Somerset Minerals Plan Sustainability Appraisal Report Prepared for Somerset County Council by LUC December 2013 Project Title: Somerset Minerals Plan Sustainability Appraisal Report Client: Somerset County Council Version Date Version Details Prepared by Checked by Approved by Principal 0.1 18.09.13 First Draft Report Ifan Gwilym Catrin Owen 1.0 30.09.13 Final Draft Report Ifan Gwilym Catrin Owen Catrin Owen 1.2 01.10.13 Final Draft Report – Chapter Catrin Owen Catrin Owen 9 and NTS complete 2.0 03.10.13 Final Report for Members Catrin Owen Catrin Owen comments 2.5 04.11.13 Revised to reflect Plan Ifan Gwilym, Catrin Owen Jeremy Owen amendments Catrin Owen 2.7 12.12.13 Revised to reflect Plan Catrin Owen Catrin Owen Jeremy Owen amendments 3.0 13.12.13 Final Ifan Gwilym Catrin Owen Jeremy Owen J:\CURRENT PROJECTS\4600s\4629 Somerset Minerals\4629.03 Final SA\B Project Working\4629_SomersetMineralsSA_FinalPlan_20131213_v3.0.docx Somerset Minerals Plan Sustainability Appraisal Report Prepared for Somerset County Council by LUC December 2013 Planning & EIA LUC BRISTOL Offices also in: Land Use Consultants Ltd Registered in England Design 14 Great George Street London Registered number: 2549296 Landscape Planning Bristol BS1 5RH Glasgow Registered Office: Landscape Management Tel:0117 929 1997 Edinburgh 43 Chalton Street Ecology Fax:0117 929 1998 London NW1 1JD LUC uses 100% recycled paper Mapping & Visualisation [email protected] FS 566056 EMS 566057 Contents 1 Non-Technical Summary 1 2 Introduction 26 3 Somerset Minerals Plan 31 4 Appraisal Methodology 43 5 Environmental, social and economic policy objectives of relevant plans and programmes 48 6 Sustainability Context for Minerals Development in Somerset 52 7 SA Framework 70 8 Appraisal of the Core Strategy Components 73 9 Appraisal findings by SA objective 122 10 Monitoring 136 Appendices Appendix 1: Relevant documents, plans and strategies Appendix 2: Somerset Minerals Plan SA appraisal matrices Appendix 3: Appraisal matrices from the Interim SEA/SA Report Appendix 4: Appraisal matrices from the SA of the Somerset Minerals Plan Preferred Options Paper Appendix 5: Consultation comments received on the SA Report (December 2012) 1 Non-Technical Summary Introduction 1.1 This Sustainability Appraisal Report (Non-Technical Summary) relates to the Somerset Minerals Plan, which is being produced by Somerset County Council. Plans and strategies such as the Somerset Minerals Plan are subject to a process called Sustainability Appraisal (SA), which assesses the potential impacts of a plan on social, economic, and environmental issues. Somerset County Council has commissioned independent consultants (LUC) to carry out SA of the Minerals Plan on its behalf. This Non-Technical Summary relates to the full SA Report for the Somerset Minerals Plan (December 2013), and should be read alongside those two documents. The Sustainability Appraisal also addresses the requirements of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which is required to be undertaken of all land use plans under European law. The Somerset Minerals Plan 1.2 The Somerset Minerals Plan contains the wording of policies that will shape future minerals development within Somerset. The purpose of the Minerals Plan is to ensure that policy is defined for long enough to provide the minerals industry with a clear picture of the future to enable decisions about investment to be made. It gives certainty to local communities about minerals development in their area in terms of where activity is now and is likely to be over the next plan period. It also sets out what limits and controls should be placed on minerals activity to ensure any negative environmental and community impacts are mitigated as far as possible and to an acceptable level. 1.3 The final Minerals Plan is expected to be adopted in late 2014 / early 2015, and should cover the period up to 2030. It has to consider the need to contribute towards national and local need for minerals together with social, environmental and economic considerations. Once adopted the Somerset Minerals Plan will replace the ‘saved’ policies from the Somerset Minerals Local Plan that was adopted in 2004. Sustainability Appraisal Methodology Stage A: Setting the Context and Objectives, Establishing the Baseline and Deciding on the Scope 1.4 The Sustainability Appraisal process began in 2007 when the original Scoping Report for the Minerals and Waste Development Framework was sent to the three statutory consultation bodies for consultation (Natural England, English Heritage and the Environment Agency) alongside other key stakeholders. This report was produced by Scott Wilson on behalf of Somerset County Council and comprised a review of baseline information, relevant policy objectives, and the development of a framework of sustainability objectives and indicators. 