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A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet Improvements A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements TR010044 Volume 6 6.7 Environmental Statement Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report Planning Act 2008 Regulation 5(2)(g) Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 26 February 2021 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report Infrastructure Planning Planning Act 2008 The Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Development Consent Order 202[ ] Volume 6.7 Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report Regulation Reference: Regulation 5(2)(g) Planning Inspectorate Scheme TR010044 Reference Application Document Reference TR010044/APP/) 6.7 Author A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Project Team, Highways England Version Date Status of Version Rev 1 26 February 2021 DCO Application February 2021 Planning Inspectorate Scheme Ref: TR010044 Application Document Ref: TR010044/APP/6.7 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report Table of contents Chapter Pages 1 Habitats regulations assessment: no significant effects report 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Overview of the habitats regulations assessment process 1 1.3 Purpose of the report 3 2 The Scheme 5 2.1 Overview 5 3 Habitats regulations assessment screening methodology 13 3.1 Consultation 13 3.2 Scope of the assessment 14 4 Identification of European sites 20 4.1 European sites 20 4.2 Screening of European sites for likely significant effects 21 5 In-combination effects on European sites 64 5.1 In-combination effects 64 6 Summary 65 7 Glossary 66 8 References 77 Appendix A – Figures Appendix B – European Site citations Appendix C – Natural England Correspondence Appendix D – Planning Inspectorate screening matrices Appendix E – Finding of No Significant Effects Report Appendix F – Relationship between the Scheme and the Ouse Washes SPA and the Ouse Washes Ramsar site with respects to birds Planning Inspectorate Scheme Ref: TR010044 Application Document Ref: TR010044/APP/6.7 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report Table of Plates Plate 1: The Habitats Regulations Assessment process.................................................... 14 Table of Tables Table 4-1: Identification of European Sites potentially requiring screening for LSE ........... 20 Table 4-2: Screening matrix – Ouse Washes SAC, SPA and Ramsar .............................. 23 Table 4-3: Screening matrix – Portholme SAC .................................................................. 39 Table 4-4: Screening matrix – Eversden and Wimpole Woods SAC ................................. 51 Table 1: Planning Inspectorate screening matrices ............................................................. 3 Table 2: Screening Matrix for Ouse Washes SAC, SPA and Ramsar.................................. 5 Table 3: Screening Matrix for Portholme SAC ..................................................................... 9 Table 4: Screening Matrix for Eversden and Wimpole Woods SAC .................................. 12 Table 5: Ouse Washes SAC, SPA and Ramsar ................................................................ 15 Table 6: Portholme SAC .................................................................................................... 17 Table 7: Eversden and Wimpole Woods SAC ................................................................... 21 Planning Inspectorate Scheme Ref: TR010044 Application Document Ref: TR010044/APP/6.7 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report 1 Habitats regulations assessment: no significant effects report 1.1 Background As the Government-owned company responsible for the operation, maintenance and improvement of England’s motorways and major A-roads, Highways England is proposing to undertake improvements to the A428 between the existing Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet roundabout (the Scheme), located to the east of Bedford. Highways England has made an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate (the Inspectorate) seeking consent for the Scheme. Consent is being applied for under s37 of the Planning Act 2008 (Ref 1- 1) to obtain authorisation to construct the Scheme. As the Scheme comprises a type of highway development for which Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is mandatory, it has been subjected to EIA procedures in accordance with the requirements of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (Ref 1-2). The findings of the EIA are principally reported within the Environmental Statement [TR010044/APP/6.1], which is one of several documents comprising the DCO application. The DCO application will be examined by an appointed Examining Authority, who will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport as to whether the DCO should be granted or refused. 1.2 Overview of the habitats regulations assessment process European Union (EU) obligations1 in respect of habitats and species are met through Directive 92/43/EEC (the Habitats Directive) (Ref 1-3) on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the Habitats Regulations) (Ref 1-4) transpose the requirements of the Habitats Directive (Ref 1-3) into legislation for England, Wales and, to a limited extent, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 1 As of exit day (11pm on 31 January 2020) the UK is no longer an EU Member State. However, the UK has entered an implementation period during which it continues to be treated as an EU Member State for many purposes, though it will not participate in the political institutions and governance structures of the EU (except to the extent agreed). The UK will therefore continue to adhere to its obligations under EU law (including treaties, legislation, principles and international agreements), and submit to the continuing jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU. Planning Inspectorate Scheme Ref: TR010044 1 Application Document Ref: TR010044/APP/6.7 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) is a process undertaken to meet the requirements of this legislation, which states that any plan or project that is not directly connected with, or necessary to, the management of a European Site2, but will be likely to have a significant effect on such a site (either on its own or in combination with other plans or projects), will be subject to an appropriate assessment3 of its implications for the European Site in view of its conservation objectives. The Habitats Directive (Ref 1-3) and the Habitats Regulations (Ref 1-4) require competent authorities4 to decide whether a plan or project should proceed, having undertaken sufficient assessment through a four-stage process to: a. Determine, through a process called screening, whether the plan or project, either alone or in combination with other plans or projects, may have a likely significant effect on a European Site (Stage 1). b. Then if required, undertake an appropriate assessment of the plan or project to determine whether there may be an adverse effect on the integrity of the European Site (Stage 2). c. Examine alternative solutions to the plan or project (Stage 3). d. Provide justification for the Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest for the plan or project, including any compensatory measures secured (Stage 4). The precautionary principle is applied through all HRA stages, meaning that the conservation objectives of European Sites prevail where there is uncertainty about the Likely Significant Effects5 (LSE) of a plan or project, or where harmful effects are assumed in the absence of any evidence to the contrary. Where Stage 1 of the HRA screening process concludes that there is no potential for LSE on European Sites as a result of a plan or project, there is no requirement to carry out the subsequent stages of the HRA described above. 2 European Sites are also referred to as Natura 2000 sites and comprise: Sites of Community Importance (SCIs); Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and potential/proposed SPAs (pSPAs); Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and candidate (cSAC) or possible/proposed (pSAC) sites; and Ramsar sites. 3 Appropriate assessment is the assessment of the impact on the integrity of the European Site of the project or plan, either alone or in combination with other projects or plans, with respect to the site's structure and function and its conservation objectives. 4 The competent authority for the Scheme is the Secretary of State for Transport. 5 There is no explicit definition of Likely Significant Effects in legislation. In the context of HRA, these are typically taken to be any effect that may reasonably be predicted as a consequence of the development plan or project that may undermine a European Site’s conservation objectives. Planning Inspectorate Scheme Ref: TR010044 2 Application Document Ref: TR010044/APP/6.7 A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements Habitats Regulations Assessment: No Significant Effects Report 1.3 Purpose of the report The Habitats Regulations (Ref 1-4) require Highways England to provide information to support any decision made by the competent authority
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