Habitats Regulation Assessment of the North- East Norwich Growth Triangle Area Action Plan For Broadland District Council May 2014 Proposed Submission Stage HRA of NEGT AAP for BDC May 2014 v.6 Habitats Regulation Assessment of the North-East Norwich Growth Triangle Area Action Plan undertaken for Broadland District Council Executive Summary As required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, before deciding to give consent or permission for a plan or project which is likely to have a significant effect on a European site, either alone or in combination with other plans or projects, the competent authority is required to make an appropriate assessment of the implications for that site in view of that site’s conservation objectives. This document is a record of the Habitats Regulation Assessment of the Old Catton, Sprowston, Rackheath & Thorpe St Andrew, or North East, Growth Triangle Area Action Plan, hereafter referred to as the NEGT, undertaken on behalf of Broadland District Council by the Natural Environment Team, Norfolk County Council (NCC). Six groups of plans are reviewed with respect to their conclusions with regard to potential in-combination effects: The Greater Norwich Development Partnership Joint Core Strategy (JCS); the emerging site allocations and development management policy document produced by Broadland District Council and South Norfolk Council; The Broads Authority Core Strategy and Tourism Strategy; Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s emerging plans and policy documents; and, Norfolk County Council (Norwich Northern Distributor Road DC Order application). An initial scoping exercise indentifies the main potential impacts from development within the North East Norwich Growth Triangle AAP are with issues relating to changes to local ground water flows and levels of recreational disturbance on designated features of International Sites. The GNDP water cycle study (Scott Wilson, 2010), the Water Resources Management Plan (Anglian Water, 2014) and the North East Norwich Water Cycle Study (Hyder Consulting Ltd, 2013) assess the potential impacts of water abstraction and water disposal and as such, these topics are not addressed in detail in the current work. Five International Sites that were not scoped-out at initial stage are subjected to tests of likely significance relating to potential impacts from recreational disturbance: The Broads SAC & Ramsar Site/Broadland SPA; The River Wensum SAC; and Horsey-Winterton Dunes SAC. The Broadland sites are also subjected to tests of likely significance relating to impacts from changes in groundwater flows. Potential impacts from disturbance are identified for the Broads International Sites and Horsey-Winterton Dunes SAC and are subjected to an Appropriate Assessment. The AA concluded that there are potential impacts from disturbance at the Broads SAC and Ramsar Site and Broadland SPA. Mitigation measures are assessed relating to the deliverability of accessible green infrastructure within the Growth Triangle, both consented and that need to be delivered by the Area Action Plan policies. The assessment concludes that the amount of open space that will be delivered should provide appropriate mitigation for potential disturbance impacts on the Broadland International Sites. Therefore it is considered that there is sufficient confidence for negative impacts on site integrity on International Sites from the development in the Growth Triangle to be considered unlikely. 2 of 61 HRA of NEGT AAP for BDC May 2014 v.6 Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Overview 1.2 Legislation & Planning Policy 1.3 The Assessment Process & Methodology 1.4 Evidence Gathering 1.5 Consultation 2. In-combination Effects 2.1 Overview 2.2 Greater Norwich Development Partnership 2.3 Broadland District Council 2.4 South Norfolk Council 2.5 Broads Authority 2.6 Great Yarmouth Borough Council 2.7 Norfolk County Council 3. Characterising Potential Impacts 3.1 Overview 3.2 Scoping of Sites 3.3 Scoping-out of International Sites 4. Designated Features of Sites Not Scoped-out 4.1 Overview of Sites 4.2 The Broads SAC and Ramsar Site, Broadland SPA 4.3 River Wensum SAC 4.6 Winterton-Horsey Dunes SAC 5. Stage1: Tests of Likely Significant Effects 5.1 Overview 5.2 Site Specific Tests of Likely Significance 5.3 Summary of Stage 1: Tests of Likely Significance 6. Stage 2: Appropriate Assessment 6.1 The Broads SAC and Ramsar Site, Broadland SPA 6.2 Winterton-Horsey Dunes SAC 6.3 Summary of Stage 2: Appropriate Assessment 7. Mitigation Measures 7.1 The use of green infrastructure within development sites to reduce impacts on international sites 7.2 Existing and consented publically available green space 7.3 Potential publically accessible green space 7.4 Summary of consented and potentially available green space 8. Repeat of Appropriate assessment 9. References 3 of 61 HRA of NEGT AAP for BDC May 2014 v.6 Habitats Regulation Assessment of the North-East Norwich Growth Triangle Area Action Plan, Undertaken on behalf of Broadland District Council May 2014 1. INTRODUCTION This is a record of the Habitats Regulation Assessment of the North-east Norwich Growth Triangle Area Action Plan, undertaken for Broadland District Council as the Planning Authority. The Assessment is required by Regulations 61 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010, in accordance with the EC Habitat Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC) before the council as the ‘competent authority’ under the Regulations can permit development to proceed. 