Introduction
Planning Policy Statements (PPS) set out the Government’s national policies on different
aspects of planning in England. PPS9 sets out planning policies on protection of
biodiversity and geological conservation through the planning system. These policies
complement, but do not replace or override, other national planning policies and should
be read in conjunction with other relevant statements of national planning policy. This
PPS replaces Planning Policy Guidance Note 9 (PPG9) on nature conservation published in
October 1994.
The policies set out in this PPS will need to be taken into account by regional planning
bodies in the preparation of regional spatial strategies, by the Mayor of London in relation
to the spatial development strategy for London, and by local planning authorities in the
preparation of local development documents. They may also be material to decisions on
individual planning applications.
In the context of this PPS, biodiversity is the variety of life in all its forms as discussed in
the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Geological conservation relates to the sites that are
designated for their geology and/or geomorphological importance.
A joint Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (06/2005) and Department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (01/2005) Circular is being published to accompany this PPS. This
sets out the wide range of legislative provisions at the international and national level that
can impact on planning decisions affecting biodiversity and geological conservation issues.
A separate guide will also be published which sets out good practice in relation to planning
for biodiversity and geological conservation.
The Government’s Objectives
Working with the grain of nature: a biodiversity strategy for England sets out the Government’s vision for conserving and enhancing biological diversity in England, together with a programme of work to achieve it. It includes the broad aim that planning, construction, development and regeneration should have minimal impacts on biodiversity and enhance it wherever possible.
In moving towards this vision, the Government’s objectives for planning are:
- to promote sustainable development by ensuring that biological and geological diversity are conserved and enhanced as an integral part of social, environmental and economic development, so that policies and decisions about the development and use of land
- integrate biodiversity and geological diversity with other considerations.
- to conserve, enhance and restore the diversity of England’s wildlife and geology by sustaining, and where possible improving, the quality and extent of natural habitat and geological and geomorphological sites; the natural physical processes on which they depend; and the populations of naturally occurring species which they support.
- to contribute to rural renewal and urban renaissance by:
- enhancing biodiversity in green spaces and among developments so that they are used by wildlife and valued by people, recognising that healthy functional ecosystems can contribute to a better quality of life and to people’s sense of well-being; and
- ensuring that developments take account of the role and value of biodiversity in supporting economic diversification and contributing to a high quality environment.
The planning system has a significant part to play in meeting the Government’s
international commitments and domestic policies for habitats, species and ecosystems.
Key Principles
Regional planning bodies and local planning authorities should adhere to the following key principles to ensure that the potential impacts of planning decisions on biodiversity and geological conservation are fully considered.
- Development plan policies and planning decisions should be based upon up-to-date information about the environmental characteristics of their areas. These characteristics should include the relevant biodiversity and geological resources of the area. In reviewing environmental characteristics local authorities should assess the potential to sustain and enhance those resources.
- Plan policies and planning decisions should aim to maintain, and enhance, restore or add to biodiversity and geological conservation interests. In taking decisions, local planning authorities should ensure that appropriate weight is attached to designated sites of international, national and local importance; protected species; and to biodiversity and geological interests within the wider environment.
- Plan policies on the form and location of development should take a strategic approach to the conservation, enhancement and restoration of biodiversity and geology, and recognise the contributions that sites, areas and features, both individually and in combination, make to conserving these resources.
- Plan policies should promote opportunities for the incorporation of beneficial biodiversity and geological features within the design of development.
- Development proposals where the principal objective is to conserve or enhance biodiversity and geological conservation interests should be permitted.
- The aim of planning decisions should be to prevent harm to biodiversity and geological conservation interests. Where granting planning permission would result in significant harm to those interests, local planning authorities will need to be satisfied that the development cannot reasonably be located on any alternative sites that would result in less or no harm. In the absence of any such alternatives, local planning authorities should ensure that, before planning permission is granted, adequate mitigation measures are put in place. Where a planning decision would result in significant harm to biodiversity and geological interests which cannot be prevented or adequately mitigated against, appropriate compensation measures should be sought. If that significant harm cannot be prevented, adequately mitigated against, or compensated for, then planning permission should be refused.
(Reproduced under Crown Copyright license from Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation, August 2005, ISBN 0-11-75394-6)
