Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area

The Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area and Ramsar site was formally classified by the UK government in 2011 and covers 1358 hectares in North and West Northamptonshire.

This Supplementary Planning Document was produced in 2015 to help authorities, developers and others ensure that development has no significant effect on the special protection area:

Special Protection Areas provide increased protection and management for areas which are important for breeding, feeding, wintering or migration of rare and vulnerable species of birds.

A ‘Ramsar’ site is a wetland of international importance designated under the convention of wetlands of international importance, especially as waterfowl habitat.

The Special Protection Area and Ramsar site boundaries for the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits are identical, although the qualifying features are slightly different.

Residential developments

For residential developments which result in a net increase in the number of dwellings within 3km of the SPA, it is proposed to avoid and mitigate likely significant effect on the SPA by making a financial contribution per dwelling towards Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) or other suitable infrastructure.

This would reduce the adverse impact of people visiting the SPA through specific measures and monitoring.

The mitigation strategy identified a fixed contribution per dwelling (indexed linked, with a based date of 2016). As of 1 April 2024, the rate is £383.61.

Last updated 04 April 2024