Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) Contents
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The County Durham Plan Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report February 2016 Contents DOCUMENT CONTROL SHEET 1. DOCUMENT CONTROL SHEET 3 REGION 1. INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 Overview of County Durham 8 2. STAGE A1: OTHER POLICIES, 13 PLANS AND PROGRAMMES 2.1 Key Messages 19 3. STAGE A2: BASELINE 30 INFORMATION 3.1 Social Welfare and 32 Communities 3.2 Health 33 3.3 Housing 34 3.4 Crime 35 3.5 Economic Vitality 36 3.6 Education and Skills 37 3.7 Access and Transport 38 3.8 Climate Change 40 3.9 Air, Water and Soil Quality 42 3.10 Biodiversity and 47 Geodiversity 3.11 Landscape 57 3.12 Heritage 67 3.13 Resource Efficiency 69 3.14 Likely Evolution of 71 Baseline without the Plan 4. STAGE A3: IDENTIFYING KEY 77 SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES 4.1 Discussion of Key Sustainability Issues at an Area 88 Level 4.2 Central Durham Area 88 Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) Contents 4.3 North Durham Area 101 4.4 East Durham Area 110 4.5 South Durham Area 122 4.6 West Durham Area 135 5. STAGE A4: DEVELOPING THE 152 SA FRAMEWORK 6. CONCLUSION AND NEXT 161 STEPS APPENDICES . APPENDIX A: REVIEW OF POLICIES, PLANS AND 163 PROGRAMMES National 183 Sub-national / Regional 237 Local 253 . APPENDIX B: REVIEW OF 284 BASELINE DATA Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) Document Control Sheet 1 1 Document Control Sheet Prepared by Nadia Wetherell - Sustainability Strategy Officer Claire Hattam - Sustainability Strategy Officer Dean Pearson - Sustainability Strategy Officer Reviewed by Stephen McDonald - Senior Sustainability Strategy Officer Approved By Steve Bhowmick - Environment and Design Manager Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) 3 Introduction 1 Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) 4 Introduction 1 1 Introduction 1.0.1 This document is the Scoping Report for the Sustainability Appraisal (SA), (including the requirements for a Strategic Environmental Assessment) of Durham County Council's Local Plan. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires all councils to produce a Local Plan and keep it up to date. Since Local Government Review in 2009, Durham County Council have utilised saved policies from the old local plans produced by the former local authorities. Without an up-to-date Local Plan, the Council has much less influence over the location of new development and the provision of infrastructure. Not having an up to date Local Plan therefore creates uncertainty and makes it harder to resist inappropriate development and secure new infrastructure such as schools and health facilities. Consequently, the new Local Plan will provide the policy framework for managing development and addressing key planning issues within the county. 1.0.2 The preparation of a Local Plan is not a new task for the Council. The previous version of the Local Plan 'The County Durham Plan' commenced in 2009 culminating in April 2015 with the submission of the Plan to the Secretary of State for examination. The Plan was informed by Sustainability Appraisal at each stage of its development, commencing in 2009 with the production of a Scoping Report which was subsequently updated in 2012 to ensure that the information collected and reviewed was kept up to date rather than being merely a snapshot of the situation at a particular time. 1.0.3 Following stage 1 of the examination, the Inspector produced an interim report which has since been quashed through a legal consent order due to flaws with the Inspector's approach. As part of the consent order the County Durham Plan was withdrawn to be recommenced at an earlier stage. 1.0.4 Prior to undertaking assessment of the Plan it is necessary to undertake the first stage of SA known as Scoping. This Scoping stage aims to build upon previous evidence collated and determines whether the previous assessment framework established is fit for purpose. The production of this report also provides the statutory environmental consultees (Historic England, Natural England, Environment Agency) with an early and effective opportunity to express their opinion on the Scoping Stage and resulting assessment framework prior to the assessment of the new Plan. Aims of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) 1.0.5 The overall aim of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is to help protect the environment and to promote sustainable development through the integration of social, economic and environmental considerations into the preparation of plans which are likely to have significant effects on the environment. Both SEA and SA are assessment tools required by European (i) and National law (ii)to consider the potential impact of a proposed plan (and its alternatives) on the social, economic and i SEA Directive 2001/42/EC ii Section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires a local planning authority to carry out a sustainability appraisal of each of the proposals in a Local Plan during its preparation Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) 5 1 Introduction environmental characteristic of an area. Integrating the assessment with the development of a Plan enables its policies to be changed or modified to better reflect, promote and address sustainability objectives and issues. 