Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA)
The most important consideration in the preparation of planning documents that form part of the Local Development Framework (LDF) is sustainable development. The aim of these documents is therefore to promote more sustainable forms of development by considering the potential impacts of the implementation of the policies within them.
Under European law a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is required to be undertaken for certain plans and strategies that are likely to have a significant effect on the environment through the development projects they put forward. The idea behind the SEA (Directive 2001/42/EC, the SEA Directive) is to promote sustainable development through consideration of the environmental impact of plans at the strategic level. The strategic level generally sets the framework for multiple smaller scale projects. Therefore by assessing the potential environmental impact at the strategic stage, the overall effect of these multiple projects can be assessed and any adverse effect avoided. Where adverse effects are unavoidable measures need to be put in place to reduce the impact.
A recognized goal of sustainable development is to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations. It is therefore generally thought to be broader than just concerning environmental impacts but to have economic, social and environmental considerations.
Under UK legislation, a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) must be prepared for a development plan document (DPD). It is similar to SEA, but includes assessment of social and economic concerns alongside environmental concerns. A Sustainability Appraisal is used by planning authorities to assess whether proposed plans and policies meet sustainable development objectives. It is intended to incorporate the requirements of the SEA Directive.
SA should:
· take a long term view of the expected social, economic and environmental effects of a proposed plan;
· check that planning policies are in line with sustainability objectives;
· reflect global, national, regional and local concerns; and
· form an integral part of DPD preparation.
The SA process has five key stages for which three reports are produced. The first stage is the scoping stage where background information is gathered to identify sustainability issues and a framework of sustainability objectives. A scoping report is then produced detailing the results of this stage.
Subsequent stages include the assessment of the draft DPD and production of an initial SA report, consultation on the results of the assessment and the production of a final report detailing how the SA has influenced the preparation of the DPD.
North Dorset produced a draft Scoping Report for the SA of the Core Strategy and Development Management Policies DPD. This was subject to a 6 week consultation period, (which finished on Friday 5th June, 2009) where the views of various organisations and individuals were sought on the level of detail within it. The results of this consultation where appropriate, have been incorporated into the draft Scoping Report to produce the final Scoping Report available from the right of this page.
The next stage of the SA process is to appraise the emerging Core Strategy and Development Management Policies DPD including the policies within it. This process is underway at present and the results of this will be reported in an Initial SA Report. This will detail the potential significant effects of implementing the policies within the DPD; indicate how the SA process has influenced the DPD formation; propose mitigation measures/policies where appropriate; and develop an initial suite of indicators with which the plan will be monitored. The Initial SA Report will be subject to a period of consultation along side the DPD before a Final SA Report is produced.
The following pieces of guidance have been used in the preparation of this Scoping Report:
A Practical Guide to the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, produced by ODPM in 2005
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/practicalguidesea
Sustainability Appraisal of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents, produced by ODPM in 2005
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/sustainabilityappraisal
Local Development Frameworks Guide on Sustainability Appraisal, produced by the Planning Advisory Service in 2007
http://www.pas.gov.uk/pas/core/page.do?pageId=51859
|
