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SEA Environmental Report for LTP3 Public Transport Strategy Review 2016 • Non-Technical Summary

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SEA Environmental Report for LTP3 Public Transport Strategy Review 2016 • Non-Technical Summary Ref: 22192. LW January 2013 Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011- 2026 This document was published by Wiltshire Council Sustainable Transport Group. You can contact us in the following ways: Strategic Environmental Assessment By telephone Environmental Report consultation draft 01225 713458 By post Sustainable Transport Group, Neighbourhood and Planning Department, County Hall, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8JD By email [email protected] Electronic version available at http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal Information about Wiltshire Council services can be made available on request in other languages including BSL and formats such as large print and audio. Please contact the council by telephone 0300 456 0100, by textphone 01225 712500, or email [email protected] Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2026 Public Transport Strategy Review Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report Consultation Draft February 2016 Non-technical summary ii 1 Introduction 1 2 Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 5 3 Environmental and planning context 8 4 Evaluation of the draft strategies 24 5 Topic Summaries 26 6 Monitoring measures 31 7 Next steps 32 Topic papers Biodiversity 1 Land, soil, and water resources 1 Air quality and environmental pollution 1 Climate change 1 Historic environment 1 Landscapes 1 Population 1 Healthy communities 1 Inclusive communities 1 Transport 1 Economy & enterprise 1 Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2026 • SEA Environmental Report for LTP3 Public Transport Strategy Review 2016 • Non-technical summary Introduction This Environmental Report sets out the results of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011 - 2026 (LTP3) Public Transport Strategy review (2016). The purpose of the Environmental Report is to give consultees information on the potential environmental and sustainability effects of the draft Public Transport Strategy review and to assist Wiltshire Council in improving the final Public Transport Strategy. What is a Strategic Environmental Assessment? The main purpose of the SEA is to evaluate whether the LTP3 Public Transport Strategy review will result in any significant environmental effects, both positive and negative. Should significant effects be forecast, then recommendations will be made as to how these can be avoided, offset or reduced. A programme to monitor all significant effects during the lifetime of the plan must be prepared as part of the SEA. In this way, SEA is a systematic process that helps plan makers in identifying, and therefore reducing, the environmental impacts of a plan. The SEA process also considers certain social economic issues. What is an Environmental Report? This Environmental Report represents the results of the SEA process that has been undertaken in parallel with the Public Transport Strategy review. Consultation with the statutory environmental bodies, Natural England, English Heritage, and the Environment Agency, as well as other local groups will take place during the consultation period from Monday 15th February 2016 to Monday 4th April 2016. Wiltshire's LTP3 In March 2011, Wiltshire Council published its third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) 2011-2026 which set out the council's approach to tackling the current problems and future challenges for the transport system in Wiltshire. LTP3 sets out the strategy, vision and implementation programme for all forms of transport in Wiltshire. It aims to meet national, regional and local priorities, including the government's national goals for delivering a sustainable transport system. Public Transport Strategy review Wiltshire Council is in the process of reviewing its Public Transport Strategy and service delivery (Wiltshire Council supported bus services). The review is being undertaken because of growing pressures on the Council's budgets that mean funding is no longer available to continue delivering services at the level that was envisaged when LTP3 was published in 2011. The review of the Public Transport Strategy is part of a wider review of all areas of Wiltshire Council's passenger transport remit (except rail and taxis). The wider review will include re-examining policy and spending in home-to-school and college transport, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and social care client transport. As a first stage in the review, a pre-consultation exercise was undertaken during July and August 2015 to provide key stakeholders and partners (e.g. town councils and bus operators) with an opportunity to shape the scope of the review. Page ii • Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2026 • SEA Environmental Report for LTP3 Public Transport Strategy Review 2016 • Please note this is a consultation only about subsidised bus services, which are those services that are not viable for a bus company to run without Council funding. This SEA Environmental Report accompanies the Public Transport Strategy review document and will be available for public consultation from Monday 15th February to Monday 4th April 2016. Relationship with other plans and programmes The Regulations (see schedule 2) state that an Environmental Report should outline: the plan's relationship with other relevant plans and programmes the environmental protection objectives, established at international, community or member state level, which are relevant to the plan or programme and the way those objectives and any environmental considerations have been taken into account during its preparation. To fulfil this requirement, a review of relevant plans, policies and programmes has been carried out to identify environmental objectives which may provide constraints or synergies with the plan being formulated. This review has covered international conventions to EU policies through to local plans and strategies. National Transport Goals The national transport goals are used as the main strategy framework for LTP3.These goals are as follows: To support national economic competitiveness and growth, by delivering reliable and efficient transport networks To reduce transport’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, with the desired outcome of tackling climate change To contribute to better safety security and health and longer life-expectancy by reducing the risk of death, injury or illness arising from transport and by promoting travel modes that are beneficial to health To promote greater equality of opportunity for all citizens, with the desired outcome of achieving a fairer society To improve quality of life for transport users and non-transport users, and to promote a healthy natural environment. Sustainable Community Strategy The government sees the Sustainable Community Strategy as the 'strategy of strategies' for an area. Wiltshire’s vision is for ‘strong and sustainable communities in Wiltshire’ and it suggests that strong and sustainable communities are communities where current life styles do not threaten future ones. Local Development Framework - Core Strategy At a county level, the Wiltshire Core Strategy (WCS) provides the strategic policy framework to guide development. There are also a large number of environmentally focused plans and programmes such as biodiversity action plans and landscape character assessments that a LTP has an indirect Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2026 • SEA Environmental Report for LTP3 Public Transport Strategy Review 2016 • • Page iii relationship with, which include international and national legislation down to local action plans. SEAs are based upon relevant objectives contained in these plans as this helps to highlight where issues of conformity arise. Relevant environmental objectives Table NTS2 provides a summary of the relevant environmental objectives arising from the review of plans and programmes. Table NTS2 Relevant environmental objectives Summary of relevant environmental objectives Biodiversity The objectives of policies and plans at all levels focus on conservation of biological diversity with an emphasis on designated areas and the protection and monitoring of endangered and vulnerable species and habitats. Land, soil and water resources The plans and programmes focus on the protection of high quality agricultural land, the prevention of soil pollution and erosion; and the impact the transport system can have on water quality and resources. Air quality and environmental pollution A number of objectives have been established in relation to air quality at both the European and UK level. At the county level emphasis is placed on reducing emissions of nitrogen dioxide, particularly from the transport sector. Climatic factors Climate-related plans and programmes focus on both mitigating the causes of climate change and adapting to the effects of climate change. Commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions range from the international level to the local level with a number of the plans and programmes stating specific targets to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. This is led at the national level by the Climate Change Act, which sets a legally binding target of at least a 34% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and at least an 80% cut by 2050 against a 1990 baseline. Adaptation measures proposed by the plans and programmes include the promotion of new infrastructure such as sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Historic environment Historic environment priorities from international to local level include protecting designated resources and their settings such as listed buildings, conservation
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