This article summarises a presentation to the Rye Sustainable Living Forum on May 14, in the Tilling Green Centre.
The Rye Community Garden off Love Lane is going from strength to strength. In addition to garden activities, there is an offshoot, the Sustainability Living Forum (SLF), which links like-minded people on Whatsapp. Recent discussion has included composting, sewage spills, flood risk and bio diversity.
But what is “sustainability”? The UN definition is: “To meet own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.”
In 2015, the UN set out a series of sustainable development goals encompassing a broad spectrum of elements, divided into three “pillars” : social, environmental and economic.
How does this link to Neighbourhood Plans? Locality, which is the central body supporting neighbourhood planners, argues that: “Plans can result in neighbourhoods that are greener and more pleasant to live in, help sustain community and the natural environment, and contribute to a safer climate. A good neighbourhood plan can help achieve all of these goals.”
Although the Rye Neighbourhood Plan (made in July 2019) continues to provide a statutory framework for development within the Rye Parish boundary, it needs to keep pace with national and regional developments and emerging policy changes.
Rye Neighbourhood Plan
The Neighbourhood Plan was drafted with a “presumption of sustainable development” and therefore already touches onto the key sustainability issues. To pass the external examination, one of the several supporting documents was an assessment of the impacts of the plan on the environment.
Most agree that the plan holds up well, as it provides a means of influencing development and protecting the character of Rye. However, it could say more about climate change and sustainability.
This is further supported by Rother District’s own general assessment of Rye is that there are serious constraints on all development in Rye because of the need to protect bio diversity (just beyond the development boundary); the local geography and flood risk.
The last is a key factor, as Rye sits at the junction of three rivers and within the tidal reach of the sea. Every type of flood risk affects Rye: tidal, river, rainfall, springs, groundwater and sewage. Rising sea levels (estimated around half a metre in 50 years) and more frequent extreme rainfall events, both attributed to climate change, increase the risk. If more was required to justify its importance, over 1000 homes in Rye rely on the flood defence system for protection.
Recalling the work to develop the plan from 2013 to 2019, separate groups considered all the elements seen in the UN sustainability goals.
Fortunately, the record of the numerous meetings remain and have enabled the drafting of a sustainability checklist disaggregated into the UN’s three pillars. The individual elements are too numerous to discuss in this article but in summary there are:
Social factors: all aspects of social well being, personnel services and support, from medical to transport, access to leisure facilities. Rye does have an advantage that most parts are “walkable” within 20 minutes.
Environmental factors: the allocation for development of Brownfield sites first; maintenance of the development boundary; consideration of flood risk and the protection of bio diversity which surrounds Rye. Design should embrace eco friendly materials, energy, water efficiency, safety and security. There is a need to protect river and marine aquacultures (blue carbon) from plastic and other toxic pollution. Sewage outfalls and spills have to be eradicated. All green infrastructure, including salt marsh, which provides carbon absorption, needs to be protected and enhanced. Air pollution is a particular problem near the A259. Conservation policies should be strictly applied to protect character and heritage. With traffic and parking a major issue, any measure which aggravates it must be avoided.
Economic factors: there is the green economy and technology, including heat insulation. Food security is high on the political agenda, as is infrastructure for EVs. Reduction in power use is a priority along with the greater use of sustainable power such as solar, wind, and geo-thermal systems. Single use plastic must be reduced. Locally, more could be made of green tourism. Importantly, there should be accessible local facilities for recycling, re-purposing, composting and bulk waste.
In summary, we have the Rye Neighbourhood Plan, but it could emphasise practical measures to improve local sustainability. What lies behind the plan provides all the elements of a check list to form the basis of an action plan. In addition, it could be argued that there should be a structure for sustainable social enterprise, with a “sustainable champion” to provide a focus.
Young people should be involved, particularly as we owe it to the next generation to work harder on all these issues.