To quote the Partnership’s website, one of the three key roles of the South Devon National Landscape office in respect of planning matters is to “provide specialist advice to LPAs on individual planning applications that are classified as major developments, or as having a significant effect on the natural beauty of the National Landscape.”

For most of the last four years I have served as Chair of the South Hams Society, an environmental and heritage charity founded in 1961 to protect the natural landscape and built character of the South Hams, and in particular what is now the South Devon National Landscape.

During that time I, along with other Amenity Group members, have become increasingly concerned about the Partnership’s lack of focus on planning issues.

For much of that time the Partnership crucially lacked the resource to formally comment on planning applications, other than those impacting on our coasts and estuaries. Indeed planning is invariably the last item on the agenda for Partnership Committee meetings.

This I will attempt to rectify.

I will also endeavour to ensure papers for those meetings are actually sent out to members at least one week in advance of meetings, as required by the Constitution.

Planning, pollution, the environment

South Hams Society

Jane Nichols is CEO of Sustainable South Hams (www.sussh.org ).  She is also a Trustee of Sustainable South Brent (www.ssb.org.uk) .

Sustainable South Hams (SusSH) exists to connect, support and inspire climate and nature action locally.  This is done through networking and educational events, our mentor network and our website and newsletters.  Strategically, we see engaging with nature as the start of the behaviour change journey.

Recently we have been working  with parish/ town councils across the region to understand and develop a community support package for climate and nature and are presently collaborating with CAG Devon, Devon Wildlife Trust, the Bioregional Learning Centre and South Hams District Council to deliver this.

Sustainable South Hams is a networking and knowledge sharing organisation. Our purpose is to connect, support and inspire local climate and nature action. We do this through collaboration, events, our website and our network of community support mentors, We work closely with South Hams District Council to ensure that biodiversity and climate will be “a consideration through everything they do”

Broadening community engagement for climate and nature in order to reach a tipping point for behavioural change whereby individuals value and connect with nature and climate action is normalised. Specific projects have/ do include rivers, education, composting, local food and circular economy. We’re currently developing community support packs to help parish/town councils take more action.

We have community representation from 42 of the 61 South Hams Towns/Parishes which includes organisations such as WATER, YEM, SSB, KCA, TTT (A full list of groups can be seen on www.sussh.org ). We collaborate with SDNL, SHDC, DCC, BLC, DWT, WRT, Catchment Partnership, NDP Circus, CAG Devon.