Environment and Heritage Policies

Within the boundaries of Shepton Mallet Parish there is considerable rural countryside with many coppices and woodlands with footpaths, bridleways and by-ways. Together with the various landscapes and types of trees, hedgerows, ponds and wildlife that flourish in these areas they contribute to the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike.

All of this landscape is enclosed by the Mendip Hills which characterise the county of Somerset in which Shepton Mallet lies. The Neighbourhood Plan will seek to protect this natural environment of Shepton Mallet, including open spaces and ensure that natural resources are used prudently.

The aim will be to ensure that Shepton Mallet remains an attractive rural environmentally healthy and sustainable place. The policies within this Neighbourhood Plan are designed to conserve and enhance the local distinctiveness and sense of place that is key to the character of Shepton Mallet.

POLICY FOURTEEN: LOCAL GREEN SPACES

Download the Criteria for Local Green Space Designation

OBJECTIVE 22
To allocate areas which are of importance to the community as Local Green Space

OBJECTIVE 27
Existing parks, play areas, playing fields and open spaces should be retained and additional open space areas provided

i. In recognition of their importance to the local community as green spaces of value, the following areas defined in fig are designated as Local Green Spaces and will be strongly protected from development:

• Land surrounding River Sheppey Weir
• Land to the east of Coombe Lane • Shepton Mallet Cemetery
• Land adjacent to Whitstone School
• Collett Park
• Kilver Court Gardens
• Land to the east of Charlton Viaduct
• Land around the Old Brewery
• Play area, off Queen’s Road
• Play Area Jubilee field
• Grounds of Care Home, Cannards Grave Rd
• Amenity Spaces in Ridgeway Estate / Mason Way / Springfield Court Sports field / Play Area
• Clover Ground, Tadley Acres Estate
• Coopers Mead, Tadley Acres
• Little Brooks Green, Tadley Acres
• Poppy Path, Tadley Acres
• Tadley Place, Tadley Acres
• West Shepton Playing Fields and Skate Park
• Manship Green, north and south
• ii. Any development in these areas will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances where it is required to protect and enhance their role and function as Local Green Spaces of value to the community.

iii. The only exception shall be development for essential utilities infrastructure which, should the need arise, will be supported in special circumstances where the benefit outweighs any harm, and it can be demonstrated there are no reasonable alternative sites available.

Reasoned Justification for Policy Fourteen

142 Under the NPPF, Neighbourhood Plans have the opportunity to designate Local Green Spaces which are of particular importance to the local community. This will afford protection from development other than in very special circumstances, Paragraph 77 of the NPPF says that Local Green spaces should only be designated where green space is: 

• “in reasonably close proximity to the community it serves”; 

• “demonstrably special to a local community and holds a particular local significance, for example because of its beauty, historic significance, recreational value (including as a playing field), tranquillity or richness of its wildlife”; and 

• “where the green area concerned is local in character and is not an extensive tract of land.” 

143 The areas identified by the community as being of value to them with some in need of the additional protection afforded to them as areas of Local Green Space, are included in Appendix Local Green Space Rationale together with a rationale for inclusion of each individual area.

View from Gold Hill

POLICY FIFTEEN: IMPORTANT VIEWS

OBJECTIVE 23: 
To preserve important views within the neighbourhood area 

OBJECTIVE 24: 
To preserve the views from the hills surrounding the town 

i. Any development must maintain the local character of the landscape and, in particular, not cause any loss or diminution of the following iconic views as shown on Proposals Map, which provide views over open spaces of value to the community: 

• Gateway view over Gold Hill from southern entry points into Shepton Mallet 
• View of the Meadows 

Reasoned Justification for Policy Fifteen 

144 Set in the rolling Somerset Hills, Shepton Mallet enjoys numerous exceptional views of the surrounding countryside. This is one of the main reasons for the thriving tourist industry which has grown up in and around the town.

145 Despite this, there are no specific views protected under the Mendip Core Strategy

146 There are, however three views in particular that are iconic and are of great significance to Shepton Mallet’s character and are identified within Policy sixteen 

147 The view from the four entry points into Shepton Mallet (identified on proposals map xxx)

• Whitstone Road

• Compton Road

• the B3136 and

• Runaway Hill

148 These gateway views are the first impression tourists and visitors have of Shepton Mallet when arriving from south to north, and set the tone for the town which is nestled in the Sheppey Valley, overlooked by Gold Hill to the North.

