East Suffolk Council – Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Addendum to the Sustainability Appraisal Report Proposed Main Modifications to the Local Plan April 2020 East Suffolk Council – Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Main Modifications to the Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Addendum April 2020 Contents Non Technical Summary ............................................................................................................ 2 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5 2. Assessment of Main Modifications ...................................................................................... 10 3. Updates to Sustainability Appraisal Report ....................................................................... 357 4. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 423 Page 1 East Suffolk Council – Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Main Modifications to the Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Addendum April 2020 Non-Technical Summary Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is an iterative process which must be carried out during the preparation of a Local Plan. Its purpose is to promote sustainable development by assessing the extent to which the emerging plan, when considered against alternatives, will help to achieve relevant environmental, economic and social objectives. Section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires a local planning authority to carry out a Sustainability Appraisal of each of the proposals contained within a Local Plan during its preparation. East Suffolk Council is currently in the process of preparing a new Local Plan for the area formerly covered by Suffolk Coastal District Council. The Local Plan sets out the level of growth which needs to be planned for in the Plan area and identifies where this should be located and how it should be delivered. The Plan sets out the planning policies which the Council will use to determine planning applications across the former Suffolk Coastal area. The Local Plan will cover the period 2018-2036. A Sustainability Appraisal Report (dated December 2018) was published alongside the Final Draft Local Plan in January 2019. This was submitted to the Planning inspectorate in March 2019. Following the close of the public hearings, the Inspector has written to the Council advising what modifications are likely to be required in order for the plan to be found sound. These are called ‘Main Modifications’. This addendum should be read alongside the December 2018 SA report and the May 2020 Main Modifications. This addendum to the December 2018 SA Report assesses whether any of the proposed Main Modifications will have an effect on the findings of the Final Sustainability Appraisal Report (December 2018). Where it is considered that a modification has an effect, this report provides an update to the findings of the December 2018 Sustainability Appraisal Report. Alongside the Main Modifications the Council has also published a number of proposed ‘Additional Modifications’ which it wishes to make to the plan prior to adoption. These Additional Modifications do not affect the soundness of the plan and are generally minor clarifications and corrections of factual errors. Given the nature of these modifications, they will not affect the findings of the Sustainability Appraisal Report and therefore have not been further considered in this addendum report. Page 2 East Suffolk Council – Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Main Modifications to the Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Addendum April 2020 A number of changes are also proposed to the Policies Maps to take into account ‘Main Modifications’ and ‘Additional Modifications’, to make factual corrections and for presentational reasons. A Schedule of Policies Map Changes has been published together with revised Policies Maps incorporating the proposed changes. The Modifications to the Policies Maps themselves also do not affect the soundness of the Plan. This report incorporates the requirements of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) within the wider Sustainability Appraisal process. A separate Habitats Regulations Assessment Report has been published alongside the Main Modifications to the Local Plan. Methodology The process of preparing a Sustainability Appraisal is governed by the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive. The national Planning Practice Guidance also gives guidance on how local authorities should undertake a Sustainability Appraisal. In accordance with that guidance, during the preparation of the Local Plan policy options and site options considered were tested using the SA framework. The results of this process are set out in the December 2018 SA Report. This process informed the Council’s decision making on what were the most appropriate and sustainable options to take forward in the Local Plan. A number of Main Modifications have now been proposed to the Local Plan in order for it to be found sound. Each of these Modifications have been assessed in order to determine whether the change will affect the findings of the December 2018 SA report. The results of this process are set out in Section two below. Where it has been identified that the modification to the Plan impacts on the conclusions of the Sustainability Appraisal report, the necessary updates are shown in Chapter 3. These updates have been carried out using the methodology and SA framework set out in in the December 2018 SA report. Conclusion Ten Main Modifications result in changes to the scoring of policies in the December 2018 Sustainability Appraisal Report. These relate to the following Main Modifications and Policies: MM9 SCLP3.4: Proposals for Major Energy Infrastructure Projects MM11 SCLP4.2: New Employment Areas MM28 SCLP6.4: Tourism outside of the AONB MM55 SCLP12.5 Brackenbury Sports Centre, Felixstowe MM60 SCLP12.16: Felixstowe Leisure Centre MM62 SCLP12.19: Brightwell Lakes MM82 SCLP12.46: Land behind 15 St Peters Close, Charsfield MM93 SCLP12.58: Land Adjacent to Swiss Farm, Otley Page 3 East Suffolk Council – Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Main Modifications to the Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Addendum April 2020 MM98 SCLP12.63: Land opposite The Sorrel Horse, The Street, Shottisham MM101 SCLP12.65: Land adjacent to Reeve Lodge, High Road, Trimley St Martin These changes have resulted in amendments to the ‘Evaluation of Significant Effects Table’ and revised appraisals for each of these ten policies. Main Modifications to the Plan also propose the deletion of two policies: • Policy SCLP12.35: Land at Innocence Farm (see MM74) • Policy SCLP11.9: Areas to be Protected from Development (see MM50) The ‘Evaluation of Significant Effects Table’ has also been updated to reflect this and the consequent renumbering of policies. A number of revised appraisals have also been produced for seven policies where, although it has not been necessary to change the scoring, the accompanying commentary has needed to be updated to reflect modifications to the policy. A further change to the December 2018 Sustainability Appraisal Report has been made to correct an inconsistency in the reporting of the consideration of alternative sites in Rendlesham. This amendment does not change the conclusions of the December 2018 Sustainability Appraisal Report. As a result of the amended scores for the ten Policies outlined in the table above, the overall cumulative effects of the Plan have also been revisited. However, given the relatively limited number of amended scores, these have not resulted in the need to change the overall cumulative effects of the Plan or the conclusions of the December 2018 Sustainability Appraisal Report. Page 4 East Suffolk Council – Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Main Modifications to the Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal Addendum April 2020 1. Introduction Background 1.1 Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is an iterative process which must be carried out during the preparation of a Local Plan. Its purpose is to promote sustainable development by assessing the extent to which the emerging plan, when considered against alternatives, will help to achieve relevant environmental, economic and social objectives. 1.2 Section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires a local planning authority to carry out a Sustainability Appraisal of each of the proposals contained within a Local Plan during its preparation. Section 39 of the Act requires the authority preparing a Local Plan to do so “with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development”. 1.3 East Suffolk Council is currently in the process of preparing a new Local Plan for the area of the District formerly covered by Suffolk Coastal District Council. The table below outlines the main stages of Plan preparation. Local Plan Timetable Date Local Plan Stage January 2014 to October 2017 Issues and Options July to September 2018 First Draft Local Plan January to February 2019 Final Draft Local Plan March 2019 Submission to Planning Inspectorate Summer 2019 Examination hearings May 2020 Publication of proposed Modifications 1.4 A Sustainability Appraisal Report (dated December 2018) was published alongside the Final Draft Local Plan in January 2019. This was submitted to the Planning inspectorate in March 2019. This addendum should be read alongside the December 2018 SA report and the May 2020 Main Modifications. 1.5 A key change since the December 2018 SA report, has been