Enforcement action from South Downs National Park Authority ensures biodiversity gains delivered
December 17, 2020
Wildflower green roofs that help boost biodiversity have been installed at a new tourism development following successful enforcement action by the Authority.
Two years ago planning permission was granted for 12 holiday lodges and a reception lodge on land at The Droveway, in Swanborough, East Sussex.
However, a planning breach occurred when wildflower green roofs were omitted in the construction. Instead the roofs were constructed with plasticised membrane in a light grey colour, with the applicant proposing to leave the roofs as they were.
As well as negative landscape impact, this would have resulted in a net loss of an area of approximately 850m2 of wildflower habitat that supports a range of invertebrate and bird species.
Enforcement action was supported by the community, with Kingston Parish Council stating: “The purpose of the condition was to mitigate the visual impact of the new lodges on the landscape of the South Downs National Park.
“The council has received complaints from parishioners that the proposed variation would detract from their enjoyment of the landscape.”
Enforcement Officer Jack Trevelyan said: “During the original planning approval, these green roofs were identified as crucial and their omission cause the enforcement team to step-in. Following a recommendation for Refusal at SDNPA committee to remove these green roofs, they were finally installed and inspected by the enforcement team last September.”
The enforcement case is just one example of a busy year for the National Park’s enforcement team.
Heather Lealan, Enforcement Lead for the Authority, said: “We have continued to undertake planning enforcement site visits through the lockdown while ensuring that we are Covid safe.
“The team have also continued to undertake statutory monitoring visits to Minerals and Waste sites to ensure compliance with planning conditions. We did 22 such visits in August and were pleased to find accordance with planning conditions across the vast majority of Minerals and Waste sites in the National Park.”