EP1

Policy: EP1 - Environment Policy 1

Area Plan for the East sets out locally-applicable means for implementing the policies set out in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. In that Strategic Plan, we find the Environment Policies.

Environment Policy 1 states:

The countryside and its ecology will be protected for its own sake. For the purposes of this policy, the countryside comprises all land which is outside the settlements defined in Appendix 3 at A.3.6 or which is not designated for future development on an Area Plan. Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an over-riding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative.

Maintaining the purpose of this Area Plan as a means of implementation, there is some further direction to be found in the Strategic Plan, at paragraph 7.2.1:

'Whilst landscape and coastal change is inevitable, and in some cases desirable, the emphasis must be on the appropriateness of this change and the balance or equity between the needs of conservation and those of development. The primary goal must therefore be to respect, maintain and enhance the natural and cultural environment including nature conservation and landscape and coastal quality, and ensure its protection from inappropriate development.'

Given the comprehensive nature of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan's Environmental Policies, only a small number of additional Proposals and Recommendations are necessary.

In order to produce an implementable Area Plan for the East it is necessary to recognise those statutory designations and strategies which whilst having an Island-wide scope are highly relevant to the protection of environments within the Plan Area. An example is the UNESCO Biosphere status afforded to the Isle of Man. Island-level strategies identify cross-border issues and take account of the cumulative impacts of human engagement with nature.

Area Plan Objectives

1. To protect, conserve and enhance the natural and cultural environment of the plan area and promote biodiversity.
2. To improve the function, usability and provision of our green infrastructure and public spaces by providing a network of green spaces and features which are connected and where possible, accessible to the public.
3. To manage and improve flood risk and improve drainage conditions.
4. To support the working countryside and its custodians in maintaining a sustainable rural economy.

Area Plan Desired Outcomes

1. Where approved, development will be ecologically sustainable and designed to protect and where possible enhance biodiversity as well as mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
2. The Green Infrastructure network will be established and fostered, connecting people with nature in a way that achieves the best shared outcomes for the urban and natural environment.
3. Statutory and non-statutory designations will continue to provide protection to the most important and most vulnerable cultural assets, habitats and environments in the plan area.
4. Beyond the towns and villages, the area as a whole will retain its landscape setting including its important visual interaction with the central uplands, central valley, coast and marine environment.

Natural Environment Proposal 1

The Department supports the protection, creation and improvement of green infrastructure in the East, particularly in those locations which have the potential to be part of a Green Infrastructure Network. Applications for development must take into account any approved Government Green Infrastructure Strategies, but in any case, must identify how development proposals intend to contribute to the long term provision of a network of connected green spaces.

UNESCO Biosphere

In 2017, the Isle of Man became the first ever entire nation to achieve UNESCO Biosphere status. Project partners pledge to take steps to protect natural resources, develop the economy in a sustainable way and promote outstanding living landscapes. UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are established to connect people and the economy with nature, wildlife, culture, heritage and communities. Biosphere Reserves have three functions:

Conservation: to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation.

Development: to foster economic and human development which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable.

Logistic support: to support demonstration projects, environmental education and training, research and monitoring related to local, regional, national and global issues of conservation and sustainable development.

The Isle of Man Biosphere is zoned into six areas. Examples of all of these can be found in the Eastern area: Terrestrial Core areas, Marine Core areas, Terrestrial Buffer zone, Marine Buffer zone, Terrestrial Transition areas and Marine Transition areas. There is some overlap with The Isle of Man's First Biodiversity Strategy 2015-20