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| Cute and cuddly - but potentially deadly to songbirds |
A DEVELOPMENT company which sought to build houses on land near a site rich in singing nightingales has lost its appeal to proceed.
Esquire Developments Ltd appealed after Medway Council refused its application to build nine houses on land at Chattenden, near Rochester, in Kent.
But the independent planning inspectorate, Mr E. Grierson, upheld the council's refusal decision because he thought the birds would be vulnerable to predation from any cats that the householders might own.
His decision notice reads as follows:
" The appeal is dismissed.
"Birds can be disturbed by the urbanising impacts of residential development including recreational pressures and predation from domestic pets.
"Whilst not a precise correlation, the potential for adverse effects increases with the number of dwellings nearby.
"Therefore, whilst the appellant has identified over 1,000 existing dwellings within 400 metres of the SSSI, additional dwellings would still have the potential to increase adverse effects upon it.
"Whilst there is no direct access from the appeal site into the SSSI, there are two public rights of way in close proximity, which future occupiers of the proposed development could use to access parts of it for recreational activities.
"Although it is likely that they would stick to designated routes, the additional footfall and the associated noise and activity this would generate would still result in some disturbance to the habitats for which the site is designated for.
"Due to the scale of the proposed development, the numbers of additional people accessing the SSSI would not be substantial.
"Nevertheless, although limited, the proposal would still result in additional recreational pressures, resulting in disturbance that would have an adverse impact on the habitats within the SSSI and the species which inhabit it.
"I understand that this is particularly relevant for the nightingale population due to their sensitivities to disturbance and their ground nesting tendencies.
"From information submitted by the appellant based on figures relating to cat ownership, the development proposed on the appeal site and the neighbouring site in combination would result in the introduction of around seven domestic cats.
"Although this number is not significant, due to the predatory nature of cats and their ability to roam, the proposed development and the likely increase in the number of domestic cats in the area would still have an adverse impact on the population of nightingales within the SSSI.
"To reduce the impact of the proposed development on the notifying features of the SSSI, the appellant has put forward a number of mitigation measures.
"These mitigation measures include a 'no cat' policy for the occupiers of the proposed dwellings via a restrictive covenant inserted into the title deeds of each property and enforced by an independent management company.
"The appellant has stated that they will enter into a legal agreement with the Council to secure this, however this has not been provided as part of the appeal.
"However, even if regular inspections are carried out by the management company, it would be difficult to identify the owners of any cats discovered and enforce any suspected breach of the covenant, thereby making it ineffective.
"The appellant has also proposed cat-proof fencing between the appeal site and the boundary with the SSSI, with additional planting to provide a robust, thorny boundary.
"However, limited details have been provided regarding its design and maintenance, and it is likely that cats could traverse around such a boundary.
"As such, these mitigation measures would not fully prevent cat ownership on the appeal site or entirely mitigate the subsequent impact upon the nightingale population from an increased number of predatory cats.
"The appellant has also put forward the addition of a green buffer to separate the proposed dwellings from the boundary with the SSSI and create a dark corridor.
"However, this has a limited width, and the proposed development would still be in close proximity to this boundary.
"The provision of information packs to the occupiers of the proposed dwellings has also been suggested.
" This would help to educate residents on the features of the SSSI, but would only provide advisory measures, which are not enforceable and would be unlikely to last the lifetime of the development.
"Therefore, these measures would not significantly reduce the urbanising impacts from the proposed development."
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