Maidstone Borough Council Sustainability Appraisal Options for Spatial Strategy, Site Allocations and Garden Settlementsx Draft report Prepared by LUC November 2020 Maidstone Borough Council Sustainability Appraisal Options for Spatial Strategy, Site Allocations and Garden Settlements Project Number 10509 Version Status Prepared Checked Approved Date 1. First draft for client review O. Dunham J. Pearson J. Owen 18.09.2020 L. Meldrum J. Pearson K. Stenson 2. Second draft, incorporating SA of O. Dunham J. Pearson J. Owen 24.10.2020 housing quantum, additional S. Langer spatial strategy options, and garden settlement options J. Pearson K. Stenson 3. Third draft responding to client S. Langer J. Pearson J. Owen 02.11.2020 comments on v2 J. Pearson Bristol Land Use Consultants Ltd Landscape Design Edinburgh Registered in England Strategic Planning & Assessment Glasgow Registered number 2549296 Development Planning London Registered office: Urban Design & Masterplanning Manchester 250 Waterloo Road Environmental Impact Assessment London SE1 8RD Landscape Planning & Assessment landuse.co.uk Landscape Management 100% recycled paper Ecology Historic Environment GIS & Visualisation Contents Sustainability Appraisal November 2020 Contents Chapter 7 Cumulative effects 109 Chapter 1 Introduction 109 Introduction 1 Total effects of the policies in the Local Plan 109 Purpose of this report and the requirement to assess Cumulative effects with development proposed by other alternatives 1 relevant plans and projects 109 Appraisal methodology 2 Chapter 8 Chapter 2 Conclusions and next steps 114 SA of options for the total amount of development 4 Conclusions 114 Next steps 118 Identification of reasonable alternatives 4 Appraisal of the total amount of housing development 5 Appendix A Site appraisal criteria A-1 Chapter 3 SA of initial spatial strategy options 11 Identification of reasonable alternatives 11 Appraisal of initial spatial strategy options 12 Chapter 4 SA of refined spatial strategy options 31 Identification of reasonable alternatives 31 Appraisal of refined spatial strategy options 34 Chapter 5 SA of garden settlement options 56 Identification of reasonable alternatives 56 Approach to appraisal of garden settlement options 57 Appraisal findings for garden settlement options 59 Chapter 6 SA of site allocation options 71 Identification of reasonable alternatives 71 Approach to appraisal of site options 72 Appraisal findings for residential site options 73 Appraisal findings for employment site options 96 LUC I i -Introduction Sustainability Appraisal November 2020 Chapter 1 Introduction Maidstone Borough Council (the Council) commissioned LUC in November 2018 to carry out a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)) of their Local Plan Review. SA is an assessment process designed to consider and communicate the significant sustainability issues and effects of emerging plans and policies, including their alternatives. SA iteratively informs the plan-making process by helping to refine the contents of such documents, so that they maximise the benefits of sustainable development and avoid or at least minimise the potential for adverse effects. Purpose of this report and the requirement to assess alternatives National legislation, policy and guidance sets out the tests for identifying ‘reasonable alternative’ alternatives for consideration in plan preparation and SA, including as summarised below [underlined sections are LUC emphasis]. The ‘SEA Regulations’1 require the preparation of an environmental assessment report to inform the preparation of Local Plans. Regulation 12 (2) states that this report should “identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the Plan…and reasonable alternatives taking into account the objectives and the geographical scope of the plan.” This part of Regulation 12 is interpreted to mean that alternatives are only reasonable if they are in conformity with the plan’s objectives as defined by National Planning Policy and Guidance and are focussed on the plan area. The NPPF states that “Local plans and spatial development strategies should be informed throughout their preparation by a sustainability appraisal that meets the relevant legal requirements. This should demonstrate how the plan has addressed relevant economic, social and environmental objectives (including opportunities for net gains). Significant adverse impacts on these objectives should be avoided and, wherever possible, alternative options which reduce or eliminate such impacts should be pursued. Where ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 HM Government, Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations, 2004 LUC I 1 Introduction Sustainability Appraisal November 2020 significant adverse impacts are unavoidable, suitable plan-making process, prior to the plan’s submission. Further mitigation measures should be proposed (or, where this is not information on the future stages of the SA process is provided possible, compensatory measures should be considered).” in the ‘Next steps’ section at the end of this report. Government Planning Practice Guidance on SEA and SA2, includes the following: Appraisal methodology ◼ Paragraph 1 which states “A sustainability appraisal is a Reasonable alternative options considered in the systematic process that must be carried out during the preparation of the draft Local Plan have been appraised preparation of local plans and spatial development against the framework of sustainability objectives that was strategies. Its role is to promote sustainable established in the 2019 SA Scoping Report. Each of the Local development by assessing the extent to which the Plan options considered in this report is appraised in terms of emerging plan, when judged against reasonable its likely effect on the achievement of each of these ‘SA alternatives, will help to achieve relevant environmental, objectives’. economic and social objectives.” The SA process requires the likely effects of Local Plan ◼ Paragraph 18 which states “The sustainability appraisal options and policies need to be determined and their needs to consider and compare all reasonable significance assessed, which inevitably requires a series of alternatives as the plan evolves…In doing so it is judgments to be made. The appraisal attempted to important to: differentiate between the most significant effects and other more minor effects through the use of the symbols set out in – outline the reasons the alternatives were selected, Figure 1.1. The dividing line in making a decision about the and identify, describe and evaluate their likely significance of an effect is often quite small. Where either (++) significant effects on environmental, economic and or (--) has been used to distinguish significant effects from social factors using the evidence base (employing more minor effects (+ or -) this is because the effect of an the same level of detail for each alternative option or policy on the SA objective in question is considered option)…identify any likely significant adverse to be of such magnitude that it will have a noticeable and effects and measures envisaged to prevent, reduce measurable effect taking into account other factors that may and, as fully as possible, offset them; influence the achievement of that objective. Where a potential – provide conclusions on the reasons the rejected positive or negative effect is uncertain, a question mark is options are not being taken forward and the reasons added to the relevant effect (e.g. +? or -?) and the effect is for selecting the preferred approach in light of the colour coded as per the potential positive, negligible or alternatives.” negative effect (e.g. green, yellow, orange, etc.). Figure 1.1: Key to symbols and colour coding used in the SA ◼ Paragraph 18 continues to say that : “Reasonable of the Maidstone Local Plan alternatives are the different realistic options considered by the plan-maker in developing the policies in the plan. They need to be sufficiently distinct to highlight the ++ Significant positive effect likely different sustainability implications of each so that Mixed significant positive and minor negative meaningful comparisons can be made. The development ++/- and appraisal of proposals in plans needs to be an effects likely iterative process, with the proposals being revised to take account of the appraisal findings.” + Minor positive effect likely As such, it is important that the SA process runs alongside +/- or ++/-- Mixed minor or significant effects likely the plan-making process and identifies and appraises the options being considered at each stage. This report serves to - Minor negative effect likely document the options appraisal work carried out to date and feed this back to the Council so that it can help to inform Local Mixed significant negative and minor positive Plan development. It is important to note, however, that this --/+ effects likely report does not constitute the full ‘environmental report’ required to be produced by the SEA Regulations. That report -- Significant negative effect likely will be prepared and consulted upon at a later stage in the ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 HM Government, Strategic environmental assessment and sustainability appraisal, last updated 16 July 2020 LUC I 2 Introduction Sustainability Appraisal