Habitat Regulations Assessment Screening Report Jun 2014
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HABITATS REGULATIONS ASSESSMENT SCREENING REPORT Newport City Council Newport Local Development Plan (LDP) 2011-2026 Matters Arising Changes Version – June 2014 Produced by Newport City Council in conjunction with Atkins Limited Template provided by Enfusion June 2014 South East Wales Strategic Planning Group (SEWSPG) HABITATS REGULATIONS ASSESSMENT SCREENING REPORT Newport City Council Local Development Plan 2011- 2026 date: issue no.: prepared by: quality assurance: This toolkit was developed to provide information and analysis to support the South East Wales Strategic Planning Group (SEWSPG) authorities with the process of Habitats Regulations Assessment as required by the Habitats Directive. The approach outlined is complementary to, but does not replace, official Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) guidance and Countryside Council for Wales (Natural Resources Wales) advice, which should inform all HRA work. The approach and views expressed in this guidance are those of the consultants and do not have official status. Enfusion Ltd does not accept liability for use of the toolkit or decisions that are made based upon it. (March 2011, Update) Newport City Council Local Development Plan 2011- 2026 Habitat Regulations Assessment Screening Report CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION Requirement for Habitats Regulations Assessment Guidance for Habitats Regulations Assessment/Appropriate Assessment Consultation Purpose & Structure of Report 2 METHOD Screening 3 SCREENING Task 1: Identification of European Sites Task 2: Plan Review, Policy Screening and Identification of likely impacts Task 3: Consideration of other plans, programmes and projects Task 4: Screening Assessment 4 REVISED DEPOSIT LDP 5 CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY TABLES 1. Habitats Regulations Assessment: Key Stages 2. HRA Screening Stage: Key Tasks 3. Policy Screening: Categorising the Potential Effects of the Plan 4. Designated sites within the influence of the Newport City Council LDP APPENDICES A. Details of the European Sites B. Assessment of Policies with No Development Proposals for Likely Significant Effects ‘Alone’ C. Assessment of Policies including Development Proposals for Likely Significant Effects ‘Alone’ D. Assessment of Other projects, Programmes and Plans for ‘In Combination’ Effects E. E1-Response to consultation December 2012 E2-Existing commitments E3-Mitigation Measures F. Assessment summary of Revised June 2013 LDP and proposed changes to HRA and LDP G. G1-Assessment summary of MAC changes June 2014 - 1 - - 2 - Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) of spatial, development plans is a requirement of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) as set out in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. This report details the HRA Screening for Newport City Council LDP Revised Deposit Plan. It sets out the methods, findings and the conclusions of the Screening Assessment. Screening An initial screening was carried out on the Newport City Council Deposit LDP in January 2010 (Initial Screening Report, produced by Atkins Limited in January 2010). This initial screening considered the likely significant effects of the Deposit LDP proposals on European Protected Sites. This initial screening identified two internationally designated sites within the boundary of Newport: The River Usk Special Area of Conservation (SAC) The Severn Estuary Special Protected Area (SPA), SAC and Ramsar site In addition to these, a 15 km search from the boundary of Newport was carried out and a further five internationally designated sites were identified. These include: Cardiff Beechwoods SAC River Wye SAC Wye Valley Woodland SAC Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat SAC Aberbargoed Grasslands SAC. The initial screening report concluded that the Deposit LDP has the potential for likely significant effects on European and international sites through several pathways. Recommendations were made at this point including amendment of the policy wording and the addition of text to the Policies. In January 2012 further screening of the revised Deposit LDP was carried out by Newport City Council’s Ecology Officer. The 2012 screening identified thirteen policies that would require further research to determine if any likely significant effect on European/International sites. To address the issues raised during the screening process, a number of recommendations including additional text into the Plan, were made to ensure that the policies would not cause likely significant effects on the designated sites. An update of the assessment has now been carried out to assess the Matters Arising Changes LDP – June 2014. Other Projects and Plans In accordance with the Habitats Regulations, the potential for likely significant effects on the Plan ‘in combination’ with other projects and plans has also been considered. These individual projects and plans may not have an effect individually, but combined with other projects and plans can lead to likely significant effects. Results The Matters Arising Changes LDP puts forward 97 policies that are divided into eight chapters. This includes 21 strategic policies (SP1 to SP21) that set out the overall spatial strategy of the plan and seven general policies (GP1 to GP7) that could apply to any form of development. The subsequent chapters of the Plan provide detailed policies and proposals, with a separate chapter for each of the topic areas including Environment, Housing, Employment, Transport, - 1 - Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report Retailing and the City Centre, Community Facilities and other infrastructure, Minerals and Waste. An assessment of each of the 97policies (and associated monitoring proposals) has been completed to determine if there are any likely significant effects on the European sites alone that were identified in the initial screening report carried out by Atkins. The assessment found that none of the policies and proposals outlined in the Plan would lead to likely significant effects on the qualifying features of the seven European sites alone. A detailed assessment was carried out on those policies and proposals that had the potential to affect the European sites within the Newport boundary (including the River Usk SAC and the Severn Estuary SAC, SPA and Ramsar site) and those within 15 km (including the Cardiff Beechwoods SAC, River Wye SAC, Wye Valley Woodland SAC, Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Bat SAC and Aberbargoed Grasslands SAC). The details of these assessments are provided in Appendix B and C of this report. An assessment of in combination effects has also been completed. A total of 14 Other projects, programmes and plans were identified. None of these were found to lead to likely significant effects on the qualifying features of the seven European sites when considered ‘in combination’ with the Deposit Plan. The details of these assessments are provided in Appendix D of this report. Conclusion at Deposit Plan Stage The HRA concluded that with mitigation, (this includes various policies and caveats found within the plan), there would be no likely significant effect of the Newport Deposit LDP on any of the internationally designated sites within Newport or within a 15km radius of the Newport boundary Further Work As a result of public consultation several changes were proposed to both the Deposit LDP and the HRA in December 2012. These can be seen in Appendix E, Table E1. Revised Deposit LDP The LDP was revised reflecting the proposed changes and a Revised LDP June 2013 has been compiled. This revised LDP has been re-assessed to determine whether any of the changes within the Revised LDP are likely to result in significant effects on the internationally designated sites identified during the screening process. Where there have been no changes, or minimal changes, the original assessment remains. A summary of the changes to the Revised LDP is shown in Appendix F, Table F1. Subsequently, a small number of additional minor changes have been made. Significantly, Appendix Table E2 has been amended to include all allocations carried over from the UDP. Matters Arising Changes June 2014 The matters arising changes do not change the overall LDP strategy they are proposed changes by the Council in response to the Planning Inspectors recommendations and discussions at the Hearing Sessions. Appendix G1 outlines the proposed changes and in response the proposed changes of the HRA. - 2 - Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report Final Conclusions Following this assessment the HRA concluded that with mitigation, there would be no likely significant effects of the Matters Arising Changes Newport LDP on any of the internationally designated sites within Newport or within a 15km radius. - 3 - Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Newport City Council is currently developing a Local Development Plan and is undertaking Habitats Regulations Assessment in line with the requirements set by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 20101 [The Habitats Regulations]. 1.2 Atkins Limited (Atkins) produced an Initial Screening report of the LDP Deposit Plan in January 2010 on behalf of Newport City Council. The findings of the initial assessment helped inform the development of this Habitat Regulation Assessment. 1.3 This HRA report addresses the likely significant effect[s] on designated European Site[s] of implementing the policies and proposals of the Revised Newport City Council Deposit LDP 1.5 Habitats