9. Natural environment
9.1 Introduction
9.1.1 Cambridge’s natural environment helps define the character and setting of the city, and contributes significantly to Cambridge residents’ quality of life. The Council is committed to maintaining and enhancing the natural environment against the background of a successful, growing city.
9.2 Policy background
9.2.1 NPPF - Paragraph 109 of the NPPF seeks to conserve and enhance the natural environment. It states that the planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment. It should do this by minimising the impacts on biodiversity and also remediating and mitigating despoiled, degraded, derelict, contaminated and unstable land, where appropriate.
9.2.2 Paragraph 118 of the NPPF states that if significant harm to the environment as a result of the environment cannot be avoided, adequately mitigated or compensated for, then planning permission should be refused.
9.2.3 Cambridge Local
Plan 2014 Submission Version
Local Plan policies that are significant to nature
conservation include:
- Policy 69 – Protection of sites of local nature conservation importance; and,
- Policy 70 – protection of priority species and habitats; and,
- Policy 71 – Trees.
9.3 What can be funded by CIL?
9.3.1 Strategic improvements to landscape, habitats, access to the countryside and major green infrastructure projects could be funded by CIL
9.4 What can be funded by planning obligations?
9.4.1 Environmental mitigation measures will be considered on a site by site basis. Most issues will be localised and are likely to be small scale where it is appropriate to deal with them by means of a planning conditions.
9.4.2 Depending on the scale of the development there may be circumstances where schemes require mitigation measures to be included in a S.106 Agreement. Matters which could be included in a S.106 Agreement include, but are not limited to:
- Ecological Mitigation/Remediation;
- Major contamination issues;
- Species protection and habitat protection.
