastructure Corridors connecting to the Sub-Regional Green Infrastructure Corridors, the latter also identified in the GNLP.
- Clause B of the policy requires that all development proposals that lie within the network, or that adjoin it, should consider how they may improve it, or at the very least do not undermine its integrity of connecting spaces and habitats, as per clause C. This may mean that development layouts are designed to contribute to the network’s effectiveness, including the provision of the Green Circular Path. The policy also recognises the national standard for biodiversity net gain to be delivered. This is expected to be in line with national provisions which is currently a minimum of 10% as identified in the Environment Act 2021. Net gain will be measured using DEFRA’s latest biodiversity metric.
- Clause D responds to the biodiversity net gain (BNG) provisions of the Environment Act 2021, now a statutory part of plan making and development management. It sets out how the loss of biodiversity value will be addressed through a sequential approach. The new biodiversity net gain requirement of at least 10% (as set out by the Environment Act of 2021) should be delivered either onsite or within or adjoining the Network so that the benefits of development are accrued as close as possible. However, it is accepted that the Network in the Parish may not be suited to delivering every type of required off-site gain. In such cases Clause D allows for the gain to be delivered in adjoining Parishes to Horsford or, as a final resort, on land elsewhere. The spatial risk multiplier built into the BNG Metric will continue to demonstrate the penalties associated with the distance the biodiversity net gain is delivered from the proposed development e.g. 1x in the development’s local planning authority area or national character area, 1.5x the adjoining local planning authority or national character area, or 2 x another part of England.
- There are no international or national designations falling within Horsford Parish. There are however eight County Wildlife Sites (CWS) in the Parish, most of which are in private ownership. CWSs are ‘areas of land rich in wildlife: a tract of heath, a meadow, a copse or a village pond’. CWSs can be found throughout Norfolk and outside of the nationally protected areas. In Horsford these are:
- Horsford Woods (part of) – two connected blocks of mature pine plantation to the north of Horsford, with an area of open, maintained heath.
- The Broadland Country Park is a 140 acre site to the north west of the village, part of whichfalls within the Parish Boundary. The Park was created in 2020 following the purchase of Houghen plantation by Broadland District Council and is a mosaic of heath, woodland and marshy grassland. The Park is now actively manged to improve biodiversity and revive the natural heathland.
- Pyehurn Lane Woodland – most of the site is broad-leaved semi-natural woodland.
- The Wilderness – a dense neglected area of young scrub, with trees, occupying a shallow depression with several shallow pools. The northern end of the site is mature oak.
- Black Park and The Thicket – a large area of oak dominated woodland with varied ground flora. The east end of the site has several ponds.
- Horsford Heath – a mixture of moderately diverse, neutral or slightly acid grassland on sandy soils and thick tall scrub of Scot’s pine and oak.
- Horsford Rifle Range – a mosaic of dry dwarf-scrub heath and acidic grassland adjacent to Horsford Woods. The site is privately owned and is used as a shooting range, leased to Smallburgh Rifle and Pistol Club.
- Botany Bay Farm – a mosaic of marshy grassland and remnant heath-acidic grassland with scrub and scattered trees. There is a history of grazing on the site, which is currently horse grazed from May to October.
- The rare silver-studded blue butterfly has a colony in Horsford Woods and Horsford Rifle Range and a population of turtledove bird, in decline, is found in Horsford. There are five different species of deer found in Horsford.
- The natural environment is very important to the residents of Horsford, who recognise the privilege it is to have accessible woodland on the edge of the village, where it is already permitted. It is the countryside surrounding the village that gives the Parish its rural rather than suburban or urban feel. It also gives the feeling of being distinct as a settlement, but still within a short distance of Norwich.
- It is the overwhelming view of residents that the Parish should only grow in an environmentally sustainable way, providing places for people to live that are considerate of the natural environment. The conservation, enhancement and creation of wildlife habitats have an important role to play in the achievement of Horsford being a sustainable place. The prospect of further development in Horsford provides an opportunity not only to conserve the precious environmental assets, but also to enhance what is already there and to create new areas. The community consultation event in May 2023 was used to identify additional green infrastructure assets. The Review Workshop in November 2022 and the consultation in November 2024 also confirmed continued support for this policy idea.