Cork City Development Plan
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Cork City Development Plan Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí Cork City Council 2015 - 2021 Environmental Assessments Contents • Part 1: Non-Technical Summary SEA Environmental Report 3 • Part 2: SEA Environmental Report 37 SEA Appendices 191 • Part 3: Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) 205 SFRA Appendices 249 • Part 4: Screening for Appropriate Assessment 267 Draft Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021 1 Volume One: Written Statement Copyright Cork City Council 2014 – all rights reserved. Includes Ordnance Survey Ireland data reproduced under OSi. Licence number 2014/05/CCMA/CorkCityCouncil © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. 2 Draft Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021 Part 1: SEA Non-Technical Summary 1 part 1 Non-Technical Summary Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Contents • Introduction 5 • Context 6 • Baseline Environment 6 • Strategic Environmental Protection Objectives 15 • Alternative Scenarios 21 • Evaluation of Alternative Scenarios 22 • Evaluation of the Draft Plan 26 • Monitoring the Plan 27 Draft Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021 3 1 Volume Four: Environmental Reports 4 Draft Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021 Part 1: SEA Non-Technical Summary 1 PART 1 SEA NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY 1. Introduction Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is the formal, systematic assessment of the likely effects on implementing a plan or programme before a decision is made to adopt the plan or programme. This Report describes the assessment of the likely significant effects on the environment if the draft City Development Plan is implemented. It is a mandatory requirement to undertake a SEA of the City Development Plan, under the Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations, 2004 (as amended). SEA began with the SEA Directive, namely, Directive 2001/42/EC Assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment. The SEA Directive was transposed into Irish legislation by the European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) Regulations, 2004 (S.I. No. 435 of 2004) and Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations, 2004 (S.I. No. 436 of 2004). Subsequently, these statutory instruments were amended by S.I. 200 of 2011 and S.I. No. 201 of 2011. The Cork City Development Plan falls under the remit of S.I. 436/2004. Scoping is undertaken to ensure that the relevant environmental issues are identified allowing them to be addressed appropriately in the Environmental Report. Scoping requires consultation with the prescribed Environmental Authorities. Scoping establishes all relevant issues and potential impacts of the draft plan. The Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) made a submission. The process continued with the collection and evaluation of Baseline Data on the current state of the environment with respect to biodiversity, population, human health, fauna, flora, soil, water (surface freshwater, coastal, transitional, groundwater, bathing and water services (drinking water and waste water treatment), air, climatic factors, material assets (roads, transportation, energy etc), cultural heritage (including architectural and archaeological heritage), landscape and the interrelationships between these factors as appropriate. Any existing problems relevant to the new Plan are also identified at this baseline stage. Identification of baseline environmental status provides for the identification of key resources and sensitivities within the Plan area and the identification of potential threats to the environment, thus allowing for the inclusion of mitigation measures that may need to be incorporated into the new Plan to ensure that it does not exacerbate existing problems. Assessment of the baseline environment also enables plan-makers to consider how the environment might evolve in the absence of the proposed plan. As the data is complied and plan policies evolve the likely significant effects of implementing the plan are identified, described and evaluated and this is described in the Environmental Report. The information to be contained in the environmental report is set out in Annex 1 of the SEA Directive and reproduced in Schedule 2B of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as inserted by Article 12 of the Planning and Development (SEA) Regulations 2004. The structure of this report is summarised as follows: Draft Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021 5 1 Volume Four: Environmental Reports The SEA Process produces two documents, the Environmental Report to accompany the Draft Development Plan and an SEA Statement which will be published at the end of the process, when the Plan is adopted. During the preparation of the Environmental Report, no new research was undertaken and information was gathered from existing sources of data. There are a number of areas where data was not readily available, including habitats surveys for non-designated sites and extent and range of protected species; limited Air Quality monitoring and Water Quality Status data. As part of the review of the City Development Plan, and in order to meet the needs of the Strategic Environmental Assessment process, a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) was undertaken. The assessment provides for an improved understanding of flood risk issues within the City and the spatial distribution of flood risk. The SFRA report sets out how the Flood Risk Assessment was undertaken, as well as how its findings were addressed and integrated into the City Development Plan. 2. Context In accordance with the Planning and Development Acts, the Council is legally obliged to prepare a Development Plan (CDP) for its functional area every six years and, not later than four years after the preparation of this plan, a planning authority must give notice of its intention to review that plan and prepare a new plan. The current Cork City Development Plan 2009 - 2015 was adopted in 2009. On 22nd April 2013 the Council commenced a review by publishing an Issues Paper and placing notices in the press to advise the public of the commencement of an 8 week period of public consultation. Submissions received were considered and included in a Managers Report to the Elected Members of the Council in August 2013. Following consideration of the report, the Members issued a direction to the Manger to proceed with the preparation of the Draft Plan. The City Development Plan is part of a hierarchy of local, regional and national plans. While it should be consistent with higher-level plans such as those of a regional or national nature, it must guide or direct plans and programmes at a lower level hierarchically. The Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (the SEA Directive) and its transposed Irish legislation, including amendments form the legislative framework for the SEA process, including its documentation in the form of an Environmental Report. The Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) also forms an integral part of SEA and additional guidance from a European context and national context. Additional key pieces of legislation pertaining to environmental considerations include inter alia, EU Birds Directive (79/409/EEC), EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), The Wildlife Act, 1976 (as amended in 2000). 3. Baseline Environment The environmental baseline of Cork City is described in this section. The baseline data is the existing state of the City’s environment. This baseline together with the Strategic Environmental Protection Objectives, (EPOs), is used to identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant environmental effects 6 Draft Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021 Part 1: SEA Non-Technical Summary 1 of implementing the City Development Plan and the alternatives, and to determine a baseline from which future monitoring data can be measured. The impacts of the City Development Plan can be estimated as the difference in environmental conditions with or without implementation of the plan. Cork city’s existing environment is characterised by way of a description of the environmental receptors as set out in SEA Directive as follows. 3.1 Population and Human Health Population The National Development Plan 2007-2013 identifies Cork as a national gateway, a priority growth area. The National Spatial Strategy 2002- 2020 reinforces this role. The population target for Cork is set out at a regional level in the National Population Projections NSD Regional Population Targets 2010-2022, January 2009 and the ‘Gateway and Hub Population Targets’ October 2009 issued by the DEHLG. Under the current Regional Planning Guidelines, the population of the Region is forecast to increase by 127,500 persons to 795,000 persons during the period 2010 - 2022. The population targets were apportioned by the Regional Authority through the adoption of the South West Regional Planning Guidelines 2010 - 2022. The target population for Cork City is 150,000 persons, an increase of 30,478 from the recorded population of 119,522 persons in the 2006 Census. The 2011 Census recorded the Cork City population at 119, 230 persons representing a small decrease from 119,418 in 2006, (-0.1%). The population has effectively stabilized following a prolonged period of decline since the 1979 peak of 138,000 persons. There was significant variation in population change within Cork City between 2006 and 2011, with the City Centre and the South East increasing population, while the North side,