Low Impact Developments have appeared throughout the UK over the last fifteen years demonstrating that humans can create beautiful homes and combine them with livelihoods which are affordable in every sense. Using local and reclaimed materials, buildings are designed to be highly energy efficient while Permaculture, forest gardening and similar approaches allow livelihoods which support both people and biodiversity. Working and living on site reduces travel and fosters deeper relationships between people and place.
Lammas is a co-operative company dedicated to promoting Low Impact Development throughout the UK. Lammas is now in the process of submitting the first application for a Low Impact Settlement in Wales. The village will be located on 175 acres of south-facing land at Pont y Gafel farm, Glandwr, Pembrokeshire, a lovely location on the edge of an existing village.
We have talked with local residents to explain our vision. Our aim is to develop the settlement in two stages so it develops more organically with the surrounding countryside. Lammas submitted a planning application in June 2007 for the first 9 eco-smallholdings, a community hub building and a campsite. The settlement will provide for all its own renewable energy, sanitation and water needs and will be highly innovative in terms of building design, material use and the creation of truly sustainable, low impact livelihoods. It will not be connected to either the grid for energy or the local water and sewage systems.
The Low Impact Movement to date has evolved despite the planning system, with pioneering developments such as those at Tinker’s Bubble in Somerset and Land Matters in Devon fighting to gain planning permission. Lammas will hear the results of our planning application as Green World goes to press, but whether we win or lose on the first application we would like you to help the Low Impact Development (LID) and bring developments like our proposal for Glandwr into the mainstream.
You can help in two ways. Firstly by writing to the Welsh Assembly Government and secondly by buying a share in Lammas.The Welsh Assembly Government is currently re-drafting a Technical Advice Note 6 (TAN6) that guides planning decisions across Wales. This represents a great opportunity to get Low Impact Developments treated more positively in Wales provided enough people write to the Welsh Assembly urging for LID policy to be included in this re-drafting. Letters should be written to both jan.Donguez@wales.gsi.gov.uk and to Cabinet Members, who can be contacted via http://new.wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/cabinetm/?lang=en. Whilst TAN6 is due to go to ‘public consultation’ in December 2007, it is crucial that we act before then in order to get LID into this document.
Secondly, you can buy shares in Lammas as we are launching a unique share offer. This will be the first time members of the public have the opportunity to directly support the Low Impact movement. Lammas’ share offer is inspired by the success of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative which used a similar share offer to raise £500,000 and save the organic Fordhall farm (in Shropshire, England) from development. Lammas aims to sell 10,000 shares at £50 each and this will not only support its current plans for the 20 smallholdings in Glandwr, but also create a rolling fund to support other projects and promote LID throughout the UK. Although Lammas was only formally founded in 2005 our co-operative has already acted as a consultee for the UK’s most advanced Low Impact policy, Policy 52, of the Pembrokeshire Joint Unitary Development Plan. And after establishing the new settlement at Glandwr we intend to help others establish new low impact developments so that increasing numbers of people can live truly sustainable lives.
Anyone wishing to buy shares or find out further information can do so by visiting www.lammas.org.uk or contacting: Paul Wimbush: +44(0)1792 232220 / paul.wimbush@lammas.org.uk
