Sustainability Appraisal - Submission Draft Earl Shilton and Barwell Area Action Plan Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council July 2013 jam consult ltd This report has been prepared on behalf of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council by: jam consult ltd 3 Jerningham Road London SE14 5NQ t: 020 7732 4249 m: 07812 129 810 e: [email protected] w: www.jamconsult.com Contents Non-Technical Summary 7 AAP Issues and Options 1 Introduction 7.1 Assessment of Plan Objectives against SA Framework 1.1 Introduction 7.2 Development of the AAP Options 1.2 Why is a Sustainability Appraisal needed? 7.3 Development of the AAP Policies 1.3 What is this document? 2 The Area Action Plan 8 Sustainability Effects of the AAP 2.1 What is the purpose of the AAP? 8.1 How has sustainability been considered in the development of the 2.2 What are the Objectives of the AAP? plan? 8.2 Significant sustainability effects of the Options 3 Sustainability Appraisal Methodology 8.3 Significant sustainability effects of the Policies 3.1 Purpose of the Sustainability Appraisal 8.4 Proposed mitigation measures 3.2 Planning Policy and Sustainable Development 8.5 Any uncertainties and risks 3.3 The Sustainability Appraisal Process 3.4 Stages of the SA Process 9.0 Implementation 3.5 Method of Assessment 9.1 What are the next steps? 3.6 Consultation 9.2 How the plan will be implemented 3.7 Difficulties encountered in carrying out the SA 9.3 Proposals for monitoring 4 Baseline and Context 4.1 Links to other policies and programmes 10 Conclusions 4.2 Summary of Baseline Information 10.1 Conclusions and Recommendations 5 Sustainability Issues and Objectives 5.1 Sustainability Issues Appendices 5.2 Sustainability Objectives A1 SA and SEA requirements 6 Sustainability Appraisal Framework A2 Summary of Policies, Plans and Programmes 6.1 The SA Framework A3 Summary of Baseline Information A4 Compatibility Matrix of Sustainability Objectives A5 Assessment of AAP Objectives A6 Assessment of AAP Options A7 Assessment of AAP Policies A8 Cumulative Impact Assessment A9 Summary of Policy Changes from Consultation to Draft Submission A10 Summary of AAP Matters and Issues Draft Submission Sustainability Appraisal: 1 May 2013 Earl Shilton and Barwell Area Action Plan Non-Technical Summary N.1 Introduction N.2 Why is a Sustainability Appraisal needed? This document provides a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Under section 19(5) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act Submission Draft Earl Shilton and Barwell Area Action Plan (AAP). 2004, Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is mandatory for new or revised The AAP will support the Core Strategy (Local Plan) and provides the Development Plan Documents (DPDs). The appraisal should include detailed planning guidance for development in the areas of Earl an assessment of the likely significant impacts - economic, social and Shilton and Barwell for the period up to 2026. environmental - of the plan. Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) adopted its Core When conducting an SA of DPDs an environmental assessment must Strategy in 2009, which identified Earl Shilton and Barwell as also be conducted in accordance with the requirements of European Sustainable Urban Extensions. An initial Scoping Report was Directive 2001/42/EC (The Strategic Environmental Assessment published in 2005 for consultation, which set out the proposed Directive), transposed into the UK legislation by the Environmental methodology for the SA. A draft AAP was produced in 2010 and an Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, Section 12. Interim Sustainability Appraisal (Capita Symonds, January 2011). Following the publication of the draft reports it was decided to update Sustainability Appraisals should be carried out in accordance with the Scoping Report in 2012 to reflect the changes in the planning Government Guidance ‘A Practical Guide to the SEA Directive, system and regulations and to set out the SA methodology for both ODPM, 2005’ and the ‘National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) the AAP and the Development Management and Site Allocations 2012’ . Sustainability Appraisal, as defined under the Planning and Development Management Documents. Compulsory Purchase Act, fully incorporates the requirements of the SEA directive. The term SA is therefore used to refer to the combined assessment. Draft Submission Sustainability Appraisal: 2 jam consult ltd Earl Shilton and Barwell Area Action Plan July 2013 N.3 What is this document? N.4 Options considered in the Area Action Plan This document provides the Draft Submission Sustainability Appraisal of the AAP or Stage B and C of the SA process and assesses the Earl Shilton & Barwell Sustainable Urban Extensions Options, Policies and Proposals considered in the development