Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Local Plan Draft REVISED Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report for the Local Plan For consultation February 2020 1 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 Non-Technical Summary 1. Introduction This document forms the Scoping Report for a Sustainability Appraisal (SA), incorporating the requirements for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Local Plan. The primary purpose of the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is to promote sustainable development through the better integration of sustainability considerations in the process of preparing and adopting plans. SA is an iterative process allowing us to identify and report on the likely significant effects of the plan, and the extent to which the implementation of the plan will achieve the social, environmental and economic objectives by which sustainable development can be defined. This is a draft Revised Scoping Report, based on the version produced in May 2016 for the adopted Local Plan (2018). Changes will be made to the draft document following consultation in Spring 2020 with the three statutory consultees with environmental responsibilities in England, along with other relevant stakeholders with a sustainability remit or a local interest. 1.1 The Purpose of the SA/SEA The purpose of the SA (incorporating SEA) is to ensure that environmental, social and economic considerations have been integrated into the preparation of the Local Plan. The SA will: • Ensure compliance with the SEA Directive, SEA Regulations and guidance on SEA/SA; • Review the Local Plan’s relationship with other plans operating at a national, regional and more local level with regard to their policies and programmes; • Establish the baseline environmental, social and economic characteristics of the area; • Identify any current environmental constraints, issues and problems; • Help develop viable options and alternatives; and • Review the sustainability impacts of the options, and of any preferred SPD option. 1.2 The Local Plan In Richmond upon Thames, Local Plans are managed through a portfolio of documents, which are individually known as Local Development Documents. These Local Development Documents or ‘Plans’ are either statutory (Development Plan Documents) or non-statutory (Supplementary Planning Documents). Development Plan Documents (DPDs) carry more weight as they are subject to an independent examination by a Planning Inspector before they are adopted. Supplementary Planning Documents are not subject to such an examination. 2 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 1.3 Methodology The SEA/SA process consists of the following stages and is being undertaken in accordance with government guidance contained within Planning Practice Guidance (PPG): http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/strategic-environmental- assessment-and-sustainability-appraisal/strategic-environmental-assessment-and- sustainability-appraisal-and-how-does-it-relate-to-strategic-environmental-assessment/ The methodology is as follows: • Stage A: Setting the context and objectives, establishing the baseline and deciding on the scope • Stage B: Developing and refining options • Stage C: Appraising the effects of the plan • Stage D: Consulting on the plan and the SEA/SA report • Stage E: Monitoring Implementation of the Plan The inter-relationship of the SA and Local Plan preparation process is set out in the diagram on the following page. 3 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 4 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 In the Scoping Report, Stage A of the methodology is further divided into five key tasks. This report summarises and completes Stage A of the Sustainability Appraisal process and accompanies the first informal stage of engagement on the Direction of Travel for the new Richmond Local Plan. STAGE A: Setting the context and objectives, establishing the baseline and deciding on the scope Stage A1 Identify other relevant plans, programmes and sustainability objectives that will influence the Local Plan Stage A2 Collect and develop relevant social, environmental and economic baseline information and define the character of the area Stage A3 Identify key sustainability issues for the Plan to address Stage A4 Develop the SA framework, consisting of the SA objectives, indicators and targets. Stage A5 Consult on the scope of the SA It should be noted that SA is an iterative process and some stages may need to be undertaken more than once. This Scoping Report includes some of the required elements of the final “Environmental Report” which is required by the SEA regulations. 1.4 Scope of the SA/SEA Baseline data and the development of the SEA/SA framework has been organised in accordance with the topics required by the SEA Directive and as outlined in the PPG. The scope of the baseline review has been refined to cover the broader spectrum of sustainability issues which reflect the combination of both SEA and SA assessments. 5 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 2. Setting the context and objectives, establishing the baseline and deciding on the scope 2.1 Task A1: Identify other relevant plans, programmes and sustainability objectives The development of the Plan may be influenced by other plans or programmes and by external environmental objectives such as those laid down in policies or legislation. Part of SEA Directive Annex 1a (e) requires an outline of the relationship with other relevant plans and programmes. Therefore, as part of this baseline review, a description of the most relevant policy context has been included in order to enable potential synergies to be highlighted and any inconsistencies and constraints to be identified. 2.2 Task A2: Develop relevant social, environmental and economic baseline information Baseline data has been collected as required by the SEA Directive and PPG. This data has been fed into the sustainability baseline. The scope of this data collection has been expanded to include several additional social and economic topic areas in order to address the full spectrum of sustainability issues. 2.3 Task A3: Identify key sustainability issues Within Richmond borough, certain sustainability issues are more significant than others. These issues will need to be highlighted as areas of concern within the Sustainability Appraisal. The key sustainability issues have been divided into social, environmental and economic. 2.4 Task A4: Develop the SA framework A sustainability framework with decision making criteria to test the performance of the Plan has been developed. This framework assists in comparing the various policies, options and proposals for the area in general and for identified sites, in particular, in relation to their spatial location, proposed scale of growth and mix of land uses. The objectives originally developed for the Sustainability Appraisal of the Core Strategy have been subsequently reviewed as part of the Development Management Plan, Twickenham Area Action Plan and 2018 Local Plan. For the purpose of preparing this report, the objectives have been reviewed again and compared to other national, regional and local documents. The objectives for the SEA/SA can be viewed in this report. Some of the objectives have been amended to reflect previous comments from stakeholders, but their general thrust for this borough remains the same. The objectives may be refined further based on consultations with statutory bodies and key stakeholders. 6 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 2.5 Task A5: Consulting on the scope of the SA The Scoping Report will be issued to the statutory consultees along with a covering letter clarifying their input and requirements within the statutory five-week period. Specific consultation questions are included within this document to assist consultees with their responses. Other relevant stakeholders are also invited to comment. A copy of all consultation questions can be found in Appendix 1. Following the consultation on the draft Scoping Report, the Council will consider and analyse all representations received. Where applicable, changes will be made to the SA Scoping Report and/or SA Framework, and a final revised Scoping Report will be issued later this year. 7 Official Revised SA Scoping Report of Local Plan February 2020 Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Non-Technical Summary .................................................................................................... 2 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2 1.1 The Purpose of the SA/SEA .................................................................................... 2 1.2 The Local Plan ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Scope of the SA/SEA .............................................................................................. 5 2. Setting the context and objectives, establishing the baseline and deciding on the scope ...................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Task A1: Identify other