149 Gold Hill is an historic farming area which helps to provide the setting which is so treasured by the local community.

150 The two iconic views of the Meadows from two access points along Pike Hill facing both north and east overlook green fields.

Figs: Gateway Views over Gold Hill
Fig: iconic view over Meadow Fields	Fig: Topographical map of Shepton Mallet

POLICY SIXTEEN: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

OBJECTIVE 25 
Support proposals that result in retention of natural habitats, for example protecting/creating new green spaces in new housing developments 

i. Shepton Mallet’s Ecological Network shall be maintained, protected, consolidated, extended and enhanced as appropriate to their existing designations and biodiversity status. Development that negatively affects these sites or fragments the network will not be supported unless appropriate mitigation is incorporated within the proposal. 

ii. New development proposals should demonstrate how the location and type of green space, landscaping and water features provided within a scheme have been arranged such that they enhance and link into the existing Ecological Network and contribute to its consolidation.

iii. Such features should be designed to maximise the opportunities for enhancing the Ecological Network.

iv. All new development should maximise opportunities to create new ecological assets and links into areas where opportunities are as yet unidentified on maps within the Neighbourhood Plan.

v. Development proposals should result in a net gain for biodiversity. Development will also: 

• Protect and enhance features of biodiversity interest of value on and adjacent to the development site, incorporating and integrating them into development proposals, maintaining appropriate buffer zones between new development and the green network; and 
• Provide new tree planting, Priority Habitats, wildlife friendly landscaping and ecological enhancements (such as mixed native hedgerows, wildlife ponds, bird nesting and bat roosting features) wherever practicable. 

vi. In exceptional circumstances where the need for development clearly outweighs the loss of biodiversity units within the development site then off-site biodiversity offsetting to ensure that a net gain for biodiversity is achieved will be supported. Priority will be given to offsetting schemes within Biodiversity Opportunity Areas (BOAs). 

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Reasoned justification for Policy Sixteen

151 Wildlife habitats are subject to a range of pressures, including those from development. New development can cause direct loss and degradation of wildlife habitats fragmenting the ecological network and hindering the movement of wildlife through the landscape. Harm can be caused by the degradation, narrowing or severance of corridors (which includes the semi-natural habitats next to them) by the introduction or enlargement of barriers such as buildings, roads, hard landscaping (e.g. tarmac, fencing) or inappropriate landscaping (such as laurel hedges) artificial lighting, and by the culverting or re-direction of watercourses. The intent of this policy is to ensure that such harm does not occur. Policy Sixteen OBJECTIVE 25 support proposals that result retention of natural habitats, for example protecting/creating new green spaces in new housing developments.

152 Conversely, development can have a positive impact on biodiversity by creating new and restoring neglected habitats and by providing high quality links between them. For example, new ponds can be created and existing ones restored, as part of well-designed sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Also, new seminatural habitats can be created as part of a landscaping or off-setting scheme and the landscaping within a development (including gardens and parks) can be designed to maximise its value for wildlife such as by using native trees and hedgerows. The intent of this policy is to ensure that these benefits are realised. 

153 The National Planning Policy Framework requires that “planning policies and decisions contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by …minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures.” It further states that plans should: 

• Identify, map and safeguard components of local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological networks, including the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites of importance for biodiversity; wildlife corridors and steppingstones that connect them; and areas identified by national and local partnerships for habitat management, enhancement, restoration or creation; 

and 

• promote the conservation, restoration and enhancement of priority habitats, ecological networks and the protection and recovery of priority species; and identify and pursue opportunities for securing measurable net gains for biodiversity.”

154 The Environment Bill 2019-2021 sets out the UK government’s latest targets, plans and policies for improving the natural environment and will include a requirement for developers to deliver a biodiversity net gain of at least 10%. This matter is incorporated within Policy fourteen. 

155 Significant biodiversity assets within and in close proximity to the Plan area include a number of European, nationally and locally designated sites. The Mells Valley SAC lies at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills National Character Area in the County of Somerset. The Mendip Woodlands SAC located on the southern slope of the Mendip Hills National Character Area is approximately 6.5km east from the Neighbourhood Area boundary. North Somerset and Mendip Bats SAC and Somerset Levels and Moors are both in close proximity to Shepton Mallet. 

156 The policy will be used to guide the location, layout and design of new housing development, ensuring the essential components of Shepton Mallet’s ecological networks are protected and enhanced and that resilience to future pressures such as climate change will be boosted. New developments should deliver a net gain for biodiversity.