of the Land is allocated to the south east of Earl Shilton and to the west of AAP. Barwell for Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs). Earl Shilton and Barwell contain pockets of significant deprivation, particularly relating The Scoping Report ( Stage A ) sets out the context and scope of the to income, education skills and training, employment and health and SA in accordance with the regulations and best practice guidance. their local centres are in need of regeneration. The areas suffer from Owing to the amount of change that has occurred to the planning multiple deprivation and are designated Local Strategic Partnership system and legislation since the previous reports were published, a ‘priority neighbourhoods’ with targeted actions for improvement. revised Scoping Report was produced in June 2012 and issued for To support this regeneration and to reinvigorate these important consultation. The full report can be accessed on the Council’s website urban areas, two mixed use Sustainable Urban Extensions are at http://www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk proposed, one of 2500 homes to the west of Barwell and one of 1600 homes to the south of Earl Shilton. In addition, to ensure the The Scoping Report was forwarded to the statutory consultees to Sustainable Urban Extensions are sustainable, the need to allocate a ensure that the proposed scope of work was appropriate, including: further 20-25 ha of employment land to support the population in • The Environment Agency these new communities was identified in the Leicester and • Natural England Leicestershire HMA Employment Land Study, 2008. The employment • English Heritage land figure has subsequently been revised down to approximately 11ha, as set out in the King Sturge Employment Study, 2010. The neighbouring local authorities and other key stakeholders were Initial Options also consulted. Responses to the consultation were received from Capita Lovejoy was commissioned to prepare Masterplan Options for nine of the consultees, including the statutory consultees. Comments related to: the Earl Shilton and Barwell Action Plan. The Masterplan Options report (November 2009) documents the preparation of a series of • additional guidance that should be included ‘Spatial Options’ for the regeneration of Earl Shilton and Barwell. Six • updates to the baseline data • options were appraised (two options for each of the proposed SUEs minor amendments to the sustainability objectives and indicators. and one option for generating each settlement centre). These options were used for the preparation of the final masterplan (the ‘preferred’ The full responses are provided in Appendix D of the Scoping report. option), which was the subject of consultation by stakeholders and the general public in November and December 2009 and March 2010. The options were generated by the project team, which involved close collaboration between the consultants and council officers, following Draft Submission Sustainability Appraisal: 3 jam consult ltd Earl Shilton and Barwell Area Action Plan July 2013 an inception day workshop (July 2009) and the preparation of an examine the acceptability in principle of the specific access extensive evidence base. arrangements proposed that underpin the SUE Masterplan Options. Draft Submission Version The Masterplan options were amended to reflect a number of the The Draft Submission Version AAP has been amended to take into early conclusions of the above consultations. In respect of the Earl consideration the consultation responses to the Preferred Options Shilton SUE, the options were revised to present two options that and additional evidence for the masterplans, in particular, the were more distinct in highlighting potential approaches to the key site Strategic Transport Assessment, the infrastructure requirements and issues, notably the Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW). the Viability Assessment. A further Sustainability Appraisal (this document) has therefore been undertaken to ensure that the new Preferred Options evidence is fully considered in the assessment. The preferred options were presented to the community via a manned The SA has assessed the same five options that were identified at the exhibition in October 2010 and set out in the Consultation Draft of the Preferred Options stage to ensure that the new evidence has not Earl Shilton and Barwell AAP, November 2010. An interim changed the sustainability outcomes, in addition to the final preferred Sustainability Appraisal of the AAP, Capita Symonds, January 2011 option for Earl Shilton, which is a combination of Options 1 and 2. tested five options as follows: The detailed results of the options appraisal are set out in Section 8 of this report and Appendix A6 . PO1 Earl Shilton SUE(retains WWTW) PO2 Earl Shilton SUE (replaces WWTW)