Hi,
A pub in our neighbourhood has closed, and the site has been bought by a developer who, in conjunction with a housing association, is proposing demolishing the pub building and replacing it with 13 new 'affordable' homes. There are currently house sparrows nesting under the eaves of the pub, and the site is busy with sparrows.
Since environmental impact assessments undertaken in our area for other planning applications have all seemed to be self-serving (e.g. undertaken during the winter months, no signs of significant wildlife noted etc.) how can I ensure that the presence of these sparrows will be noted properly and taken into consideration?
I'm asking because it seems that our local authority does not read or consider letters of objection (even the ones that follow their guidelines) when considering planning applications. And there are all kinds of loopholes through which 'affordable housing' applications slip through with the result that every single village in our area is now faced with proposals for affordable housing schemes. And this is in an AONB!
Apologies for the rant, we're very frustrated here! Just to repeat, how can we help these sparrows (and other birds in our area including starlings and house martins) get recognition?
Hi Susan
All Birds, their nest and eggs are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and it is thus an offence to damage or destroy and active bird nest or prevent parent birds access to their nest. It is always worth pointing this law out to the Authority (i.e. Council) and the developers themselves. If you feel you are getting nowhere with them you are more than welcome to give them our contact details here in Wildlife enquiries 01767 693690 or even contact you local newspaper to run an article. http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/law/whatsintheroof/index.asp
Kind Regards
Tom Waters
Why not check out the news from the wildlife enquiries team?
Hi Tom,
Thanks for responding, but is there anything we can do when the developers say that they will wait till the bird nesting season is over before knocking down the building? Our concern is that the building is currently being used by sparrows, but there's no guarantee that the new houses that are proposed will be suitable for the sparrows.
I see that your site says the following: "House sparrows are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take a house sparrow, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents." Does the use of the word "or" mean that house sparrows are also protected outside nesting season?
If so, how do we get recognition for the sparrows so that it's not just us saying that they are there?
Hi Susan,
As a planner working for the RSPB in the Midlands I wonder if I can come in at this point and add a few comments. First, it's within the power of the local planning authority to impose a "planning condition" that would REQUIRE the developer not to demolish the building in the breeding season. The breeding season isn't defined in law but we'd suggest avoiding the period mid-March to 31 July as a basic precaution. You could make this suggestion yourself in writing to the planning authority and if you wanted to, quote the RSPB's guidance available on our website at http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/takeaction/england.asp - have a look at the leaflet titled "Protecting birds from development" in particular.
The birds are protected year round as Tom said, and their eggs/nests etc while in use or being built. But the nesting place per se isn't protected, and the developer can quite legitimately demolish the building as long as they can show evidence there were no nesting birds present at that particular time. In fact, unless the building is listed or in a conservation area, the developer doesn't need any kind of permission to demolish it, because demolition alone isn't classed as "development" in planning law.
In a case like this I'd suggest that an outright objection based on wildlife impacts just isn't going to hold water. It sounds like you've had some bad experiences of your local planners but it's still worth making representations, especially if you could encourage your neighbours to write along the same lines. Aside from trying to avoid demolition during the breeding season, you could think about suggesting to the planners that they should press for design and landscaping features within the new development that would attract the sparrows and other wildlife back into the site once it's built. Nest boxes and native plants and shrubs that will attract insects and bear winter seed, for example.
Hope these thoughts help - good luck.
Colin
Thanks Colin and Tom. We'll suggest the addition of sparrow-attractive features to the planners. But our feeling that the developers have more clout and louder voices than us just isn't a good feeling.
Does the RSPB have a planner in each area?
Sort of! We have 'conservation officers' all over the country based in our regional offices, some of whom specialise in land use planning issues like me. But you'll appreciate that if I tell you for example my region spans 13 counties and I'm the only planner in the team, it can be a challenge for us to engage directly in all but most critical cases that affect nationally and internationally important sites and bird populations. Sadly, there are still all too many of these for us to relax!
Best wishes,