The OEP has responded to Natural England’s consultation on its first Environmental Development Plan (EDP).
The draft EDP under the Planning and Infrastructure Act is intended to enable new housing development to take place in Norfolk alongside securing investment for nature recovery.
EDPs are government’s new approach to help achieve its ‘win, win’ for housing development and nature. The aim is that the positive effects of the proposed conservation measures will outweigh the negative effects of the housing development by the EDP end date. Currently, Natural England plans to roll out 23 EDPs across England.
The OEP broadly welcomes the positive intent of the first draft EDP but raises concerns that it does not yet provide sufficient evidence that the intended outcomes for nature will be achieved.
The OEP identifies main areas that Natural England should consider further:
- Reliance on compensation instead of nutrient mitigation
- Potential time lag between the negative effects of the development and the positive effects of the conservation measures
- Limited analysis of spatial relationship between conservation measures and affected environmental features
- Limited detail on monitoring, back-up measures and long-term course correction mechanisms
- Additionality of the conservation measures
To read the OEP’s full consultation response press the blue button at the side of this page.