1.0.6 The SA process can be undertaken to satisfy the requirements of the SEA directive through a single assessment process. For the sake of brevity the combined SEA/SA process will be referred to as Sustainability Appraisal, (SA), in this report. The SA process should: Take a long-term view of how the area covered by the plan is expected to develop, taking account the social, environmental and economic effects of the proposed plan; Provide a mechanism for ensuring that sustainability objectives are translated into sustainable planning policies; Reflect global, national, regional and local concerns; Provide an audit trail of how the plan has been revised to take into account the findings of the SA, Form an integral part of all stages of plan preparation; and Incorporate the requirements of the SEA Directive. 1.0.7 The main objectives of this SA Scoping Report are to: Ensure the new Local Plan is as sustainable as possible by integrating sustainable development into the Plan and policy making process; Achieve a high level of environmental protection and balance social, environmental and economic issues within the County Durham Plan; Identify the links to relevant policies, plans and programmes and indicate the implications for the Local Plan and the SA process; Update the sustainability baseline for County Durham; Review and identify any additional key sustainability issues within the County; Outline the environmental characteristics of the County and its delivery areas which may be significantly affected by the Plan; Review and revise where necessary the Sustainability Appraisal Framework to ensure that the key sustainability issues are taken into account throughout the SA process; and Facilitate meaningful engagement and continuing consultation with statutory agencies on the scope of the SA process. The SA Process and Scoping Stage 1.0.8 Current Government guidance advocates a five stage approach to undertaking SA as outlined in the following diagram (iii) iii Source: Planning Practice Guidance: Paragraph 013 6 Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) Introduction 1 Figure 1 The Five Stage Approach to SA 1.0.9 This report describes the first stage and associated tasks of the SA process, the SA Scoping Stage (A). An overview of Stage A and its component parts are set out in the following table. Table 1 Stage A of SA Stages and tasks Purpose A1: Identifying other relevant policies, To ensure that the relationship of the PPP's with the plans and programmes (PPP's) and development Plan and their social, economic and sustainability objectives environmental objectives are taken into account throughout the development of the County Durham Plan and the sustainability assessment. A2: Collecting baseline information To provide an evidence base for sustainability issues, effects predication and monitoring Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report (2016) 7 1 Introduction Stages and tasks Purpose A3: Identifying sustainability issues and To help focus the SA and streamline the subsequent stages, problems including the setting of the SA Framework, prediction of effects and monitoring A4: Developing the SA Framework To provide a means by which the sustainability of the Plan can be assessed A5: Consult the consultation bodies on To consult with statutory bodies to ensure the Scoping stage the Scope of the sustainability appraisal identifies the key sustainability issues. report What we need you to do 1.0.10 One of the main aspects of the SA process is to achieve and maintain effective consultation. This consultation is very important to us and will ensure that the SA process collects views and informed opinions over a wide range of issues. To gather your opinions on various issues, we ask specific consultation questions throughout this SA Scoping Report. Please consider replying to these questions in your response. Please note however, that we welcome any further comments you may have on any aspect of this report. The consultation questions are framed in yellow boxes throughout this document. An example is shown below: Consultation Question 3a Can you provide or refer us to any other supporting data to improve the baseline information? 1.1 Overview of County Durham 1.1.1 County Durham lies at the heart of the North East Region and is is the largest unitary authority in the region in terms of population, and the fourth largest in England. It is home to over half a million people, a fifth of the region's population. The County covers a significant geographic area, extending some 223,000 hectares (862 sq miles) from the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the west to the North Sea Heritage Coast in the East.