River Avon SAC planning forum

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Under the Habitats Regulations, any development with the potential to affect a SAC and its designated species must be subject to strict scrutiny by the decision-maker (or Competent Authority), including planning authorities. The Habitats Regulations also require developers to include sufficient information with their planning applications to enable planning authorities to make informed decisions on any potential impacts to the River Avon.

The River Avon SAC Planning Forum was set up by Wiltshire Council to help strengthen planning liaison with respect to the internationally important Hampshire/Salisbury Avon. It was recognised that there are a large number of authorities involved with the River Avon, each granting permission or consent for a wide range of developments. There is potential for ecological effects caused by pollution or altered hydrological regime to occur a long distance from each individual development. Consequently, determining whether effects from individual developments will act cumulatively or in combination is a particularly complex process - the Forum aims to coordinate and standardise this decision-making process. Membership of the forum includes all local planning authorities involved with the river in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset, English Nature, the Environment Agency, water companies, the Forestry Commission and the Highways Agency.

For more information on the River Avon SAC Planning Forum, contact us.

One of the first actions of the River Avon SAC Planning Forum has been to produce Guidance for Developers which contains advice on how to get permission for developments within the vicinity of the River Avon. Guidance for Developers shows how applications for housing, industrial and retail development, minerals and waste development, road schemes, agricultural land use and any changes of use of land around the river will be considered in the light of the site’s legal protection. The booklet takes would-be developers through each stage of the process detailing what information may be needed. Wiltshire Council will expect planning applications for developments with the potential to affect the River Avon to contain supporting information in accordance with the advice in this booklet

View the document - Protecting the River Avon: Essential Habitats Directive Advice for Developers 418kb

The forum has also developed a Register of Developments for the River Avon. This register comprises of a GIS-enabled database of development projects with the Avon SAC catchment and provides a useful tool for planners engaged in assessing 'in-combination effects'. The register includes summary information on all developments in the vicinity of the river and is an interactive web tool to which all forum members have access to amend, update and search.

Last updated: 17 February 2011