I read somewhere recently that Basingstoke is the nineteenth most depressing place to live in England. A cynic with even a modicum of environmental awareness could be forgiven for thinking the Local Planning Authority (LPA) – Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council – has ambitions for the town and what remains of its surrounding countryside to claw its way up the league table. If I was an amphibian living in the borough I would certainly think they had achieved their goal but that’s a story for another time.

As with all LPA areas, defining the way the town develops and how much or how little biodiversity destruction accompanies its expansion is a document called the Local Plan. A Local Plan sets out planning policies for new development and represents a vision for the future. Why is that important you might ask? If the Local Plan lacks adequate protection for the natural world, then nothing stands in the way of the continuing development-driven onslaught on the environment and biodiversity.

Above: The Basingstoke area is an important one for the Hazel Dormouse, a species protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. They hibernate in a state of torpor at ground level in woodlands and hedgerows and are supremely vulnerable to insensitive land management. An extreme example of this would mechanical hedgerow removal in the winter months – the odds that any hibernating dormice would survive the blitzkrieg are vanishingly remote. Laws exist to protect both dormice and their habitat but these need to be strengthened and supported not weakened in the Local Plan. Perhaps more to the point, infringements of the law need to be dealt with robustly.
Above: Basingstoke is a hotspot for Great Crested Newts, a species that is sufficiently under threat for it to be protected by law. It goes without saying that the destruction and degradation of both terrestrial and aquatic breeding habitats impacts the species. But so do decisions made by local authorities. For example, permitting building in areas of open countryside that harbour thriving populations of Great Crested Newts and other amphibians inevitably means loss of habitat and more carnage on the roads during migration times thanks to the increase in traffic. If the council is serious about protecting biodiversity then more joined-up environmental thinking and forward planning is called for – there’s a clue in the word ‘plan’ in Local Plan.

Basingstoke is in the process of updating its Local Plan and it is supposed to be prepared in consultation with the community it represents. Right now, there is a brief window of opportunity – you’ve got until 4th March – for residents to influence the outcome of the plan at the current stage in its evolution.

If your vision for Basingstoke is one where rampant development can take place at any environmental cost then sit back and do nothing.

For those who do care about their natural heritage, to my mind the wording of the draft Local Plan represents a backward step in terms of protection for biodiversity. Yes, it contains plenty of aspirational greenwash and hand-wringing concern for the self-proclaimed ecological crisis. But analyse the fine detail and identify what is missing and to my mind it weakens rather than strengthens existing protection for the natural world.

It’s hard not to feel that the balance has been tilted in favour of unfettered development and away from environmental protection. I am not altogether surprised by this given that, at the national level, parties of most political persuasions seem keen on sweeping away any legislative red tape that prevents growth, growth, growth at any environmental cost.

One thing that residents with environmental concerns can do is to submit comments about the draft Local Plan to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council. An easy way to do this is to visit the website of Natural Basingstoke, the umbrella organisation that supports and represents local community nature conservation groups in the borough. The site has a page devoted to their Response to the Local Plan along with a Representation Form that you can personalise and submit.

Above: What hope for Skylarks in the borough of Basingstoke & Deane? Common and widespread in my youth, their numbers have declined catastrophically in recent decades. They need all the help the Local Plan can give them.

For me there are three key areas of concern that I would like to see incorporated into the new Local Plan:

  • defined environmental buffer zones to protect vulnerable habitats (woodlands, tree belts, hedgerows, water bodies and the like) from the effects and influences of development.
  • a requirement that ecological reports submitted on behalf of developers use the most reliable and comprehensive contemporary data including the Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre database and local sources.
  • 20% Biodiversity Net Gain as target rather than the current 10%; the latter figure is a mandatory requirement and so does not represent any meaningful environmental ambition on the part of the LPA.
Above: Hedgerows are important habitats in their own right but also provide environmental connectivity in the wider landscape, preventing fragmentation and isolation of key sites of biodiversity. All hedgerows deserve protection from the impacts of development and the actions of unsympathetic landowners. Protection needs to be strengthened not weakened by the wording of the new Local Plan.