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Press Release

06 March 2018

Council approves measures to protect birds' habitat

Fareham Borough Council has approved a new strategy which will help protect rare and important birds living on the Borough's coast.

Over 90,000 coastal birds fly from as far as Arctic Siberia to feed and roost for the winter on the Solent.

The Council's Executive Committee has agreed to implement the Definitive Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) – which aims to reduce the impact on birds' habitat from new housing developments.

Under the strategy developers are required to make financial contributions depending on how many homes are planned. On average, this would be the equivalent of £564 per new home, an increase from £181 per new home under the previous strategy.

The developer contributions will be used to fund:

These activities will be carried out by Bird Aware Solent, their Lead Ranger, Karima Englefield, said: "The sheltered Solent coast provides a rich diversity of habitats for birds, making it one of the most important places in western Europe for them. Winter is tough for birds and they need all the help they can get to feed and rest undisturbed so that they can survive and prepare for their next migration. The new strategy will enable us to protect this precious local environment and help people enjoy the coastline without disturbance to the birds."

Cllr Seán Woodward, Leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: "We're lucky enough to host some beautiful species of bird on our coastline and we want to make sure any disruption to their habitat from building new homes is kept to a minimum. By implementing this strategy we can protect our coastal birds, allowing wildlife to co-exist with future developments across the Borough."

The new strategy will come into effect on 1 April 2018.
 

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Notes to editors:

 

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For further information contact:

The Communications Team, Tel: 01329 824310

e-mail: publicity@fareham.gov.uk

 

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