Amber Valley Borough Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ClearLead Consulting Limited, The Barn, Cadhay, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1QT, UK +44 (0) 1404 814 273 4th May 2020 By Email Only Dear Sir / Madam Amber Valley Borough Local Plan: Sustainability Appraisal - Scoping We are writing to you in order to gain your opinion on the enclosed Scoping Report which sets out the proposed scope and level of detail of the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the forthcoming Amber Valley Borough Local Plan. Amber Valley Borough Council (AVBC) formally resolved in May 2019 to withdraw the Submission Local Plan (March 2018) to enable the Spatial Vision, Strategic Objectives and Spatial Strategy Policies to be reviewed. At the Full Council meeting held in November 2019, the Borough Council agreed to prepare a new plan through to adoption by 31 March 2023, with a plan end date of at least 2038. The new Local Plan, when adopted, will replace the saved Local Plan policies of the current adopted plan. ClearLead Consulting Ltd has been appointed by AVBC to undertake the SA and as well as a parallel Habitats Regulations Assessment. Scoping Report The Scoping Report is the first output of the SA and provides baseline information on the environmental, social and economic characteristics of the plan area, including the likely evolution of the baseline position which would occur without the plan. The Scoping Report also sets out a methodology and framework for the assessment of the Local Plan and its alternatives at later stages of the Local Plan preparation process. It also identifies the significant effects that the assessment will need to focus on. Consultation This Scoping Report will be consulted on for a minimum of five weeks, in accordance with statutory requirements, and consultation will commence from Monday 4th May 2020 and extend to 4.30 pm on Wednesday 10th June 2020. This will include both direct consultation with statutory consultees1, as well as with a range of other key stakeholders. Please see the questions presented in the table below to guide your responses. 1 Natural England, Environment Agency and Historic England ClearLead Consulting Limited, Registered in England & Wales No: 9191734 VAT No: 195 5561 70 www.clearleadconsulting.com Registered Office: 5 Sandy Court, Ashleigh Way, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 5JX, UK. Questions to guide responses: 1. Have we included all the relevant plans and programmes that are important to the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan and to sustainability? 2. Can you suggest any other information/facts and figures that may be suitable for inclusion in the baseline information collected for the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan? 3. Have we correctly identified the main sustainability issues? 4. Do the SA objectives set out in the SA framework ask the right questions of the plan and therefore define the appropriate scope of the assessment? 5. Does the scoping report provide sufficient information to ensure that an appropriate SA can be carried out? We would be grateful if you could respond to these questions via email or by writing to the addresses shown in the box below. How to comment: Please provide responses by email to: [email protected] or by writing to: Planning Policy Team, Amber Valley Borough Council Town Hall Ripley Derbyshire DE5 3BT th by 4:30pm on Wednesday 10 June, 2020 Please note that during the current COVID-19 restrictions, all of the Borough Council’s Planning Policy team are working from home and it would therefore be preferable to receive any responses by email. Yours Sincerely, Louise Dunkerley Principal Consultant Enclosures: Amber Valley Borough Local Plan Scoping Report Amber Valley Borough Local Plan Scoping Report Appendix A: Review of Relevant Plans, Policies & Programmes Amber Valley Borough Local Plan Scoping Report Appendix B: Detailed SA Framework Page 2 Amber Valley Borough Council Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report Appendix A: Review of Relevant Plans, Policies & Programmes Date: 28 April 2020 Prepared by: ClearLead Consulting Limited The Barn, Cadhay, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1QY, UK Quality Management Issue/revision Issue 1 Revision 1 Revision 2 Revision 3 Report Status Draft Consultation version Date 30/03/20 28/04/20 Prepared by L Dunkerley L Dunkerley Signature Checked by J Mitchell V Pearson Signature Authorised by J Mitchell V Pearson Signature Project number C0231 LIMITATIONS This report has been prepared by ClearLead Consulting Limited solely for the use of the Client and those parties with whom a warranty agreement has been executed, or with whom an assignment has been agreed. Should any third party wish to use or rely upon the contents of the report, written approval must be sought from ClearLead Consulting Limited; a charge may be levied against such approval. ClearLead Consulting Limited accepts no responsibility or liability for: a) the consequences of this document being used for any purpose or project other than for which it was commissioned, and b) the use of this document by any third party with whom an agreement has not been executed. The work undertaken to provide the basis of this report comprised a study of available documented information from a variety of sources (including the Client) and discussions with relevant authorities and other interested parties. The opinions given in this report have been dictated by the finite data on which they are based and are relevant only to the purpose for which the report was commissioned. The information reviewed should not be considered exhaustive and has been accepted in good faith as providing true and representative data pertaining to site conditions. Should additional information become available which may affect the opinions expressed in this report, ClearLead Consulting Limited reserves the right to review such information and, if warranted, to modify the opinions accordingly. It should be noted that any recommendations identified in this report are based on information provided by the Client and as gathered during the site survey. In some cases access cannot be granted to all areas of the site, in these instances and in the absence of information to the contrary, ClearLead Consulting Limited will use the information provided to complete the report. Table of Contents 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Overarching Documents ....................................................................................................................... 3 3 Review of Documents by Topic ............................................................................................................. 6 Table A3.1: Economy and Employment .................................................................................................... 6 Table A3.2: Population & Health............................................................................................................. 11 Table A3.3: Housing ................................................................................................................................ 19 Table A3.4: Transport and Accessibility .................................................................................................. 21 Table A3.5: Air, Noise & Light ................................................................................................................. 26 Table A3.6: Climatic Factors .................................................................................................................... 29 Table A3.7: Biodiversity & Geodiversity, Flora & Fauna ......................................................................... 34 Table A3.8: Cultural Heritage .................................................................................................................. 42 Table A3.9: Landscape ............................................................................................................................ 47 Table A3.10: Soils, Water & Minerals ..................................................................................................... 50 Table A3.11: Waste ................................................................................................................................. 55 1 Introduction This appendix presents the findings of the review of Policies, Plans and Programmes (PPP) including relevant international, national and local documents undertaken as a part of the evidence gathering exercise for the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Scoping Report. The Planning Practice Guidance1 states that: “The sustainability appraisal should only focus on what is needed to assess the likely significant effects of the Local Plan. It should focus on the environmental, economic and social impacts that are likely to be significant. It does not need to be done in any more detail, or using more resources, than is considered to be appropriate for the content and level of detail in the Local Plan”. The review of PPP has therefore focused on the documents that could have an influence on the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan and is not an exhaustive list of documents prepared in the UK under each topic. Documents have been reviewed to identify key messages, objectives and targets which are relevant to the Amber Valley Borough Local Plan. The reviews are presented in Table A1.1 by topic similarly to the way that baseline data has been presented in the main Scoping Report. 1 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-environmental-assessment-and-sustainability-