Essex Coast RAMS
We are taking part in a scheme to raise awareness of protected birds along the Essex coastline.
We have developed the Essex Coast Recreational Disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (Essex RAMS) in partnership with Natural England and 11 other councils in Essex.
The strategy sets out a long-term strategic approach to lessen the impact of local housing development on protected birds along the Essex coast.
The Essex RAMS aims to prevent bird and habitat disturbance from recreational activities. It does this through a series of mitigation measures, which encourage all coastal visitors to enjoy their visits responsibly.
There is also a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) that supports the Essex RAMS, which sets out how we will fund the mitigation measures.
Developer contributions
We will fund the mitigation measures using payments from developers. Developers will need to pay a tariff if their new development is within a ‘Zone of Influence’ around a designated site. The strategy shows that almost all of our administrative area falls within the Zones of Influence.
We will collect the money via planning obligations that we secure using:
- S106 agreements
- unilateral undertakings
- up-front payments
The tariff for 2024/25 is £163.86 per net new dwelling.
The easiest and cheapest way to pay is to make an up-front payment online before we issue planning permission. This ensures we can grant permission without delay. We will refund the payment if the development doesn't go ahead.
If you do not want to make an upfront payment, you will need to secure the obligation with a signed S106 agreement or unilateral undertaking. We will not be able to decide your application without this. You will then need to pay the contribution when you start work.
Supporting information
We adopted the Essex Coast RAMS SPD following consultation in early 2020.
We have published a ‘You Said, We Did’ feedback report, which shows who we consulted and how. It also summarises the main issues raised, and lists the amendments we made.
We assessed whether the Essex Coast RAMS SPD required a Strategic Environmental Assessment or Habitats Regulations Assessment, and set out the findings in a report.
Finally, we have published an Adoption Statement, setting out the formal information about the SPD adoption.
For more information about the scheme, you can visit Bird Aware Essex Coast.