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The Cotswold Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation

New developments in Cheltenham borough have the potential to affect internationally important biodiversity sites, in particular the protected Cotswold Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

 

The Cotswold Beechwoods SAC is mainly designated for its woodland flora and is very popular with visitors. The SAC sits within Stroud district, Tewkesbury borough and Cotswold district. It’s owned and managed by a number of owners.

 

Unfortunately, sites such as this are being damaged by visitors, for example walking, biking or exercising their dogs. That damage is likely to increase as more houses and holiday accommodation are built, leading to more visitors. It is crucial that ways are found to prevent and mitigate this damage.

Cheltenham Borough Council has a legal duty to assess the impact of planning applications on the SAC. We have worked with other local authorities and Natural England to prepare a recreation mitigation strategy for the SAC.

Planning applications

If you’re applying for anything that involves additional overnight accommodation such as dwellings, hotels and HMOs for example, you will need to pay a contribution to offset the impact of your development. This money will be used to help pay for mitigation measures for the SAC. 

Mitigation measures

Mitigation measures comprise:

  • SAMM (Strategic Access Management and Monitoring)
  • Off-site infrastructure including SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace

These two approaches complement each other.

SAMM measures address recreation impacts and make the SAC more resilient to any increased recreation. SAMM measures generally include: 

  • dedicated staff
  • signs and interpretation
  • education and awareness raising
  • parking and travel related measures
  • monitoring

SANG is created, or existing green spaces enhanced, to absorb the level of additional recreation pressure associated with new development. Some projects should be delivered directly by developers through on-site provision.

How to make a financial contribution

All residential planning proposals must provide:

  • a financial contribution of £221 per dwelling for SAMM

and one of the following:

  • a financial contribution of £550 per dwelling for SANG OR
  • the direct provision of bespoke SANG as part of the development itself (larger schemes only)

You will need to complete our Unilateral Undertaking form and return it to the case officer for your application.

This will legally commit you to paying your mitigation contribution before work begins on your development. You will also need to pay an additional £356 legal fee and £229 monitoring fee. These additional fees are per application, not per dwelling.

The total financial contribution required is £1,356

Payment of the mitigation contribution will be deferred until after planning permission has been granted. You will need to notify us of commencement of development by emailing S106@Cheltenham.gov.uk, giving a provisional commencement date. We will then issue you with a 'demand notice' for the sum specified in your Unilateral Undertaking. Development should not start until we have confirmed receipt of payment. 

Document Icon Cotswold Beechwoods SAC – template unilateral undertaking - docx - 38 Kb

If your mitigation payment is not made prior to commencement, the development will be in breach of the conditions of both the legal agreement and the planning permission. We will take appropriate legal and enforcement action to rectify the situation.

Notes on completing the unilateral undertaking form

Please complete the Unliateral Undertaking form and submit this with your application, together with landownership evidence of signatories and the relevant legal and monitoring fees. You can pay the legal and monitoring fees online.

  • Please do not date the form. The Unilateral Undertaking will be dated once we have checked the draft and obtained confirmation in respect of landownership
  • Please ensure a plan of the application site edged red is attached
  • Please ensure signatories sign both the plan of the site and the signatures page
  • Please ensure if the signatories are individuals that their signatures on the signatures pages are witnessed by someone who is not a family member. It is not necessary for signatures on the plan to be witnessed

Please contact your case officer for more information.

Notes on payment

You will need to pay the £356 legal fee and the £229 monitoring fee when you submit your Unilateral Undertaking form; the contribution itself can be paid later but before you commence work on site.

Mitigation contribution payments must be made against a Demand Notice. Please do not make a payment unless instructed to do so. Please notify our planning research and monitoring officer by emailing S106@cheltenham.gov.uk once you have made this payment. This will ensure your payment is verified and discharged.

Pay mitigation contribution online

 

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