1.5 Comments were received and taken in to account and incorporated, alongside those of LUC with regards to minerals, in a revised Scoping Report in October 2010. This revised Scoping Report was also made available for comment by the statutory consultees and other interested stakeholders. 1.6 The final Scoping Report was published in February 2011. Somerset Minerals Plan 1 December 2013 Sustainability Appraisal Report Stage B: Developing and Refining Options and Assessing Effects 1.7 Developing options for a plan is an iterative process usually involving a number of consultations with public and stakeholders. The Sustainability Appraisal can help to identify where there may be other ‘reasonable alternatives’ to the options being considered for a plan. 1.8 The options/reasonable alternatives for Somerset’s Minerals Plan have been investigated through the plan development process, first through consultation on a series of topic papers, then through publication of the Minerals Options Paper in December 2011, and lastly through the Minerals Plan Preferred Options Paper in January 2013. At each stage LUC provided advice on the refinement of options for the Minerals Plan, culminating with the production of an Interim SEA/SA Report in 2011 and an SA Report in December 2012. 1.9 The Interim Sustainability Appraisal Report was drafted in mid-2011, appraising the issues and options set out in the draft Minerals Options Paper, July 2011. The final Interim Sustainability Appraisal Report (December 2011) provided an appraisal of the original (July 2011) and additional (December 2011) policy options for completeness. The Interim Sustainability Appraisal Report was published for consultation alongside the final Minerals Options Paper in December 2011. No comments were received on the Interim Sustainability Appraisal Report. 1.10 The Minerals Plan Preferred Options Paper was drafted in mid-2012, to allow Somerset County Council to consult on new elements such as energy minerals, elements of the Minerals Options consultation which required further clarity and the preferred policy options for all minerals in Somerset, and to provide a further opportunity for further consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. This stage of the plan making process was subject to a full Sustainability Appraisal, culminating in the production of an SA Report (December 2012). 1.11 The Sustainability Appraisal Report described the process undertaken to date in carrying out the appraisal of the Minerals Plan Preferred Options Paper. It set out the findings of the appraisal of the Minerals Plan Preferred Options Paper, highlighting any likely significant effects (both positive and negative), make recommendations for improvements and clarifications to the Plan. Stage C: Preparing the Sustainability Appraisal Report 1.12 Following receipt of consultation comments on the Minerals Plan Preferred Options Paper, Somerset County Council drafted the Somerset Minerals Plan for consultation. This Plan was also subject to a full Sustainability Appraisal which has been documented in an updated Sustainability Appraisal Report (November 2013). The report documents if and how previous recommendations of the Sustainability Appraisal have been taken on board and provides an appraisal of the Somerset Minerals Plan. Stage D: Consulting on the Submission Plan and SA Report 1.13 Somerset County Council is inviting representations on the Somerset Minerals Plan and the SA Report. Stage E: Monitoring Implementation of the Plan 1.14 The final section of the Sustainability Appraisal Report sets out recommendations for monitoring the significant social, environmental and economic effects of implementing the Somerset Minerals Plan. These monitoring proposals should be considered within the context of the broader monitoring framework for the Minerals Plan and the Somerset County Council Annual Monitoring Report. Difficulties encountered 1.15 Sustainability Appraisal inevitably relies on an element of subjective judgement. In predicting and assessing the sustainability effects of the Somerset Minerals Plan the appraisal has drawn on the analysis of the baseline situation, the characteristics of Somerset and the sustainability issues the County faces, plus professional experience. 1.16 The experience of the Sustainability Appraisal team, plus helpful guidance and information from Somerset County Council, has enabled the SA to progress with no identifiable technical Somerset Minerals Plan 2 December 2013 Sustainability Appraisal Report deficiencies or lack of know how. This has been possible in part to the detailed work undertaken by Somerset County Council in developing the evidence base for the