Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report
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Croxley House viewed from Loudwater Lane across the Green within Character Area 02 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SCREENING REPORT CROXLEY GREEN NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 2017-2032 [Amended 19 January 2018] View along the Buddleia Walk towards Long Valley Wood within rural Character Area 12 Croxley Green Neighbourhood Development Plan [SEA Screening Report, v0.3, 19 Jan 2019] Page 1 CONTENTS CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................... 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 4 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 CONTEXT .................................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ........................................................................... 5 2 KEY INFORMATION.......................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 CONTENTS AND MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN ................................................................... 7 2.3 DRAFT POLICIES AND AIMS ..................................................................................................... 7 3 INITIAL ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................................... 9 3.1 CONTEXT .................................................................................................................................. 9 3.2 ALLOCATION OF SITES FOR DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................ 9 3.3 SENSITIVE NATURAL OR HERITAGE ASSETS THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSALS IN THE PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 10 3.4 SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS THAT HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN CONSIDERED AND DEALT WITH ........................................................................................................................... 12 3.5 CONCLUSION FROM INITIAL ASSESSMENT............................................................................ 13 4 MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE EU HABITAT REGULATIONS ............................................ 14 4.1 THE HABITATS DIRECTIVE ...................................................................................................... 14 4.2 ASSESSEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 14 5 DETAILED SCREENING ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................. 15 5.1 CONTEXT AND CRITERIA ........................................................................................................ 15 5.2 BIODIVERSITY AND WILDLIFE ................................................................................................ 15 5.3 POPULATION .......................................................................................................................... 17 5.4 HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING ....................................................................................... 17 5.5 FAUNA ................................................................................................................................... 18 5.6 FLORA .................................................................................................................................... 19 5.7 SOIL ........................................................................................................................................ 20 5.8 WATER ................................................................................................................................... 21 5.9 AIR.......................................................................................................................................... 23 5.10 CLIMATIC FACTORS ................................................................................................................ 24 5.11 MATERIAL ASSETS .................................................................................................................. 26 5.12 HERITAGE ............................................................................................................................... 28 5.13 LANDSCAPE ............................................................................................................................ 30 Croxley Green Neighbourhood Development Plan [SEA Screening Report, v0.3, 19 Jan 2019] Page 2 5.14 CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 31 6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 33 6.1 CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................ 33 6.2 CONTENT ............................................................................................................................... 33 6.3 DETERMINATION ................................................................................................................... 33 Croxley Green Neighbourhood Development Plan [SEA Screening Report, v0.3, 19 Jan 2019] Page 3 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SCREENING REPORT CROXLEY GREEN NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Screening Report has been prepared to support the proposed Croxley Green Neighbourhood Development Plan (CGNDP). It presents the results of a screening assessment of the proposed CGNDP in accordance with Regulation 9 of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (EAPPR). It describes the reviews carried out to determine the need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) under the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive. It addresses the requirements in six sections: Section 1 explains the context Section 2 provides the key information Section 3 is an initial screening assessment Section 4 summarises the conclusions of a Habitat Regulations screening assessment Section 5 provides an evidenced approach to the determination that a Strategic Environmental Assessment is not required Section 6 summarises the conclusions It includes a statement of reasons for determining that the proposed plan is unlikely to have significant environmental effects and therefore neither a Strategic Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Assessment is required. Croxley Green Neighbourhood Development Plan [SEA Screening Report, v0.3, 19 Jan 2019] Page 4 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SCREENING REPORT CROXLEY GREEN NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 CONTEXT 1.1.1 Croxley Green Parish Council has produced a Neighbourhood Development Plan for the administrative area of Croxley Green, setting out the vision, objectives and policies for the development of the parish up to 2032. The proposed Croxley Green Neighbourhood Development Plan (CGNDP) was prepared and submitted to the local planning authority, Three Rivers District Council (TRDC), in January 2017 under Regulation 15 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012. 1.1.2 This document sets out the process by which the Croxley Green Parish Council has determined that the proposed CGNDP does not warrant a Strategic Environmental Assessment under the relevant EU obligations as adopted in national regulations. 1.2 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 1.2.1 To be ‘made’, a neighbourhood plan must meet certain Basic Conditions. These include that the making of the plan: “does not breach, and is otherwise compatible with, EU obligations.” 1.2.2 One of these obligations is Directive 2001/42/EC ‘on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment’. This is often referred to as the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (SEA). This Directive aims: “to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans and programmes with a view to promoting sustainable development, by ensuing that, in accordance with this Directive, an environmental assessment is carried out of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment”1 1.2.3 The requirements for Strategic Environmental Assessment are set out in The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 2 (EAPPR). Draft neighbourhood plan proposals should be assessed to determine whether the plan is likely to have significant environmental effects by the responsible body. This process is commonly referred to as a “screening” assessment and the requirements are set out in Regulation 9. These include a requirement to consult the environmental assessment consultation bodies (currently the Environment Agency, Historic England and Natural England). 1.2.4 This SEA screening assessment has been prepared to meet the requirements set out in the Regulations and provide an evidenced approach to the determination that a Strategic Environmental Assessment is not required. It has been based on the regulatory requirements, the relevant parts of the Government’s