Talbot Heath lies on the edge of Poole and Bournemouth. It’s one of a number of urban heaths with which the conurbation is blessed, and is home to some rare wildlife. Dartford warblers sing their scratchy songs from the coconut scented gorse while numerous reptiles, such as the small but nonetheless exotic sand lizard, bask in the southern sun. It’s a unique and wonderful wild space enjoyed by those that live nearby. But for how long?
On 9 June Poole Borough councillors resolved to grant a planning application to build 378 homes and 450 student units next to Talbot Heath. This decision left us stunned.
For the past forty years we and other conservationists have worked hard to help people understand that these heaths are rare and precious habitats that deserve our highest levels of protection. This site is so important that it is included under the global Ramsar convention, is designated a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds directive, forms of the Bourne Valley SSSI, protected under UK law.
So how could a decision be made to build a huge housing development next to it? There are well-known major risks attached to building next to heaths, and you need to be sure that the pressure from people, their pets, from fire risk and a myriad of other things won’t have a huge impact on the creatures that live there.
The “appropriate assessment” carried out by the council’s consultants, a legal requirement when protected sites are threatened, begged to differ. In a highly surprising conclusion and despite well documented evidence to the contrary, it found that the development would be okay. With a few measures such as cat proof fences, fire control and a bit of extra open space to lure people away from the Dartford warblers, everything would be fine and we need not worry.
The trouble is, these mitigation measures as they are known are not reliable and we don’t think they are up to the job. Poole Borough should know this too. The Dorset Heathlands Interim Planning Framework is an important agreement that we believed would secure a safe future for places like Talbot Heath. Signed by all the local authorities, it clearly states that for development proposals within 400m of a heath:
"... it will not be possible for a local planning authority undertaking an appropriate assessment of a proposal for residential development to be certain that any adverse effects could be avoided or alleviated."
Now let’s compare this with the actual wording of the appropriate assessment that paved the way for the approval of the planning application:
"Taking into account the proposed mitigation and proposed changes to the scheme it is concluded that the plan will not adversely affect the integrity of the European designations."
The difference is plain to see. And this is why the decision to approve the scheme came as a shock. We really thought that Poole Borough understood the implications of developing land next to heathlands.
But here we are. The application is now approved. So what can be done?
Well, we think this decision needs looking at again. And we sincerely believe this has implications well beyond the boundaries of Poole. If this goes ahead, it could open the floodgates to such developments elsewhere, in places such as the Thames Basin (south west of London) where similar interim agreements are in place with planning authorities.
This simply isn’t a local issue about a few houses. It’s a fundamental challenge to the way we protect our most valuable places. And for this reason we are strongly urging the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to hold a full public enquiry to investigate the validity of this decision.
For more information visit our casework information page here
An appauling decision by the Council, let us know if you wish prople to write demanding a Public Inquiry.