SPATIAL STRATEGY ASSESSMENT TECHNICAL NOTE September 2011 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 2. CONTEXT ...................................................................................................................... 2 3. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 4 4. STAGE 1 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................... 5 5. STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................... 6 I) ACCESSIBILITY ................................................................................................................ 6 (II) INFRASTRUCTURE CAPACITY ..................................................................................... 7 (III) LAND AVAILABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY ............................................. 8 (IV) GREEN BELT ................................................................................................................ 9 (V) LANDSCAPE DESIGNATIONS .................................................................................... 10 (VI) REGENERATION POTENTIAL .................................................................................... 10 (VII) PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND ................................................................................. 11 CRITERIA CONSIDERED BUT NOT USED IN STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT ......................... 11 6. IDENTIFICATION OF STRATEGIC GROWTH AREAS ............................................... 13 7. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SESPLAN .............................................. 14 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Map 1 Stage 1 Assessment Map 2 Areas for Stage 2 Assessment Map 3 Preferred Locations for Development Appendix 2 Stage 2 Assessment by Criteria i) Accessibility ii) Infrastructure iii) Development Capacity iv) Green Belt v) Landscape Designations vi) Regeneration Potential i vii) Prime Agricultural Land Appendix 3 Overall Assessment and identification of Preferred Strategic Development Areas ii 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Spatial Strategy Assessment Technical Note (SSTN) explains the methodology used to identify the preferred locations for development which underpin the identification of the Strategic Development Areas (SDAs) in the SESplan Strategic Development Plan (SDP). Building on the work done for the Main Issues Report (MIR), a Spatial Strategy Assessment was undertaken to inform the SDP. It is closely linked to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and takes account of comments submitted in response to the MIR. 1.2 The Spatial Strategy Assessment was undertaken with input from key agencies including Scottish Water. 1.3 At the MIR stage, SESplan sought views on options for future growth. The preferred approach was based on two elements. Firstly, to continue to support existing commitments identified through current structure plan allocations, and secondly, to provide additional land for future housing development distributed throughout a series of ‘strategic growth areas’ within South East Scotland. The principle of this approach was generally supported, although there were varying views on the amount of growth and the locations. To help consider the responses to the MIR, SESplan has prepared this SSTN to set out clearly the justification for the selection of the SDAs identified in the SDP. 1.4 The SSTN has been prepared to support the SDP and should be read in conjunction with other background documents including: Economy Technical Note; Transport Technical Note; Housing Technical Note; Green Belt Technical Note; Green Network Technical Note; Minerals Technical Note; Waste Technical Note; Action Programme; and Strategic Environmental Assessment. 1 2. CONTEXT 2.1 The Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) (2010) provide the context for the Spatial Strategy Assessment. 2.2 Section 3E of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 requires planning authorities to carry out their development planning functions with the objective of contributing to sustainable development. 2.3 To meet this objective, paragraph 38 of SPP states that “decisions on the location of new development should: promote regeneration and the re-use of previously developed land; reduce the need to travel and prioritise sustainable travel and transport opportunities; promote the development of mixed communities; take account of the capacity of existing infrastructure; promote rural development and regeneration; and prevent further development which would be at risk from flooding or coastal erosion.” 2.4 Paragraphs 77 – 85 of SPP advise on the location and design of new development. 2.5 Section 44 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires all public bodies to act: in the way best calculated to contribute to the delivery of the emissions targets in the Act; in the way best calculated to help deliver the Government's climate change adaptation programme; and in a way that it considers is most sustainable. 2 2.6 Paragraph 42 of SPP states that “development plans should promote a pattern of development which reduces the need to travel and encourages active travel and travel by public transport, taking into account the likely availability of public transport in rural areas.” 2.7 The Spatial Strategy Assessment has taken into account existing strategies and studies including existing structure and local plans, accessibility analysis and the SEA which also informed the MIR. 2.8 The purpose of the SDAs is to set the direction for future development in the SESplan area, i.e. development over and above existing allocations. However, many of the principles that influenced the selection of existing allocations will still be relevant e.g. public transport accessibility, reducing need to travel and congestion and protecting the environment. 3 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 The process to identify the most suitable locations for strategic growth has been approached in two stages. A Stage 1 assessment of the whole SESplan area was undertaken to identify areas where development on a strategic scale would not be acceptable. At this stage, parts of the SESplan area were “sieved out” based on two criteria and were not considered further. These are; 1. International and national environmental designations, and 2. Public Transport Accessibility. 3.2 The remainder of the SESplan area was then subdivided into 30 “Strategic Assessment Areas” and each considered against a range of criteria through the Stage 2 Assessment. Based on the outcomes of these assessments, the preferred SDAs were identified. 4 4. STAGE 1 ASSESSMENT 4.1 There are parts of the SESplan area which are clearly not suitable for strategic growth. The aim of the Stage 1 assessment was to identify these on a map basis and exclude them from Stage 2 which involved a more detailed consideration of the growth options. 4.2 There are a number of internationally and nationally designated natural heritage sites in the SESplan area. In addition, the Pentland Hills and Lomond Hills Regional Parks are valuable natural assets of regional importance providing countryside access for local residents and visitors. In recognition of their significance in natural heritage terms and valuable contribution to the environmental quality of the SESplan area, strategic levels of development would not be supported in these areas. The following designations were used as a basis for removing parts of the SESplan area at Stage 1; Ramsar sites, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, National Scenic Areas, Pentland Hills Regional Park and Lomond Hills Regional Park. 4.3 To meet sustainable development objectives, accessibility by public transport is very important in identifying locations for strategic growth. The whole of the SESplan area was assessed using PTAL (Public Transport Accessibility Level) which measures access to public transport services rather than access to any particular destination. The PTAL score is a relative index of accessibility based upon walk time to available public transport stops, frequency of service and the number of services accessible. In the Stage 1 Assessment, areas where the closest public transport stop was more than 8 minutes walk time for buses or 12 minutes for rail stations were classed as having no accessibility. Based on this analysis, some parts of the SESplan area, were “sieved out” at Stage 1. As expected, these were relatively remote rural locations. 4.4 Map 1 in Appendix 1 shows the outcomes of the Stage 1 Assessment. It indicates the areas that were excluded from further assessment based on natural heritage designations and public transport accessibility. 5 5. STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT 5.1 The remainder of the SESplan area was subdivided into 30 “Strategic Assessment Areas” for the Stage 2 Assessment. These are shown on Map 2 in Appendix 1. Subdivision of the SESplan area allowed a comparative assessment of potential locations for future development. The selection of areas for this purpose took account of geographical features, transport corridors and nodes and existing proposals in structure and local plans. The outcomes of the assessment, i.e. the preferred locations for development, provided areas of search for the identification of sites at Local Development Plan (LDP) stage to meet strategic development