Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Brentwood Local Plan
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Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Brentwood Local Plan SA Report October 2018 DRAFT version for Elected Councillors SA of the Brentwood Local Plan REVISION SCHEDULE Rev Date Details Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by 1 October SA Report published alongside the Mark Fessey Steve Smith Steve Smith 2018 Proposed Submission Plan Associate Technical Technical Director Director DRAFT version for Councillors; subject to final revisions ahead of publication Limitations AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (AECOM) has prepared this Report for the use of Brentwood Borough Council (“Client”) in accordance with the terms and conditions of appointment. No other warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the professional advice included in this Report or any other services provided by AECOM. Where any conclusions and recommendations contained in this Report are based upon information provided by others, it has been assumed that all relevant information has been provided by those parties and that such information is accurate. Any such information obtained by AECOM has not been independently verified by AECOM, unless otherwise stated in the Report. AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited 2 Leman Street, London E1 8FA Telephone: 020 7061 7000 SA REPORT I SA of the Brentwood Local Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 2 2 WHAT IS THE PLAN SEEKING TO ACHIEVE? ..................................................................................... 4 3 WHAT’S THE SCOPE OF THE SA? ....................................................................................................... 6 PART 1: WHAT HAS PLAN-MAKING / SA INVOLVED UP TO THIS POINT? ............................................... 8 4 INTRODUCTION (TO PART 1) ................................................................................................................ 9 5 SELECTING THE REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES ............................................................................ 11 6 APPRAISAL OF THE REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES ...................................................................... 35 7 DEVELOPING THE PREFERRED APPROACH ................................................................................... 37 PART 2: WHAT ARE SA FINDINGS AT THIS CURRENT STAGE?.............................................................. 38 8 INTRODUCTION (TO PART 2) .............................................................................................................. 39 PART 3: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? ................................................................................................................. 62 9 INTRODUCTION (TO PART 3) .............................................................................................................. 63 10 PLAN FINALISATION ............................................................................................................................ 63 11 MONITORING ........................................................................................................................................ 63 APPENDIX I - REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................... 64 APPENDIX II - CONTEXT AND BASELINE REVIEW .................................................................................... 68 APPENDIX III - SITE OPTIONS APPRAISAL ................................................................................................. 78 APPENDIX IV - BRENTWOOD/SHENFIELD OMISSION SITES.................................................................. 100 APPENDIX V - SPATIAL STRATEGY ALTERNATIVES APPRAISAL ........................................................ 105 SA REPORT II SA of the Brentwood Local Plan INTRODUCTION SA REPORT 1 INTRODUCTION SA of the Brentwood Local Plan 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.1.1 AECOM is commissioned to undertake Sustainability Appraisal (SA) in support of the emerging Brentwood Local Plan. 1.1.2 Once in place, the Local Plan will establish a spatial strategy for growth and change in the Borough over the next 15 years, allocate sites to deliver the strategy and establish the policies against which planning applications will be determined. Figure 1.1 shows the plan area. 1.1.3 SA is a mechanism for considering and communicating the likely effects of an emerging plan, and alternatives, with a view to avoiding and mitigating adverse effects and maximising the positives. SA of Local Plans is a legal requirement.1 1.2 SA explained 1.2.1 It is a requirement that SA is undertaken in-line with the procedures prescribed by the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, which were prepared in order to transpose into national law the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive. 2 1.2.2 In-line with the Regulations, a report (known as the SA Report) must be published for consultation alongside the draft plan that essentially ‘identifies, describes and evaluates’ the likely significant effects of implementing ‘the plan, and reasonable alternatives’.3 The report must then be taken into account, alongside consultation responses, when finalising the plan. 1.2.3 More specifically, the SA Report must answer the following three questions: 1. What has Plan-making / SA involved up to this point? – including with regards to the consideration of 'reasonable alternatives’. 2. What are the SA findings at this stage? – i.e. in relation to the draft plan. 3. What happens next? – including in respect of monitoring. 1.3 This SA Report 1.3.1 This report is the Brentwood Local Plan SA Report. It is published alongside the final draft (‘proposed submission’) plan in-line with Regulation 19 of the Local Planning Regulations. 1.3.2 Questions 1 - 3 are answered in turn, in order to provide the required information.4 Before answering Question 1, two initial questions are answered in order to further set the scene: i) What is the plan trying to achieve? ii) What is the scope of the SA? 1 Since provision was made through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 it has been understood that local planning authorities must carry out a process of Sustainability Appraisal alongside plan-making. The centrality of SA to Local Plan-making is emphasised in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2018). The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 require that an SA Report is published for consultation alongside the ‘Proposed Submission’ plan document 2 Procedurally SA and SEA are one and the same, with no legislation or guidance to suggest that SA process should differ from the prescribed SEA process. SA and SEA differ only in terms of substantive focus. SA has an equal focus on all three ‘pillars’ of sustainable development, whilst SEA involves a degree of focus on the environmental pillar. SA therefore ‘incorporates’ SEA. 3 Regulation 12(2) of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004. 4 See Appendix I for further explanation of the regulatory basis for answering certain questions within the SA Report, and a ‘checklist’ explaining more precisely the regulatory basis for presenting certain information. SA REPORT 2 INTRODUCTION SA of the Brentwood Local Plan Figure 1.1: Brentwood Borough SA REPORT 3 INTRODUCTION SA of the Brentwood Local Plan 2 WHAT IS THE PLAN SEEKING TO ACHIEVE? 2.1.1 The aim of this section is to explain more fully the objectives of the plan, introduce the policy and legislative context, and also present a brief discussion of what the plan is ‘not trying to achieve’, in order to explain the role of the plan within the wider planning process. 2.2 Objectives of the Local Plan 2.2.1 The Local Plan seeks alignment with the Council's Corporate Plan 2016-19, which identifies five overarching priorities: 1) Environment and Housing Management; 2) Community and Health; 3) Economic Development; 4) Planning & Licensing; 5) Transformation. Specifically, the plan is being prepared with a view to achieving the following objectives - Manage Growth Sustainably, by directing development to the most sustainable locations, ensuring that the characteristics and patterns of our different settlements are protected and enhanced to provide a strong emphasis on ‘sense of place’ to be enjoyed by people living, working and visiting Brentwood. Deliver a Healthy and Resilient Built Environment, one where our design creates spaces that encourage social interaction; mitigates, reduces impact or adapts to conditions of a changing climate through smart infrastructure; creates public realm and homes where both the internal and external spaces are conducive to human health. Deliver Sustainable Communities with Diverse Economic & Social-cultural Opportunities for all, opportunities which flexibly respond to the changing economic climate and employment sector trends making citizens feel economically empowered to enjoy and benefit from the necessary community/social infrastructure that sustains inclusive, informed, vibrant, active and cohesive communities. Deliver Beautiful, Biodiverse, Clean and a Functional Natural Environment, where our natural heritage is protected and ecosystem services are restored, enhanced and integrated back into the built environment through multi-functional green