Lancaster Local Plan SA Scoping Report
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Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Lancaster District Local Plan Scoping Report October 2020 SA for the Lancaster Local Plan Scoping Report Quality information Prepared by Checked by Verified by Approved by Lauren Egan, Graduate Chris McNulty, Ian McCluskey, Ian McCluskey, Environmental Planner, Senior Consultant Principal Consultant Principal Consultant Chris McNulty, Senior Consultant Ishaq Khan, Graduate Consultant Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position V1 01/10/2020 First draft for CM Chris McNulty Senior internal review Consultant V2 12/10/2020 Amended draft IM Ian McCluskey Principal for review by Consultant Lancaster planning policy officers V3 19/10/2020 Further amended IM Ian McCluskey Principal draft Consultant incorporating comments from officers Prepared for: Lancaster City Council Prepared by: AECOM Limited 3rd Floor, Portwall Place Portwall Lane Bristol BS1 6NA United Kingdom T: +44 117 901 7000 aecom.com © 2020 AECOM Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“AECOM”) for sole use of our client (the “Client”) in accordance with generally accepted consultancy principles, the budget for fees and the terms of reference agreed between AECOM and the Client. Any information provided by third parties and referred to herein has not been checked or verified by AECOM, unless otherwise expressly stated in the document. No third party may rely upon this document without the prior and express written agreement of AECOM. AECOM SA for the Lancaster Local Plan Scoping Report Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 2. Air quality ................................................................................................. 4 3. Biodiversity ............................................................................................ 10 4. Climate change (adaptation) ................................................................. 17 5. Climate change (mitigation) ................................................................... 29 6. Economy and employment .................................................................... 42 7. Health and wellbeing ............................................................................. 53 8. Historic Environment ............................................................................. 62 9. Housing ................................................................................................. 69 10. Natural resources .................................................................................. 75 11. Landscape ............................................................................................. 84 12. Population and communities ................................................................. 91 13. Transportation ..................................................................................... 100 14. Development in neighbouring authorities ............................................ 107 15. Next Steps ........................................................................................... 108 Appendix A - the SA Framework .................................................................... 109 AECOM SA for the Lancaster Local Plan 1. Introduction Background Lancaster City Council have now completed work on the new Local Plan for Lancaster District which includes a Strategic Policies & Land Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) and a reviewed Development Management DPD. The adoption of the Local Plan provides certainty over how the District will develop and grow over the coming years and identifies how development needs will be met. The Plan sets out how and where economic growth can be achieved and identifies where land and premises need to be protected, whether this is for its environment, economic or social value. On 29 July 2020, Lancaster City Council formally adopted its Local Plan: Strategic Policies and Land Allocations DPD and Review of the Development Management DPD. These documents shape the future of Lancaster up until 2031, and plan for more housing, new employment, open spaces, shops and community facilities, all of which are necessary to create places in which people want to live, work and do business. On 30 January 2019, the council declared a climate emergency. Whilst the newly adopted Local Plan does seek to address climate change, it was too far advanced in the plan preparation process to incorporate some of the actions and directions of the climate emergency declaration. The Council are therefore entering into an immediate Local Plan review to ensure that the aspects of this important agenda are adequately considered and include the necessary mitigation and adaption measures to address the climate emergency. In this regard, AECOM is commissioned by Lancaster City Council (‘the Council’) to lead on Sustainability Appraisal (SA) in support of the emerging Local Plan Review. SA explained SA is a mechanism for considering and communicating the likely effects of a draft plan, and alternatives, in terms of sustainability issues, with a view to avoiding and mitigating adverse effects and maximising the positives. The aim is to ensure that the plan contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. SA must be undertaken in accordance with specific procedural requirements, as established by the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (‘SEA’) Regulations 2004. Two key procedural requirements of the SEA Regulations are that: 1. When deciding on ‘the scope and level of detail of the information’ which must be included within the key output report - namely the report published for consultation alongside the draft plan - there is a consultation with certain nationally designated authorities, namely the Environment Agency, Historic England and Natural England; and 2. A report (the ‘SA Report’) is published for consultation alongside the draft plan (i.e. the draft Local Plan Review) that ‘identifies, describes and evaluates’ the likely significant effects of implementing ‘the plan [i.e. the Local Plan Review], and reasonable alternatives’. This scoping report is concerned with item 1 above. It presents a suggested scope for the SA so that the designated authorities can provide timely comment. This report is also published for consultation more widely. AECOM 1 SA for the Lancaster Local Plan Approach to scoping Scoping essentially involves identifying a ‘framework’ of sustainability issues and objectives that should be a focus of, and provide a methodological framework for, the appraisal of the emerging plan (and reasonable alternatives). In order to facilitate the identification of sustainability issues/objectives, scoping firstly involves a review of the ‘context’ and ‘baseline’. Scoping therefore involves the following steps - 1. Context review - a review of Figure 1.1: The scoping process existing policy and issues/objectives established by Government, the Council and other key organisations. 2. Baseline review - a review of the current situation locally and a consideration of how this might evolve in the absence of the plan. 3. Key issues summary - a summary of the key (in the sense that the plan may have an effect) problems and opportunities identified through steps (1) and (2). 4. SA Framework development - a refinement of the key issues to be used as a basis for assessment of the Plan. Relationship with the Sustainability Appraisal of the adopted Local Plan Part 1 and Part 2 The emerging Local Plan Review (LPR) will build on the adopted Local Plan Part 1 (LPP1) and Part 2 (LPP2) with a specific focus on further developing and enhancing the climate change policies within each. It is recognised that the emerging LPR is therefore not anticipated to propose new housing or employment allocations, nor is its scope likely to extend to reviewing policies beyond those with potential for effects in relation to climate change. Therefore, the emerging LPR will not be an entirely new plan in the sense that it will only supersede a limited and specific suite of policies. In this context, it is appropriate for the SA of the emerging LPR touseas a starting point the SA of the LPP1 and LPP2, both of which were prepared by Arcadis. It is considered that such an approach will ensure the SA of the emerging LPR will be as aligned as practicable in terms of the SA objectives. AECOM’s appraisal of the emerging LPR will therefore map well against the original SA framework of the adopted LPP1 and LPP2, ensuring continuity and consistency as far as can reasonably be expected. Despite these linkages, it is appropriate to undertake a new SA scoping exercise at this time to ensure that the context and baseline information is up to date and reflects evidence gathered during and subsequent to the preparation of the adopted LPP1 and LPP2. Additionally, it provides AECOM an opportunity to re-organise the framework of objectives to align with AECOM’s established report structure and appraisal process. In practice, this means that AECOM will incorporate the existing Arcadis SA objectives into a new thematic framework of objectives, weaving in new sub-objectives where necessary to reflect the focus on climate change of the emerging LPR. AECOM 2 SA for the Lancaster Local Plan Scoping out SA topics Despite the above, in light of the anticipated focus on climate change of the emerging LPR, it is likely that the baseline position in the District in relation to some