Draft Island Planning Strategy Habitat Regulations Assessment report November 2018 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 1 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 4 Background and purpose of this report ........................................................................... 4 The Habitats Directive and Regulations ......................................................................... 5 2. Approach to HRA screening ....................................................................................... 7 3. STAGE ONE – BASELINE INFORMATION GATHERING ................................... 10 European and Ramsar site information ........................................................................ 10 Site information ............................................................................................................ 11 5. Policies that could lead to Likely Significant Effects .................................................. 22 6. STAGE TWO – SCREENING .............................................................................. 25 Draft Island Planning Strategy policy screening ........................................................... 26 Initial Policy screening .................................................................................................. 27 7. STAGE THREE – APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT ............................................. 36 8. Detailed policy assessment ...................................................................................... 37 Policy iteration and rescreening ................................................................................... 37 General assessment of policy effects ...................................................................... 40 The level and distribution of residential development ................................................... 41 Economy and growth ................................................................................................... 46 Travel connections ....................................................................................................... 49 Assessment of identified threats and vulnerabilities .............................................. 50 9. Proximity of development to European sites and their features of interest ................ 50 10. Coastal squeeze .................................................................................................... 56 11. Recreational pressure ............................................................................................ 58 12.Water quality ........................................................................................................... 63 13. Water resources ..................................................................................................... 65 14. Air quality ............................................................................................................... 69 15. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................... 73 APPENDIX A – ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT SITES IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE SHLAA PROCESS ................................................... 75 APPENDIX B – DRAFT SUMMARY AIR QUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE DRAFT ISLAND PLANNING STRATEGY ...................................................... 109 Tables Table 3.1: European and Ramsar sites included in this assessment ................................... 10 Table 3.4 European and Ramsar Site Summary Information ............................................... 12 Table 5.1: Description of potential effects that could result from core strategy policies ........ 22 Table 6.2 Draft Island Planning Strategy HRA screening matrix .......................................... 27 Table 8.1 showing results of policy iteration and rescreening .............................................. 37 Table 8.2 Policies identified as requiring further assessment .............................................. 38 Table 8.3 Sites identified through the SHLAA process that could lead to likely significant effects alone ....................................................................................................................... 41 Table 8.4 Proposed housing allocation sites requiring further assessment because of alone and or in-combination effects .............................................................................................. 43 Table 8.5 Draft Island Planning Strategy policies relating to economy screened into the assessment ......................................................................................................................... 46 Table 8.6 Distance (km) between settlement boundaries and the nearest European designated site/s ................................................................................................................. 47 Table 9.1 Policies identified as having potential adverse impact due to habitat loss ............ 53 Table 10.1 Policies identified as having potential adverse impact due to coastal squeeze .. 57 Table 11.1 Proposed allocation sites identified as requiring additional mitigation associated with recreational disturbance ............................................................................................... 60 Table 12.1 Policies identified as having potential adverse impact due to water quality ........ 64 Table 13.1 Policies identified as having potential adverse impact due to water resource .... 67 Table 14.1 Policies identified as having potential adverse impact due to air quality ............ 71 Table 15.1: HRA findings and recommendations ................................................................ 73 Figures Figure 1.2: Requirements for appropriate assessment .......................................................... 7 Figure 3.1: Location of European and Ramsar Sites ........................................................... 11 Figure 4:1 Administrative boundaries in the Solent area ..................................................... 21 Figure 6.1 The Habitat Regulations Handbook screening categories .................................. 25 Executive summary Background This report presents the findings and recommendations of the draft Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) for the council’s draft Island Planning Strategy. The strategy sets out visions for spatial development and levels of growth for the Island up to 2035.The draft strategy is available for public consultation from 3rd December 2018 to 28th January 2019 allowing people comment on what the council are proposing. This draft HRA follows a HRA Background Report which detailed baseline information and the proposed methodology for conducting this assessment. Natural England, the Environment Agency and Marine Management Organisation were consulted, and comments received have been taken into consideration when drafting this draft HRA report. The potential for likely significant effect on the following 12 designated nature conservation sites have been assessed: Special Areas of Special Protection Areas Ramsar sites Conservation (SACs) (SPAs) Briddlesford Copses Chichester & Langstone Chichester & Langstone Harbours Harbours Isle of Wight Downs Dorset Heathlands Dorset Heathlands New Forest New Forest New Forest River Itchen Solent & Isle of Wight Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour Lagoons Solent Maritime Solent & Southampton Solent & Southampton Water Water South Wight Maritime Potential Solent and Dorset Coast Detailed screening of the draft Island Planning Strategy looked at the effects of policies and the conservation objectives of the European and Ramsar sites (including presumed conservation objectives where these are not known). Each of the draft policies that could not be screened out as having no effect on designated sites were then examined in more detail. A high-level assessment on impacts associated with residential, employment, retail and transport policies was completed where the following threats and vulnerabilities have been identified: - Habitat loss and direct harm to species - Habitat fragmentation/ loss of supporting habitat - Direct harm to species - Urbanisation - Coastal squeeze - Increased recreational pressure - Water quality - Water abstraction - Air quality 1 Findings and recommendations A detailed assessment of each potential development site put forward through the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) was conducted to identify any likely significant effects on the designated sites and, where necessary, any mitigation requirements. This assessment has informed plans for housing growth and where sites have been allocated, specific policy has been drafted to include any of the mitigation requirements. Research shows that new visitor and residential development is causing an adverse impact on the Solent and Southampton Water SPA. This has led to a partnership approach across the Solent to ensure development mitigates the impacts. The Isle of Wight Council is a member of the Solent Recreation Mitigation Partnership and is signed up to the approach set out within the partnership’s Bird Aware Solent strategy. The approach includes a series of management measures which actively encourage all coastal visitors to enjoy their visits in a responsible manner. The strategy also recognises that well designed Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces (SANGs) that are integral to a development