Habitats Regulation Assessment of the Vale of Glamorgan Local Development Plan Draft Preferred Strategy
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HABITATS REGULATION ASSESSMENT OF THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN DRAFT PREFERRED STRATEGY SCREENING REPORT December 2007 Non-technical summary This document is the Stage 1 Screening Report for the Vale of Glamorgan Local Development Plan 2011 – 2026 (LDP). It considers whether the LDP either alone or in combination with other plans and projects is likely to have a significant effect on a European site. This report considers the emerging Vale of Glamorgan Draft Preferred Strategy. A separate regional study is currently being progressed by the South East Wales Strategic Planning Group, which will consider the cumulative in- combination effects of other LDPs currently being progressed. European sites are Special Protection Areas (SPA) classified under the EC Birds Directive 1979, candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSAC) and Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated under the Habitats Directive 1992. As a matter of policy the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) expects public authorities to treat all Ramsar sites, and potential SPAs (pSPA), in Wales as if they are European sites for the purpose of considering development proposals that may affect them. Draft guidance on undertaking Habitats Regulations Assessment in Wales has been prepared by the Welsh Assembly Government and David Tyldesley and Associates (October 2006) as an Annex to Technical Advice Note 5 Nature Conservation and Planning (2006). This guidance has been considered in the preparation of this report. The Dunraven SAC is located within the Vale of Glamorgan and its eastern boundary to the north of Lavernock Point is shared with the south western extremity of the Severn Estuary SPA/cSAC/RAMSAR and immediately to the west of the Vale boundary is the Kenfig SAC in the County Borough of Bridgend. Other European sites within 15 kilometres of the local authority boundary that have been considered in this report as they could potentially be affected by the LDP are Cefn Cribwr Grasslands SAC, Blackmill Woodlands SAC and Cardiff Beech Woods SAC. habitats regulation assessment dec07 Conclusion The Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening for the Vale of Glamorgan LDP Draft Preferred Strategy has identified the potential for the Strategy to have a negative impact on 2 of the 6 European Sites identified within or in close proximity to the Vale of Glamorgan namely, the Severn Estuary SPA/cSAC/RAMSAR and the Kenfig SAC. In addition, it is concluded that a precautionary approach be undertaken in respect of the other 4 sites and that further investigations be undertaken. It is therefore recommended that an Appropriate Assessment is undertaken to fully ascertain the effect of the LDP on the integrity of the sites identified. habitats regulation assessment dec07 Contents 1. Introduction. 2. What is Habitats Regulations Assessment? 3. What constitutes a significant effect? 4. Methodology. 5. Consultation. 6. Habitats Regulation Screening. 6.2 Stage 1: Identification of Natura 200 sites. 6.3 Stage 2: Compilation of site information. 6.4 Stage 3: Policies Review. 6.5 Stage 4: In combination effects. 6.6 Stage 5: Assessment of likely significant effects. 7. Conclusion Appendices Appendix 1: European Site Designations Appendix 2: Application of Regulation 85 of the Habitats Regulations to Development Plans Appendix 3: Site Plans Appendix 4: Factors affecting European Sites within the sphere of influence of the Vale of Glamorgan Local Development Plan. Appendix 5: European sites and their relationship to the Vale of Glamorgan Draft Preferred Strategy. habitats regulation assessment dec07 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 European Union Community Council Directive 92/43 on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Flora and Fauna (EC Habitats Directive) was adopted in May 1992 and seeks to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. The Directive complements the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) adopted in 1979 and at the heart of both is the creation of a network of protected sites called Natura 2000 or European Sites. The Natura 2000 sites are designed to form an ecologically coherent network of designated sites across the whole of Europe. 1.2 European sites are Special Protection Areas (SPA) classified under the EC Birds Directive 1979, candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSAC), and designated under the EC Habitats Directive 1992. As a matter of policy the Welsh Assembly Government also expects public authorities in Wales to treat Ramsar sites, and potential SPAs, (pSPA) as if they are European sites for the purpose of considering development proposals that may affect them Appendix 1 provides a short description of each designation and outlines their purpose. 