Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Emerging East Hampshire Local Plan
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Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the emerging East Hampshire Local Plan Interim SA Report December 2018 East Hampshire Local Plan SA Interim SA Report Quality information Prepared by Checked by Verified by Approved by Chris McNulty, Mark Fessey, Mark Fessey, Steve Smith, Environmental Planner Associate Associate Technical Director Mark Fessey, Kevin Thurlow, Associate, East Hants DC Kevin Thurlow, East Hants DC Prepared for: East Hampshire District Council Prepared by: AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited Aldgate Tower 2 Leman Street London E1 8FA United Kingdom aecom.com © 2018 AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“AECOM”) in accordance with its contract with East Hampshire District Council (the “Client”) and in accordance with generally accepted consultancy principles and the established budget. 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. AECOM shall have no liability to any third party that makes use of or relies upon this document. AECOM East Hampshire Local Plan SA Interim SA Report Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 2. What is the plan seeking to achieve? .............................................................. 3 3. What is the scope of the SA? .......................................................................... 4 Part 1: What has plan-making / SA involved up to this stage? ................................... 5 4. Introduction to Part 1 ....................................................................................... 6 5. Selecting the reasonable alternatives .............................................................. 8 6. Appraisal of the reasonable alternatives ........................................................ 54 7. Developing the preferred approach ............................................................... 57 Part 2: What are the appraisal findings at this stage? .............................................. 60 8. Introduction to Part 2 ..................................................................................... 61 9. Assessment of the Draft Local Plan ............................................................... 62 Part 3: What are the next steps? .............................................................................. 86 10. Plan finalisation ............................................................................................. 87 11. Monitoring ...................................................................................................... 87 Appendix I: Regulatory requirements ....................................................................... 88 Appendix II: SA scope .............................................................................................. 92 Appendix III: Meeting notes ...................................................................................... 95 Appendix IV: Site options analysis .......................................................................... 114 Appendix V: Alternatives appraisal ......................................................................... 139 AECOM East Hampshire Local Plan SA Interim SA Report 1. Introduction Background 1.1 AECOM is commissioned to undertake Sustainability Appraisal (SA) in support of the emerging East Hampshire Local Plan. 1.2 Once in place, the Local Plan will establish a spatial strategy for growth and change for the period to 2036, allocate sites to deliver the strategy and establish the policies against which planning applications will be determined. The plan is for that part of East Hampshire that falls outside of the South Downs National Park. Figure 1.1 shows the plan area. 1.3 SA is a mechanism for considering and communicating the likely effects of an emerging plan, and alternatives, with a view to minimising adverse effects and maximising the positives. Local Plans must be subject to SA. 1 SA explained 1.4 It is a requirement that SA is undertaken in-line with the procedures prescribed by the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, which were prepared in order to transpose into national law the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive. 1.5 In-line with the Regulations, a report (known as the SA Report) must be published for consultation alongside the draft plan that essentially ‘identifies, describes and evaluates’ the likely significant effects of implementing ‘the plan, and reasonable alternatives’. The report must then be taken into account, alongside consultation responses, when finalising the plan. 1.6 More specifically, the SA Report must answer the following three questions - What has Plan-making / SA involved up to this point? ─ including with regards to consideration of 'reasonable alternatives’ What are the SA findings at this stage? ─ i.e. in relation to the draft plan What are next steps? This Interim SA Report2 1.7 At the current stage of plan-making the Council is consulting on an early draft plan, under Regulation 18 of the Local Planning Regulations. This ‘Interim’ SA Report is therefore produced with the intention of informing the consultation and subsequent preparation of the final draft (‘proposed submission’) version of the local plan. Structure of this report 1.8 Despite the fact that this is an ‘Interim’ SA Report, and does not need to provide the information required of the SA Report, it is nonetheless helpful to structure this report according to the three questions above. 1.9 Before answering the first questions, there is a need to further set the scene, by answering two initial questions: What is the plan seeking to achieve?; and What is the scope of the SA? 1 Since provision was made through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 it has been understood that local planning authorities must carry out a process of Sustainability Appraisal alongside plan-making. The centrality of SA to Local Plan-making is emphasised in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2018). The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 require that an SA Report is published for consultation alongside the ‘Proposed Submission’ plan document 2 See Appendix I for further explanation of the regulatory basis for answering certain questions within the SA Report, and a ‘checklist’ explaining more precisely the regulatory basis for presenting certain information. Introduction AECOM 1 East Hampshire Local Plan SA Interim SA Report Figure 1.1: The plan area Introduction AECOM 2 East Hampshire Local Plan SA Interim SA Report 2. What is the plan seeking to achieve? Introduction 2.1 The aim here is to explain more fully the context to plan preparation and the plan vision / objectives. Legislative policy and context 2.2 The plan is being prepared under the Town and Country (Local Planning) Regulations 2012, mindful of the underpinning primary legislation. It must reflect current government policy as set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2018) and Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (2015), and must also be prepared mindful of Government’s online Planning Practice Guidance (PPG). In particular, the NPPF requires local authorities to take a positive approach to development, with an up-to-date local plan that meets objectively assessed development needs (OAHN), otherwise known as local housing needs (LHN), as far as is consistent with sustainable development. 2.3 The plan is also being prepared taking account of objectives and policies established by various organisations at the national and more local levels, in accordance with the Duty to Cooperate established by the Localism Act 2011. For example, context is provided by the strategic growth aspirations of the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and Hampshire County Council (ECC) strategy - e.g. in relation to transport, minerals and education. East Hampshire DC must also cooperate with neighbouring areas, including the South Downs National Park (SDNP) Authority, authorities within Surrey to the north east and West Sussex to the east, and the south coast authorities that have come together to cooperate under the umbrella of Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH). 2.4 Finally, it is important to note that the plan will be prepared mindful of ‘made’ (Alton, Medstead and Four Marks, and Bentley) and emerging (Bramshott and Liphook, Ropley, Rowlands Castle, Bentworth, Beech) Neighbourhood Plans. Neighbourhood Plans must be in general conformity with the Local Plan, which means that current Neighbourhood Plans may need to be reviewed to bring them into line with the emerging plan; however, it is equally the case that made Neighbourhood Plans will be a consideration when preparing the Local Plan. Vision and objectives 2.5 The draft vision of the Local Plan is set out below: “By 2036 our communities’ sense of place will have been maintained and reinforced, respecting their unique individual needs. We will have provided a good quality home to meet the differing needs of all our residents, a successful and growing local economy and achieved environmental excellence.” 2.6 The draft objectives of the Local Plan are grouped under the following three core headings: Core Objective A - Provide sustainable levels of growth in the LPA area. Core Objective B - Provide