Rose Hill plans “on the wrong side of history”

The full objection states:

We have visited the Rose Hill site, seen the very large number of objections already submitted (including from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust) and noted the very detailed and well-substantiated objections from Christopher Owen in particular. This objection aims to avoid simply re-stating those valid submissions.

This planning decision will be hugely significant for the credibility of Doncaster Council’s declaration of a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019, coming as it will so shortly after COP27. One of the main messages coming out of COP27 is that we no longer have the luxury of a gradual transition to more progressive policies, every decision we make now must be in the context of the emergency already existing.

In this instance, an existing and biodiverse young woodland habitat with important connectivity to Doncaster’s Green Infrastructure corridors would be lost, and the only promise would be for a replacement space elsewhere that might take 20 years or more to reach a similar level of maturity. These timescales are way too long and are inconsistent with the importance of maintaining coherent ecological networks with appropriate buffer zones.

In making this decision Doncaster Council can either demonstrate its commitment to a ‘green heart’ – to protecting green spaces, existing habitats and biodiversity – or it can undermine its existing policy positions and commitments, set unwelcomed precedents that can be quoted by other developers in future planning applications, and lose public trust.

This is a time for public bodies to show leadership in tackling the climate and biodiversity emergency, as you rightly recognised in 2019. On the basis of all the arguments put forward in objection to the Rose Hill planning application, we urge you not to put yourself on the wrong side of history.