Protecting the Cotswolds National Landscape

ments. Policy DS.14 Protecting the Cotswolds National Landscape Development within the Cotswolds National Landscape will be limited to meeting local needs only and will not help address wider South Warwickshire needs or the unmet needs of neighbouring authorities. Development that is necessary for the conservation, restoration or long-term management of the National Landscape will be supported. The Cotswold National Landscape, and the 3km buffer are shown on the Policies Map. A. Proposals within the National Landscape Development proposals will be required to: 1. Conserve and enhance the natural beauty and character of the National Landscape, including its special qualities, landscape and scenic beauty, cultural heritage (including historic environment), natural heritage (including biodiversity) and relative tranquillity (including dark skies); 2. Sensitively locate and design development so as to avoid and minimise adverse impacts on the natural beauty of the National Landscape; 3. Demonstrate that all reasonably practicable steps have been taken to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the National Landscape, over and above avoidance and mitigation of harm; 4. Be consistent with - and help to deliver - the policies, targets and outcomes of the Cotswolds National Landscape Management Plan; 5. Prevent cumulative impacts which lead to incremental change to the National Landscape’s special characteristics 6. Limit the scale and extent of development, for example, by being proportionate to the settlement in which it is located. 7. Demonstrate that in exceptional circumstances, where the public benefits outweigh the harm and cannot be delivered elsewhere, proposals and must avoid, minimise, mitigate, and as a last resort compensate, for any residual adverse effects on the natural beauty of the National Landscape. This must be supported through, robust justification and proportionate evidence against the statutory purposes of the National Landscape. B. Proposals within the National Landscape Buffer Development proposals within the 3km buffer of the Cotswolds National Landscape will consult the National Landscape Board as per the identified consultation thresholds and may need to give consideration to the criteria set out in Part A of this Policy. DS.14 ~ Development Management Considerations Development proposals outside the National Landscape buffer may still impact the setting of the National Landscape and may still be necessary of consideration in relation to the conditions of this policy. Policy Justification 2.11.3 Nationally Designated Areas, including National Landscapes afford protection from development to ensure their scenic beauty is conserved and enhanced, and National Policy and adopted legislation, gives great weight to this. Historically called the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the designation is now referred to as the Cotswold National Landscape. This new name does not affect/alter the level of protection afforded to the area. 2.11.4 8.2% of the South Warwickshire area (including 10.6% of Stratford-on-Avon District) overlaps with the Cotswold National Landscape and 5.1% of the Cotswold National Landscape overlaps with South Warwickshire. The special qualities of the National Landscape, which make the area distinctive and are considered valuable, are outlined within the Cotswold National Landscape Management Plan (2025-2030) or any subsequent updates. It is these attributes which it is considered important to conserve, enhance and manage, to ensure the character of the area is not lost. 2.11.5 Section 85 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act outlines Local Authorities statutory duty to ‘seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty’ of areas of outstanding natural beauty. This goes beyond previous requirements to ‘have regard to’. This duty to ‘seek to further’ also applies in relation to development in the setting of the Cotswold National Landscape, as outlined in Defra’s guidance on the ‘seek to further’ duty. NPPF Paragraph 189 outlines that great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing the landscape and scenic beauty of National Landscapes and outlines that development within the setting of National Landscapes should be sensitivity located and designed to avoid or minimise adverse impacts. Case law has clarified that this great weight is a relevant consideration for development within the setting of National Landscapes as well. 2.11.6 The Cotswolds Conservation Board is responsible for producing a Management Plan and the latest version covers the period 2013-2018. This is a statutory plan and is recognised as being a material consideration in the determination of planning applications. The Cotswold Conservation Board should be engaged as necessary and in line with their current consultation thresholds, to ensure that development proposals within the National Landscape, and its setting are considered by this important Stakeholder. 2.11.7 The implementation of a 3km buffer around the Cotswold National Landscape (as shown on the policies map) is designed to ensure the ‘setting’ of the Nati