South Pennine Moors Special Area of Conservation / Special Protection Areas Joint Supplementary Planning Document

Overview

In partnership with the local authorities in Oldham, Rochdale, and Tameside, we are seeking your input on the South Pennine Moors Special Area of Conservation (SAC) / Special Protection Areas (SPAs) Joint Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The aim of the SPD is to provide further guidance on how criterion 7 of Policy JP-G5: Uplands of the Places for Everyone (PfE) Plan will be implemented and, in particular, parts a and b of criterion 7. 

The South Pennine Moors are designated as important habitats for breeding birds and are therefore, designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and two Special Protection Areas (SPA), known as the: South Pennine Moors SAC; Peak District Moors SPA;  and the South Pennine Moors Phase 2 SPA.

Criterion 7 of Policy JP-G5: Uplands of the Places for Everyone (PfE) Plan seeks to ensure that new development does not have an adverse impact on protected habitats and species of the South Pennine Moors SAC/SPAs. In providing further guidance on the implementation of criterion 7 of Policy JP-G5, the aims of the SPD are to:

• Provide clear advice to developers as to what development within 400m of the South Pennine Moors SAC/SPAs boundaries may be considered an exception, where the development and/or its use would not have an adverse effect on the integrity of the SAC or SPAs; and
• Provide clear advice to developers as to the type and scope of assessment required to determine if development sites within 2.5km of the South Pennine Moors SPAs provide foraging habitats for qualifying bird species, and set out the types of applications that would require said assessment.

The SPD is applicable to the local authority areas of Oldham (not including the area covered by the Peak District National Park), Rochdale and Tameside. Once adopted, the SPD will be a material consideration in planning decisions.

Why your views matter

Your views are valuable to help shape the content of the Joint Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The consultation is open for six weeks from 01 November 2024 to 11:59pm on 12 December 2024. After the consultation closes we will review all comments received to produce the final SPD.