1.3 Articles 6(3) and 6(4) of the Habitats Directive sets out the requirement for the Appropriate Assessment of plans or projects affecting Natura 2000 sites. Article 6(3) states that: “ Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans and projects, shall be subject to Appropriate Assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives…” 1.4 In the UK the Habitats Directive has been transposed into national laws by means of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, & c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended) and following a European Court of Justice ruling in October 2005 updated by The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 which now requires the application of Appropriate Assessment (AA) to all land use plans (section 85A – E). habitats regulation assessment oct.07 1 2. WHAT IS HABITATS REGULATION ASSESSMENT (HRA)? 2.1 HRA is used to describe the application of Part IVa of The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.)(Amendments)(England and Wales) Regulations 2007. 2.2 Draft guidance on undertaking HRA in Wales has been prepared by David Tyldesley and Associates and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) “The Assessment of Development Plans in Wales Under the Provisions of the Habitats Regulations” (October 2006) as an annex to Draft Technical Advice Note 5: Nature Conservation and Planning (2006). Appendix 2 details the Application of Regulation 85 of the Habitats Regulations to Development Plans as included within the WAG Guidance. 2.3 HRA covers: • Determining the likely significant effects of a development plan on European sites and, if applicable; • Scoping what needs “Appropriate Assessment (AA)” and how it will be undertaken. • Undertaking the AA • Applying a “site integrity test” and determining whether development plans or elements within them have no alternative solutions and there are imperative reasons of over-riding public interest. 2.4 The WAG guidance advises that HRA should be an iterative process that should be revisited at each stage of the plan process depending upon the nature and scale of the changes at each stage of a plan’s development. Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) are also iterative processes in the production of a development plan. However, it is advised that HRA should not be incorporated into SA or SEA but should run in parallel with these processes. habitats regulation assessment oct.07 2 2.5 The purpose of AA is to determine whether or not significant effects are likely to result from a plan or programme that will affect the integrity of a European Site and to suggest ways in which they could be avoided. The assessment is carried out solely in respect of the ‘conservation objectives’ for which a European site has been designated and its integrity in relation to its ability to support those objectives. 2.6 The draft guidance has been considered in the production of this report. 3. WHAT CONSTITUTES A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON A EUROPEAN SITE? 3.1 The planning authority must consider whether the development plan is likely to have a significant effect on any European site. In this context ‘likely’ means readily foreseeable and not merely a fanciful possibility, and ‘significant’ means not trivial or inconsequential but an effect that is potentially relevant to the site’s conservation objectives. Any effect which would compromise the functioning and viability of a site and prevent it from sustaining those interest features for which it was designated in a favourable condition (e.g. as defined by conservation objectives or in favourable condition tables), would constitute a significant effect. 4. METHODOLOGY 4.1 Part 2 of the draft WAG guidance provides guidance on the procedures required by the Habitats Regulations and on a methodology for undertaking the various stages in the HRA. The following methodology was adopted in undertaking this screening report. Stage 1: Identification of Natura 2000 sites. International sites within or in close proximity (<15Km) of the Vale of Glamorgan were identified. Stage 2: Compilation of Site Information. Information was obtained for each European site identified including details of operation and activities that could affect the conservation status of the designated site. habitats regulation assessment oct.07 3 Stage 3: Policies Review. A review was undertaken of the Draft Preferred Strategy and its likely impact upon the European Sites identified. Stage 4: In combination effects. Other plans and programmes were considered that might, in combination with the Vale of Glamorgan Draft Preferred Strategy, have the potential to adversely impact upon the European Sites identified. Stage 5: Assessment of likely significant effects. The likely effects of the Draft Preferred Strategy on the European sites identified were considered. 5. CONSULTATION 5.1 Relevant information on European sites was obtained from the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) as well as from the Joint Nature Conservancy Council and other web pages. Formal consultation with CCW and other relevant consultees will follow consultation on the Draft Preferred Strategy in 2008. 5.2 There is no formal requirement for a local planning authority to undertake public consultation on the Habitats Regulation Assessment. However the Council has decided to consult with CCW throughout the process.