Bird Aware Solent Revised Strategy September 2024
Councillor Keith House, Chair, Partnership for South Hampshire
The Solent Recreation Mitigation Partnership
Foreword by Councillor Keith House, Chair, Partnership for South Hampshire
With a rising demand for new housing supply, and the natural world under increasing pressures, the need for robust mitigation has never been more important. Effective and adaptive mitigation allows our communities to benefit from considered and relevant development while also ensuring the coastline’s unique ecological needs are met.
It’s vital that new homes can be built in our area to meet the needs of local people, but they must be built without adversely affecting the internationally important Special Protection Areas (SPAs) along the Solent coast. The mitigation provided by Bird Aware Solent has enabled us to address the impact of additional residents making recreational visits to the coast and has allowed us to manage the coast for the benefit of both people and wildlife.
The Partnership for South Hampshire (PfSH) has been proud to be involved with Bird Aware Solent from its inception. It was gratifying to see its mitigation rated as impressive by independent environmental experts in a recent report. We were delighted but not surprised the report also called the project ground-breaking and a model for other mitigation strategies to follow.
This updated Strategy builds on Bird Aware Solent’s success to date and benefits from the insight gained from its practical experience and expertise in delivering mitigation over the last seven years. For the first time it also incorporates support for breeding birds that feature within the Solent’s SPAs.
Long-term, we need a solution for funding mitigation that does not discourage new housing and growth, but I am confident the revised Strategy’s delivery plan for the next five years will ensure funding is used in the most effective way, maximising the positive changes to people’s behaviour as they enjoy our beautiful coastline, and ensuring our wealth of wildlife thrives for generations to come.
Summary
The Solent coastline provides a haven for thousands of protected birds, making the area of worldwide importance to wildlife. They need to be able to feed and rest undisturbed if they are to survive the winter and complete long migrations twice yearly. In summer, coastal birds need to be left undisturbed so they can successfully breed and raise their young.
Around 147,500 new homes are anticipated around the Solent up to 2050. This is likely to lead to more people visiting the coast for recreation and this has the potential to cause more bird disturbance. This strategy aims to mitigate likely impact of bird disturbance as a result of these additional homes and the resulting increase in recreational visits. It focuses on educating people about the birds and encouraging positive behaviour change.
The strategy builds on the Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy published in 2017 and has been put together by Bird Aware Solent, a partnership made of Natural England, wildlife conservation bodies and local authorities. This updated Strategy benefits from the practical experience gained so far in delivering mitigation and builds on the success and learning of the Partnership to date. Some of the partnership’s work to date is showcased on the Bird Aware Solent Our successes web page.
The Partnership focuses on:
- Strong governance, by knowledgeable decision makers
- Monitoring and evaluating the work undertaken, to ensure it remains efficient
- Close collaboration with Partners and local stakeholders
- A wide variety of engagement activities, targeting key user groups such as dog walkers
- Site-based investment
The work of the Partnership is funded by developer contributions calculated according to the bedroom numbers of the property. It applies to homes built within 5.6 kilometres of the Solent’s Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Some developments may require additional mitigation due to their size or proximity to an SPA. Some of the money received will be set aside to fund the measures ‘in-perpetuity’ (calculated on an 80 year basis) after 2050.
Council leaders will steer and oversee the Partnership’s activities and expenditure. Progress on implementation and financial accounts will be published in an annual report. Read further information about the Partnership.
2. Outside of Strategy Remit
3. The Impact of Recreational Disturbance
4. Causes of Recreational Disturbance
5. Five Year Plan Delivery Strands
6. Project Costs and Funding
7. Reporting and Review
Appendices
The Appendices for the Bird Aware Solent Revised Strategy
