Policy 4 -- Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services

 

Purpose:  This is a cross-cutting policy which aims to protect and enhance the parish’s stock of natural assets (the natural capital of the parish, including the cultural and built forms) and in a sustainable way support the wide range of services (ecosystem services) which support the community and local businesses.

 

Of particular importance to the Parish in this respect are:

 

  1. Sense of place
  2. Tranquillity
  3. Sense of history and cultural heritage
  4. Recreation (including health and well-being)
  5. Biodiversity
  6. Regulating coastal erosion and flooding

 

Policy:   Development proposals must have an overall positive impact on natural capital, natural beauty and scenic landscape and should contribute to the ability of the natural environment to provide those outcomes which contribute to the well-being of the community and Parish economy.

 

To ensure that the natural and built environment continues to support the community and local businesses, development proposals must demonstrate that all opportunities have been taken to ensure that positive contributions outweigh any negative effects.

 

They should demonstrate that they will:

 

  1. Preserve and enhance the sense of tranquillity and wilderness, the wide-open spaces, dark skies and panoramic views of the National Landscape and internationally important seascapes
  2. Conserve, manage and increase understanding of Walberswick’s rich archaeological, historical and cultural heritage
  3. Reduce the pressures associated with high visitor numbers to the village, beach, and other designated sites
  4. Maintain and enhance the role of the parish as a place for the promotion of health and well-being
  5. Conserve and extend the parish’s local, national and internationally important wildlife habitats and increase levels of biodiversity that they support
  6. Strengthen the corridors that support the movement of wildlife and improve connections between areas of high biodiversity to enhance the overall network of wildlife habitats
  7. Manage the risk of flooding whilst improving resilience to climate change and mitigation of the associated effects
  8. Control levels of air, water, light and noise pollution
  9. Encourage travel by sustainable modes and reduce demand for car travel and parking.

 

To meet the requirements of this policy, applications must be supported by a statement or checklist (in addition to any legally required such as HRA or Design and Access statements, but drawing from them) that sets out how proposed development will impact on the ecosystem services and objectives listed above. This should identify both positive and negative impacts.