Working Together To Regenerate Cross Hands & Safeguard Wildlife
Two of Carmarthenshire’s major organisations are working together to facilitate further regeneration whilst safeguarding one of Europe’s most threatened butterflies.
Natural Resources Wales and Carmarthenshire County Council have devised a series of supplementary planning guidelines to enable the continued expansion of the Cross Hands growth zone.
The area remains a stronghold for one of Europe’s most threatened butterfly, the marsh fritillary.
In 2004, Caeae Mynydd Mawr Special Area of Conservation (SAC) was designated covering some 25 ha (62 acres) of land to ensure that the habitat upon which this butterfly is reliant upon is protected.
Historically within the Unitary Authority planning process, each development site which contained rhos/wet land pasture habitat was assessed individually, and individual mitigation plans had to be proposed to enable developments to gain planning permission. In some instances this approach made some developments no longer viable to proceed.
To ensure that Cross Hands strategic growth area could continue to expand, NRW and the council agreed that any new development around the Cross Hands/Caeau Mynydd Mawr area had the option of providing mitigation land or paying into a central pot secured by a Section 106 (planning condition) agreement. This money would then be used to provide targeted mitigation on the developer’s behalf.
The project aims to safeguard and improve at least 100 ha of rhos pasture habitat in and around the Cross Hands strategic growth area.
To date the Mynydd Mawr project has worked with landowners to enter suitable land into voluntary management agreements as well as purchasing individual areas which are managed by the project.
NRW spokesman Huw Williams said: ““Had the public sector partners involved not adopted this sustainable development approach at Cross Hands East Strategic Employment Site and at housing developments in and around Cross Hands, many of the recent developments would not have proceeded without threatening the extinction of one of Europe’s rarest butterflies.
“So anyone who occupies a new unit, new house or work in a factory in Cross hands, will have contributed to the survival of the marsh fritillary butterfly.”
The council’s regeneration executive board member Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “This is a perfect example of how major organisations in Carmarthenshire are working together through the Public Services Board.
“Without this approach, a number of the recent business development opportunities and infrastructure improvements would not have proceeded to development thus risking losing critical employment opportunities within the county.”
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