Law of nature: Clyst Valley Regional Park

Clyst Meadows sketch. © Phil Watts

Leaders of a new landscape-scale green infrastructure network in Devon argue that a strategic approach to nature recovery is welcome, but new delivery mechanisms proposed in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill must not undermine existing environmental law.

The Clyst Valley Regional Park (CVRP), on the eastern edge of Exeter, will provide a connected, multifunctional green infrastructure (GI) network that links existing historic villages and internationally important landscapes with the rapidly growing new community at Cranbrook, Exeter and the East Devon Enterprise Zone. The strategic approach to nature recovery proposed in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill offers the potential for a step change in the delivery of this vision to enable the creation of a nature-rich landscape that benefits the rapidly growing community. However, it is vital that the existing environmental protections from which CVRP has benefited to this point are not undermined by new mechanisms for nature delivery.

The vision for the Clyst Valley is to restore its landscape to create a tranquil haven for people and wildlife, with clear running waters nourishing new woodlands and wetlands, and an embedded resilience to climate change. The concept of the CVRP originates from LDA Design’s 2009 Green Infrastructure Strategy, which identified the importance of Clyst Meadows. These follow the River Clyst from Topsham on the Exe Estuary through Clyst St Mary and Broadclyst, to the National Trust’s 2,500-hectare Killerton Estate. The CVRP Masterplan sets out a vision and objectives for the Clyst Valley to create a multifunctional GI framework that provides space for people and nature, alongside a range of ecosystem services.

East Devon is one of the fastest growing districts in the country, with 8,000 homes completed, alongside significant employment growth, and plans to deliver a further 14,500 homes and a total of 26,000 jobs by 2040. The CVRP is essential to provide multifunctional ecosystem services, including water quality enhancement, flood storage, tree canopy cover, food production, habitat connectivity, accessible green space and mitigation of the impacts of development on nearby European protected wildlife sites.

The South East Devon Habitat Regulations Partnership (comprising Exeter City, Teignbridge, and East Devon District Councils, with Natural England) has a track record of supporting the delivery of housing through a strategic approach to mitigating the impact of recreational impacts on internationally important locations. These include the Exe Estuary, Pebblebed Heaths National Nature Reserve, and Dawlish Warren. The South East Devon European Sites Mitigation Strategy sets out on-site measures, which include Wildlife Wardens (a coordinated parking and signage strategy), and ‘Devon Loves Dogs’ (a free scheme for dog owners to promote responsible dog walking on these sensitive habitats). In addition, it promotes off-site measures, most notably Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG). These are funded through a rigorously tested and clearly set-out funding regime, through developers’ contributions from planning agreements (typically Section 106 or Unilateral Undertakings), direct delivery (for larger developments) or Community Infrastructure Levy contributions.

This approach has secured significant areas of developer-led SANGs at Cranbrook and other larger-scale housing schemes that provide high-quality natural green space for residents and the wider community within the Clyst Valley. Clyst Meadows, currently being established on-site, will be the first SANG delivered by East Devon within the CVRP and will provide a 10-hectare country park for recreational use and biodiversity enhancement.

The Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) and Environmental Development Plans (EDP) proposed in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill have the potential to supercharge this existing approach to mitigation, potentially enabling a forward-funded, strategic and multifaceted approach that could unlock landscape-scale nature recovery. However, there are concerns about the weakening of existing environmental protections in the bill as it is currently worded. The Office for Environmental Protection has advised the government that while they commend a more strategic approach to issues such as nutrient overloading, they are concerned about aspects of the bill that reduce the level of environmental protection provided for by existing environmental law. If EDPs are implemented, it is vital that they are evidence-based and integrated with Local Nature Recovery Strategies to ensure they protect key species and habitats and truly deliver nature recovery.

An EDP for the Clyst Valley could support the CVRP masterplan objectives, ensuring equitable access to nature by providing more accessible natural greenspace close to people’s homes – particularly as many nature-rich places in Devon are difficult to visit without access to a car.

The structure of the NRF and EDPs is not yet clear, nor is the role Natural England will take as the designated delivery body, but the potential for existing delivery partnerships (such the South East Devon Habitat Regulations Partnership) to share learning and build upon these successful mitigation strategies should not be lost. For CVRP, and many more similar projects around the country, there is a clear opportunity for a strategic approach, underpinned by protection of our important landscapes and habitats, to restore nature and enable sustainable development. The successful delivery of landscape-scale strategies such as the CVRP masterplan, and wider outcomes such as nutrient neutrality, carbon capture and health and wellbeing benefits, relies on existing levels of environmental protection not being reduced.