1.1 OVERVIEW As required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (hereafter Habitats Regulations), before deciding to give consent or permission for a plan or project which is likely to have a significant effect on a European site, either alone or in combination with other plans or projects, the competent authority is required to make an appropriate assessment of the implications for that site in view of that site’s conservation objectives. This document has been prepared by the Natural Environment Team at Norfolk County Council on behalf of Broadland District Council and provides a Habitats Regulations Assessment and Appropriate Assessment for the Old Catton, Sprowston, Rackheath & Thorpe St Andrew, or North East, Growth Triangle Area Action Plan, hereafter referred to as the “NEGT” Growth Triangle Area Action Plan (AAP). The purpose of this document is to assess the likely impacts, effects and mitigation associated with the policies, allocation of sites and associated infrastructure proposed within the AAP in the formal context of the Habitats Regulations. The draft AAP policies and related allocation map, including a Green Infrastructure strategy, have been developed as part of an iterative process with the Habitat Regulation Assessment recorded in this report. Consultations with stakeholders throughout the process have helped inform the HRA, including formal consultations with Natural England and the Broads Authority (see Section 1.5). The Area Action Plan being assessed Development to the north east of Norwich will be guided by the Old Catton, Sprowston, Rackheath & Thorpe St Andrew, or North East, Growth Triangle Area Action 4 of 61 HRA of NEGT AAP for BDC May 2014 v.6 (AAP). The Joint Core Strategy (GNDP, 2011 & 2014) required a minimum of 7,000 homes to be built in the area by 2026, rising to at least 10,000 thereafter. This would be on top of the 2008 baseline commitments in the NEGT of approximately 1,400 – 1,500 homes. The current draft of the AAP allocates land sufficient for around 10,800 homes above baseline commitment in order to allow a realistic prospect of delivering the requisite number of units required by the Local Plan by 2026. In addition, reserve sites have been identified to compensate against the potential failure of one or more of the strategic sites identified. The reserve sites identified are of sufficient size to deliver a further 1,000 homes. If brought forwards these homes would be in addition to the identified sites. Therefore the cumulative growth should all sites and strategic reserves be implemented would be approximately 12,000 homes above 2008 baseline commitments, i.e. 13,500 homes overall. Aside from residential allocations, the NEGT AAP contains land allocated for employment use, primarily in the southern section, as well as open-space designations. A Green Infrastructure Strategy has been developed alongside the policies and allocations as part of an iterative process to identify a range of landscape, ecology and recreation driven projects and to allow for climate change adaption. A key infrastructure dependency of the proposed growth with the NEGT AAP is the proposed Northern Distributor Road (NDR). The NDR forms part of the Norwich Area Transport Strategy (NATS) and is therefore part of the baseline conditions for the JCS and NEGT AAP. The NDR is not a proposal of either the JCS or NEGT AAP. The NDR is a major infrastructure project, and was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for determination as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project application in December 2013. A significant section of this dual-carriageway will bisect the NEGT between Rackheath and Thorpe End. The NEGT AAP contains policies to provide a landscape buffer to the south of the NDR from Norwich Airport in the west to Thorpe End in the East, and a series of green infrastructure links. The green infrastructure links utilises the brown bridges, bat gantries and culverts proposed as part of the NDR plans in order to maintain landscape scale green infrastructure connections. 1.2 LEGISLATION & PLANNING POLICY The need for an appropriate assessment originally arose under the requirements of the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and its implementation in the UK under the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994. The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 were published and consolidated the legislation, updated and incorporated the various amendments made to the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (the 1994 Regulations). On 25 July 2012, Defra laid “The Conservation of Habitats and Species 5 of 61 HRA of NEGT AAP for BDC May 2014 v.6 (Amendment) Regulations 2012” before Parliament.