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 County Wildlife Sites. The Neighbourhood Plan designates this as a Horsford Green Infrastructure Network, as shown on the Policies Map, for the purpose of applying national decision-making policy on improving the natural environment.
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, which includes the proposed Green Circular Path, which allows applicants to determine if their proposals should take this policy into account.
- The policy therefore identifies 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 and the Norfolk Local Nature Recovery Strategy. The latter identifies the existing Green Infrastructure Network identified here as either ‘Areas of Particular Importance for Biodiversity’ or ‘Areas that Could Become of Importance to Biodiversity’.
- The network therefore also identifies elements of the Greater Norwich Green Infrastructure Strategy and Norfolk Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Horsford and the opportunities for improvements from site allocations in Policy SS2A 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.
- 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 which falls 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 managed 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 following priority habitats are also found in Horsford: Lowland heathland, Lowland fens, Deciduous woodland and Good quality semi-improved grassland. Stone Beck along the north eastern boundary (stream), Hor (a small stream) running through the village and other unnamed watercourses are also present 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.
- National policy requirements on incorporating green infrastructure in new development (including trees, other wildlife-friendly planting, green corridors, green roofs and walls, as well as water) is not repeated here but will continue to apply.