. Environmental Report Strategic Environmental Assessment of Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2015 - 2031 March 2015 Rev No Comments Prepared by Checked by Approved Date by 3 Paul Nick Chisholm- Paul March 2015 McGimpsey Batten Tomlinson Senior Principal Technical Consultant Consultant Director The Crescent Centre, Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6EZ, United Kingdom T +44 (0)117 917 1200 F +44 (0)117 930 0342 Job No: 47072781 Date Created: 02/03/2015 This document is confidential and the copyright of AECOM Infrastructure and Environment. Any unauthorised reproduction or usage by any person other than the addressee is strictly prohibited. CONTENTS Non-Technical Summary................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Vision and objectives of the LTP3 Review ........................................................................................ 3 1.3 SEA explained ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 This Environmental Report ................................................................................................................ 4 1.5 What is the scope of the SEA? .......................................................................................................... 6 1.6 Key issues for the SEA and SEA Framework.................................................................................... 7 2 Assessment of reasonable alternatives for the LTP3 Review .......................................................... 13 2.1 Reasonable alternatives .................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Assessment of district based vs Connecting Places Strategies approach ...................................... 13 2.3 Summary of assessment of reasonable alternatives ....................................................................... 17 2.4 Development of a preferred strategy for the LTP3 Review ............................................................. 18 3 Assessment of the current version of the LTP3 Review ................................................................... 19 3.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Assessment methodology ................................................................................................................ 19 3.3 Limitations of assessment ............................................................................................................... 20 4 Central Severn Vale CPS area assessment ........................................................................................ 21 5 Forest of Dean CPS area assessment ................................................................................................. 31 6 North Cotswold CPS area assessment ............................................................................................... 40 7 South Cotswold CPS area assessment ............................................................................................... 46 8 Stroud Area CPS area assessment ...................................................................................................... 53 9 Tewkesbury CPS area assessment ..................................................................................................... 60 10 Assessment of overall LTP3 Review effects................................................................................... 66 11 Summary of assessment .................................................................................................................. 75 12 What are the next steps? .................................................................................................................. 80 12.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 80 12.2 Plan finalisation ................................................................................................................................ 80 Appendix A: Context review and evidence base for the SEA [This page is intentionally blank] SEA of the Gloucestershire LTP3 Review Non-Technical Summary What is Strategic Environmental Assessment? A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been carried out to inform the development of Gloucestershire’s. Local Transport Plan 2015 – 2031. Local Transport Authorities such as Gloucestershire County Council use SEA to assess Local Transport Plans against a set of environmental objectives developed in consultation with interested parties. The purpose of the assessment is to avoid adverse environmental and socio-economic effects, and identify opportunities to improve the environmental quality of Gloucestershire and the quality of life of residents through the Local Transport Plan. What is Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2015 - 2031? Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2015 – 2031 (LTP) sets out a transport plan for Gloucestershire in the period to 2031. The LTP will update Gloucestershire County Council’s third Local Transport Plan, which was adopted in 2011. The LTP incorporates a Strategy Document accompanied by ‘Connecting Places Strategies’ for six different areas of the county, namely: the Central Severn Vale; the Forest of Dean; North Cotswold; South Cotswold; the Stroud Area; and Tewkesbury. It is currently anticipated that the LTP will be adopted later in 2015. The Vision and Objectives for the LTP are as follows: Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2015-2031: Vision and Objectives Vision: ‘A reliable transport network which provides safe and efficient door to door travel choices.’ Objective 1 Securing conditions for economic growth in Gloucestershire. Objective 2 Ensure that communities are given opportunity to benefit from economic prosperity by being well connected to employment, education, training, healthcare and other key services. Objective 3 Conserve and enhance Gloucestershire’s unique natural and built environment. Objective 4 Create healthy, safe and engaged communities. Purpose and content of this Environmental Report This Environmental Report, which accompanies the public consultation version of the LTP, is the second document to be produced as part of the SEA process. The first document was the SEA Scoping Report 1, which includes information about Gloucestershire’s environment and communities and the ‘framework’ against which the LTP was assessed. The purpose of the Environmental Report is to: • Identify, describe and evaluate the likely environmental effects of the LTP and alternatives; and • Provide an opportunity for statutory consultees, interested parties and the public to offer views on the SEA process carried out to date. 1 AECOM (2015) Scoping Report - Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Gloucestershire Local Transport Plan 3 Review [online] available at: http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/ltp3 Non-Technical Summary, Environmental Report - March 2015 SEA of the Gloucestershire LTP3 Review The Environmental Report contains: • An outline of the contents and main objectives of the LTP and its relationship with other relevant policies, plans and programmes (Appendix A); • Relevant aspects of the current state of the environment and key environmental issues; • The SEA Framework of objectives and assessment questions against which the LTP has been assessed; • An assessment of alternative approaches for the LTP; • The likely environmental effects of the LTP; • The measures envisaged to prevent, reduce and as fully as possible offset any significant adverse effects as a result of the LTP; and • The next steps for the LTP and accompanying SEA process. Assessment of alternative approaches for the LTP A key requirement of the SEA Directive is assess ‘reasonable alternatives’ for the LTP. To address this requirement, two alternative approaches have been considered: • Option 1: Continue the existing district-based perspective to the LTP; and • Option 2: Deliver a Connecting Places Strategy area approach. The previous LTP for Gloucestershire promoted a district-based approach, which put forward initiatives and measures for the six Districts and Boroughs in Gloucestershire. For the purposes of the current LTP, Gloucestershire County Council considered that the district-based approach should be replaced by a ‘Connecting Places Strategy’ approach. The new approach introduces travel-focused strategy areas based on connections focusing on transport corridors that link places. It also recognises that each Connecting Places Strategy area is based on individual economic, social and environmental features. To support decision making on this element of the LTP, the SEA process assessed this shift from the district- based to a Connecting Places Strategy approach. Following the assessment of the options, the LTP development team confirmed advantages in adopting the Connecting Places Strategies approach. Appraisal of the consultation version of the LTP The SEA Framework of objectives and assessment questions,