As part of the new Lamb’s Yard development the developer, Dyason Developments, must create a wildlife area at the rear of the site, as shown on the map below. This was part of their planning approval to offset biodiversity loss. It is detailed in the S106 that they are legally bound to follow.
The wildlife area must be created to very specific plans that were agreed with SCDC. The developer will create the area then after it has been signed off by the planning department as being completed to the satisfaction of the guidelines they are liable to manage the area for another 12 months – again against an agreed work schedule and under monitoring by SCDC ecologists.
The plan for the wildlife area shown below is taken from the detailed planting specification that was drawn up by Land and Sculpture Design Partnership based on the Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy (BES) plan by Skilled Ecology.
As part of the S106 and planning agreement the developer first had to offer ownership of the wildlife area to West Wratting Parish Council (WWPC) as a community asset. Dyason Developments will cover any legal costs associated with transfer to the Parish Council including stamp duty and land tax if appliable. The developer must also pay maintenance costs to cover 10 years at a figure agreed in advance with WWPC.
By canvasing parishioners (see this post from August 2024) we found out that many would be interested in helping to look after such an area. This should allow most of the work to eventually be carried out for free (or very low cost) by volunteers from the village, but initially there would be more guidance from a professional horticulturalist and ecologist as the volunteers learn what needs to be done.
An estimate from a professional horticulturalist for the the annual cost of maintaining the wildlife area was £3,600 at 2025 prices [1]. This will be used as the basis for our discussion and agreement with Dyason Developments for the first 10 years maintenance cost. Our expectation is that at the end of the 10 years there will be a group of enthusiastic volunteers who have learnt how to look after and manage the wildlife area – and can pass their skills on to other villagers – so that the financial burden on the parish council of maintaining the wildlife area would be very low.
There is a risk that there won’t be keen volunteers in 10 years time, in which case the cost for maintaining the area to the high standard stipulated by the initial plans would need to be borne by the Parish Council via the precept. The impact of this would be quite high (~25% of the total precept using the £3,600 estimate), so effort must be made to mitigate this risk by actively encouraging involvement in the wildlife area in the first 10 years. If absolutely necessary the maintenance cost could be reduced by reducing the amount or quality of work carried out on the wildlife area. It may also be possible to transfer ownership to the resident-owned management company if necessary.
After considering the pros and cons of talking ownership of the Lamb Yard wildlife area WWPC voted to accept the offer at the Parish Council meeting on Monday 13th January 2025 [2]. This means that
- The wildlife area will be a public resource for everyone in the village.
- The parish council will be responsible for maintaining the land, with the costs covered for the first 10 years by Dyason Developments.
- The parish council will be responsible for health and safety issues of the wildlife area.
Questions that have been asked about the wildlife area
1) When will WWPC start to manage the wildlife area?
The S106 says the wildlife area must be properly and fully laid out before the 7th property at Lamb Yard can be occupied. Once the wildlife area has been signed off by the SCDC planning department as being completed to their satisfaction Dyason Developments are liable to manage the area for another 12 months. SCDC will then do a further check and if not happy extend the maintenance period. Once SCDC are happy WWPC will start to manage the wildlife area using the 10-year maintenance money that was agreed and paid by Dyason. From this we estimate that WWPC will not start to manage the wildlife area directly until late 2026 to early 2027.
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The following questions still need to be answered. Some of the answers will be in the S106 for Lamb Yard (see info about the on-site informal open space on pages 30-35 and 42).
2) Where are the wildlife area financial and legal responsibilities and liabilities of the WWPC enshrined?
3) When will the WWPC need to raise insurance re (2) above ?
4) Will the WWPC be required to raise public liability insurance for the wildlife area and will the WW residents who have offered to look after it be covered by insurance for, e.g., accidents ?
5) Will any rights and responsibilities be shared with the householders in the Dyason development area?
6) What, if any, rights and responsibilities fall on local government wrt this wildlife area?
Footnotes
[1] The estimated figure of £3600 for one year of maintenance (from someone who already does similar work for WWPC) was based on £400 pcm for the growing season (March to November), and included:
- 2 full days of labour: mowing/edging/tree work/hedge trimming, etc.
- Managing plants: Planting and establishing populations of indigenous varieties e.g. foxgloves, honesty, bluebells. Removal of dominating species e.g. nettles, brambles.
- Planning and planting of herbaceous beds. e.g., woodland area/wildflower meadow.
- Construction and installation of infrastructure to further promote biodiversity e.g. Composting areas, dead hedges (bug hotels), bird boxes, owl boxes.
- Ongoing monitoring of soil and water quality using chemical and biological indicators.
- Public engagement.
[2] If WWPC declined the offer of ownership then management of the wildlife area would have been by the residents-owned management company that will be set up (anyway) to manage the on-site communal areas of The Lamb Yard. The area would have been their responsibility, but may not have been available to use by other residents of our village. Details of the two management options can be read in the S106 for Lamb Yard (see info about the on-site informal open space on pages 30-35 and 42).