, Cabinet Secretary for
Economy, Energy and Planning: The Written Statement: Taking
Action to Better Protect and Manage the Gwent Levels (1 July
2021) | GOV.WALES recognised that despite the Gwent Levels
having many statutory and non-statutory designations covering
biodiversity, landscape and historic landscape value, it remains
vulnerable. The Welsh Government, working with stakeholders, is
preparing pilot planning guidance to underpin and accompany
Policy 9 of Future Wales (The National Plan 2040) in relation to
the Gwent Levels and help deliver this 2021 Ministerial
commitment.
The Future Wales pilot guidance for the Levels will supplement
Policy 9 by adding further detail to the implementation and
requirements of the policy, specific to the Levels. Being
supplementary to Future Wales, the guidance will need to be
considered with Future Wales and Planning Policy Wales (PPW)
during the preparation of strategic and local development plans
and in determining planning applications. The guidance will
not justify development on the Levels that would otherwise
be unacceptable. Instead, the guidance will identify
opportunities to safeguard and create resilient ecological
networks across the area.
A key aim of Policy 9 is to promote a spatial approach, and a
significant element of the pilot involves developing strategic
spatial mapping to better understand resilient ecological
networks and how they function on the Levels. This spatial
approach has not been undertaken before and will add significant
value to the Gwent Levels through implementation of Policy 9 and
will provide a model for similar work elsewhere. The mapping aims
to capture opportunities for improving ecosystem resilience and
achieving nature recovery whilst understanding how this can be
achieved in a way that also benefits health and wellbeing. Policy
9 recognises the role of Area Statements produced by Natural
Resource Wales in understanding such opportunities and in
relation to mapping areas to be safeguarded for improved
ecological connectivity. Information from Area Statements and
their products will inform the guidance for the Levels.
Given the continued pressure for further development on the
Levels it is important to gain a better understanding on how
existing developments already completed have impacted on the
area. To this end, a Post Construction
Monitoring Study (PCMR) has been undertaken by ARUP (July
2024) on behalf of Welsh Government as a means of gaining insight
and learning from what has happened previously and apply this
learning for the future. The findings of the study will inform
the guidance and other relevant work.
The pilot Future Wales planning guidance for the Gwent Levels is
supported by a range of background information and evidence,
which includes the PCMR and strategic mapping, along with
substantial stakeholder engagement. It is anticipated that
the guidance will be subject to public consultation later this
year.
