Sustainability Appraisal of the Tees Valley Joint Minerals and Waste Development Plan Documents Sustainability Appraisal Environmental Report May 2010 Creating the environment for business Copyright and Non-Disclosure Notice The contents and layout of this report are subject to copyright owned by Entec (© Entec UK Limited 2009) save to the extent that copyright has been legally assigned by us to another party or is used by Entec under licence. To the extent that we own the copyright in this report, it may not be copied or used without our prior written agreement for any purpose other than the purpose indicated in this report. The methodology (if any) contained in this report is provided to you in confidence and must not be disclosed or copied to third parties without the prior written agreement of Entec. Disclosure of that information may constitute an actionable breach of confidence or may otherwise prejudice our commercial interests. 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Document Revisions No. Details Date 0 Tees Valley SA Environmental 28-9-10 Report Page ii Doc Reg No. 18980/GY/001 Creating the environment for business Report for Sustainability Appraisal Andrew Craig Tees Valley JSU of the Tees Valley Joint Melrose House Melrose Street Minerals and Waste Middlesbrough TS1 2XF Development Plan Main Contributors Documents Ross McLaughlin Amy Souter Sustainability Appraisal Environmental Report Issued by May 2010 ………………………………………………………… Entec UK Limited Amy Souter Approved by ………………………………………………………… Emma Marsden Entec UK Limited Northumbria House Regent Centre Gosforth Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3PX England Tel: +44 (0) 191 272 6100 Fax: +44 (0) 191 272 6592 Doc Reg No. 18980/GY/001 f:\gwm\data\project\ea-210\27333 tees valley m&w dpds completion\submission\sa.doc In accordance with an environmentally responsible approach, this document is printed on recycled paper produced from 100% post-consumer waste, or on ECF (elemental chlorine free) paper Page iii Doc Reg No. 18980/GY/001 Creating the environment for business Non Technical Summary Overview This document is the non-technical summary of the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Tees Valley Joint Minerals and Waste Development Plan Documents (DPDs). This non-technical summary sets out the background and the approach used to undertake the SA, along with the conclusions and recommendations emerging from the process. This report has been prepared by Environmental Consultants at Entec on behalf of the Tees Valley Authorities. What is the background to the Tees Valley Joint Minerals and Waste Development Plan Documents? The Tees Valley consists of five Boroughs: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. Each of these Boroughs is a unitary authority and is responsible for producing an individual Local Development Framework (LDF) for their own area, setting out spatial planning policies. These five authorities are supported in their work by the Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit (JSU), who provides guidance on matters which affect the whole of the Tees Valley. In the case of minerals and waste planning, the Tees Valley Authorities have joined together with the Tees Valley JSU to prepare joint policies on minerals and waste. Two Joint Minerals and Waste DPDs have been prepared – the Core Strategy DPD and Policies and Sites DPD. The Core Strategy DPD consists of a long term spatial vision, strategic objectives and the policies for minerals and waste development up until 2025. The Policies and Sites DPD identifies specific sites and provides a framework to assess future planning applications. They cover all of the land within the five Boroughs except for that within the North York Moors National Park. The first stage in the plan preparation process was the production of Issues and Options Reports, where the issues affecting minerals and waste development in the Tees Valley were identified and key stakeholders along with the general public were asked for feedback on which were the most appropriate. The second stage was the production of Preferred Options Reports, which identified which of the options were the preferred choices to proceed with. The third stage (publication) will see the DPDs being issued for public participation. Following this, they will then be submitted to the Secretary of State, along with any representations made during public participation. The DPDs will then be assessed to determine if they are sound, before being adopted. Once adopted, the DPDs will form part of the LDFs being developed for each of the Boroughs. Why have the Joint Minerals and Waste DPDs been subject to Sustainability Appraisal? The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004) requires the Tees Valley Authorities to undertake SA of their LDF documents. SA is a process through which the ‘sustainability’ of a plan under preparation is assessed. The SA provides a subjective assessment of the environmental, social and economic performance of the plan against a set Page iv Doc Reg No. 18980/GY/001 Creating the environment for business of sustainability objectives. The purpose of SA is to promote sustainable development through the integration of social, environmental and economic considerations into the preparation of the plan. Under the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations (2004) it is also a requirement that plans (setting out a framework for development and likely to have significant environmental effects) are subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). These regulations reflect the requirements of the SEA Directive1. The objective of SEA is to “provide for a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans and programmes with a view to promoting sustainable development”. In accordance with the above regulations, a SA incorporating the requirements of SEA of the Joint Minerals and Waste DPDs has been undertaken. In addition, the SA has been expanded to include elements of Equalities Impact Assessment, which considers the effects of the plans with respect to all members of the community. How and when were the Joint Minerals and Waste DPDs assessed? The SA process for the Joint Minerals and Waste DPDs has been carried out from August 2006 through to April 2009 resulting in the preparation of the publication Environmental Report. The SA was undertaken with regard to guidance produced by the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on undertaking SA combined with SEA. The first stage of the SA involved a review of other plans and policies of relevance to the DPDs, the collection of baseline information, the identification of key issues, and the development of the SA framework. The outcome of this process was summarised in a Scoping Report, which sets out 15 SA objectives to be used in assessing the DPDs. This SA framework has been agreed with the statutory bodies (Natural England, English Heritage and the Environment Agency) following five weeks of consultation. The second stage of the SA involved an appraisal of the DPD options using the agreed SA framework. Initially, an appraisal of the strategic options detailed within the Issues and Options Report was undertaken. Following the development of the Preferred Options Reports, the preferred policies were then appraised. The outcomes of these appraisals were brought together in an Environmental Report, issued for consultation in February 2008. Taking into account the outcomes of the previous work, publication versions of the DPDs were then developed. As previous, the publication DPDs were then subject to appraisal. The Environmental Report associated with this non- technical summary details the findings of the SA process for the publication DPDs. 1 2001/42/EC – the Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes on the Environment Page v Doc Reg No. 18980/GY/001 Creating the environment for business What were the outcomes of the Sustainability Appraisal? Generally, the publication Joint Minerals and Waste DPD policies are considered to contribute positively towards creating a more sustainable waste and minerals sector in the Tees Valley. The policies largely support reductions in primary materials extraction, increased usage of secondary aggregates, waste minimisation, recycling, composting and recovery of value from waste, the proximity principle and self sufficiency. Several of the policies contribute positively towards environmental protection objectives, through, for example, seeking to reduce raw material use, encouraging the sustainable transport of minerals and waste, and ensuring adherence to the principles of avoiding or minimising environmental impact and protecting natural and cultural assets in allocating