Page 12 - Ickford NP Background Evidence

12 ICKFORD NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN : BACKGROUND EVIDENCE REPORT

3a). Where significant development of agricultural land is
Box1: Key Biodiversity Issues for Ickford demonstrated to be necessary, local planning authorities should
seek to use areas of poorer quality land. Further investigation
Although there is no national biodiversity designation in may be required to determine whether the areas of grade 3 is
the Ickford neighbourhood area, there needs to be : grade 3a or grade 3b if the plan wants to allocate sites for
development.
• Protection of the specialist habitat particularly The Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) provides a
hedgerows, and natural floodplain which is method for assessing the quality of farmland to enable informed
nationally important for certain wildfowl species choices to be made about its future use within the planning
eg Curlew system. For Ickford village all of the settlement is considered
• Ongoing protection of important tree species eg to be Grade 4.
Black Poplar and Lime.
• The encouragement and conservation of Grade 4: poor quality agricultural land. Land with severe
important local species to include Great Crested limitations which significantly restrict the range of crops and/
Newt, Bats and birds such as Barn Owl, other or level of yields. It is mainly suited to grass with occasional
raptors and visiting wildfowl. arable crops (e.g. cereals and forage crops) the yields of which
• Conserving and developing the villages open spaces. are variable. In moist climates, yields of grass may be moderate
• The active involvement of the school and wider to high but there may be difficulties in utilisation. The grade
community in educational and conservation also includes very dry arable land.
projects as well as on going recording of species.
Brownfield Land
National planning policy (NPPF) states that Plans should
Soil and Geology
allocate land with the least environmental or amenity value,
where consistent with other policies in the Framework.
Agricultural Land Classification
Planning policies and decisions should encourage the
National policy (NPPF) states that local planning authorities effective use of land by re-using land that has been
should take into account the economic and other benefits of previously developed (brownfield land), provided that it is
the best and most versatile agricultural land (grades 1, 2 and not of high environmental value.

(Extract From Ickford Fact Pack)

VISION FOR ICKFORD – NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN
www.visionforickford.co.uk