Comment

Representation ID: 29067

Received: 24/03/2021

Respondent: Environment Agency

There is insufficient reference to the water environment within the current objectives. Improving the status of the district’s watercourse and certainly preventing their further deterioration should be included within the Plan’s primary objectives and any opportunity to do so should also be considered in the Local Plan. The Plan should also identify measures, opportunities and/or projects to deliver such objectives.

Suggested changes:

Objective 1 - To recognise and fully exploit the role and transformational potential of the City of Bradford and the towns along Airedale and Wharfedale as dynamic locations of choice for housing and economic growth within the Leeds City Region. To fully exploit the potential environmental enhancements through this transformation.

Objective 4 - To significantly improve the quality of new development and ensure that new housing schemes create inclusive, accessible, distinctive and healthy places that incorporate green streets and spaces and make efficient use of resources. Including making development both energy and water efficient.

Objective 12 - To provide a clean, safe, secure, sustainable, attractive and accessible built and natural environment in order to reduce the fear of crime and disorder and foster a shared sense of civic pride and responsibility, supporting the social, economic, natural and physical regeneration of neighbourhoods across the District.

Objective 14 - To improve air and water quality and reduce the impact of climate change through mitigation and adaptation, particularly through reducing emissions, energy consumption, the risk of flooding, protecting and enhancing water resources and water quality and promoting the use of renewable and low carbon energy and securing the means to become locally self-sufficient

Objective 16 - Ensure that new development provides at least 10% biodiversity net-gain and safeguards and enhances the District's biodiversity and green/blue infrastructure assets through careful landscape, woodland and waterways/water environment management. In particular the South Pennine Moors and upland fringe.

Please note not all water bodies in the District are navigable, therefore only referring to waterways would exclude certain waterbodies from the scope of the objectives. Reference should be to the water environment as a whole or watercourses/rivers.
We would encourage the inclusion of the above amendments and possibly an additional objective focused around water environment being protected and enhanced.