BLOSSOM STREET, E1 Replacement Environmental Statement III NOVEMBER 2015 Application Documents Application forms CIL Additional Information form Revised Planning Drawings Addendum Design and Access Statement Planning Statement Replacement Environmental Statement I Replacement Environmental Statement II Replacement Environmental Statement III Replacement EnvironmentalStatement Non-Technical Summary Financial Viability Assessment Addendum Heritage Appraisal Archaeological Assessment Regeneration Statement Energy Statement Sustainability Statement Transport Assessment Statement of Community Involvement Blossom Street Warehosues Structural Method Statement Contents Appendix A Scoping Report and Scoping Opinion Appendix B Waste and Recycling Appendix C Traffic and Transport Appendix D Air Quality Appendix E Noise and Vibration Appendix F Daylight, Sunlight, Overshadowing, Solar Glare and Light Pollution Appendix G Wind Microclimate Appendix H Water Resources, Drainage and Flood Risk Assessment Appendix I Archaeology Appendix J Built Heritage Blossom Street Appendix A – EIA Scoping Report and Scoping Opinion Replacement Environmental Statement Volume III Blossom Street Appendix A1 – Scoping Report Environmental Statement Volume III TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................1 1.1 Requirement for EIA.........................................................1 1.1.1 Update to the EU Directive – 2014/52/EU .......................1 Blossom 1.2 The Purpose of the EIA Scoping.....................................2 1.3 Structure of the Scoping Report .....................................2 Street 2. SITE DESCRIPTION AND CONSULTATION....................3 2.1 Overview of the Proposed Development........................3 EIA Scoping Report 2.2 Site Location and Context ...............................................5 July 2014 2.2.1 Existing Permission .........................................................7 2.2.2 Relationship with the Proposed Development ..............7 47070513 2.3 Description of the Surrounding Environment ...............7 Prepared for: 2.4 Potential Environmental Sensitivities / Sensitive British Land Receptors ..........................................................................8 2.5 EIA Consultation............................................................ 11 3. KEY LEGISLATIVE, PLANNING POLICY & GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.................................................................. 12 3.1 EIA Statutory Requirements & Guidance.................... 12 UNITED 3.2 Planning Policy Context................................................ 12 KINGDOM & 3.2.1 National Planning Policy............................................... 12 IRELAND 3.2.2 Regional Planning Policy.............................................. 12 3.2.3 Local Planning Policy.................................................... 12 4. ENVIRONMENTAL ‘TOPICS’ TO BE ADDRESSED WITHIN THE EIA............................................................. 13 4.1 Introduction.................................................................... 13 4.2 EIA Methodology ........................................................... 14 4.2.1 Impact Significance ....................................................... 14 4.2.2 Amount of Development and Uses Proposed ............ 15 4.2.3 Impact Interactions and Cumulative Impact Assessment ......................................................................................... 15 4.2.4 Consideration of Climate Change within the EIA....... 24 4.3 Alternatives Assessment.............................................. 24 4.4 Demolition and Construction ....................................... 25 4.5 Waste and Recycling..................................................... 26 4.6 Socio-Economics........................................................... 28 4.7 Traffic and Transport..................................................... 30 4.8 Air Quality....................................................................... 32 4.9 Noise and Vibration ....................................................... 36 4.10 Wind Microclimate ......................................................... 38 4.11 Daylight, Sunlight, Overshadowing, Light Pollution and EIA Scoping Report – Blossom Street Solar Glare...................................................................... 39 4.12 Water Resources, Drainage and Flood Risk............... 42 1. INTRODUCTION 4.13 Archaeology ................................................................... 44 URS Infrastructure & Environment Limited (URS) has been commissioned to undertake the 4.14 ES Volume II – Townscape, Built Heritage and Visual EIA on behalf of the Applicant in line with the 2011 EIA Regulations and relevant EIA Impact Assessment ....................................................... 46 guidance, including the National Planning Practice Guidance, and the LBTH Scoping 5. ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS TO SCOPED OUT OF THE Guidance (2012). ES .................................................................................... 50 The site is comprised of three development plots, approximately 0.8 hectares (ha) in size and 5.1 Ecology........................................................................... 50 is bounded by Network Rail lines to the north; Elder Street and Blossom Street to the east; Folgate Street. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH). 5.2 Health and Well-being ................................................... 50 5.3 Electronic Interference.................................................. 51 1.1 Requirement for EIA 5.4 Ground Conditions ........................................................ 52 Applications for development that come within the scope of the Town and Country Planning 5.5 Aviation........................................................................... 53 (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011, hereafter referred to as the ‘EIA Regulations’ are termed ‘EIA Applications’. Screening of developments to identify whether an 6. PROPOSED STRUCTURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL EIA is necessary is based on the likelihood of significant impacts arising from the project. ‘EIA STATEMENT................................................................... 54 Developments’ are divided into Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 applications under the EIA 7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.................................. 56 Regulations. APPENDIX A - EXTENDED PHASE 1 HABITAT SURVEY .................. APPENDIX B - PRELIMINARY CONTAMINATION ASSESSMENT .... Schedule 1 developments constitute those that are likely to have significant impacts, such as major chemical or petrochemical projects and construction of ground or air transport infrastructure, and for which EIA is mandatory. For all other developments which fall under Schedule 2, the need for an EIA is determined on the basis of set criteria as follows: x It is within one of the classes of development stated in Schedule 2; AND x EITHER it exceeds the applicable threshold criteria for that class of development in Schedule 2; OR it is to be carried out in part or all of a sensitive area; AND x It is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location. The selection criteria are not just simply related to the scale or characteristics of development, but also consider the sensitivity of the environment affected by a proposed development. The Proposed Development falls within the description in Column 1, Paragraph 10(b) of Schedule 2: “b) Urban development projects, including the construction of shopping centres and car parks, sports stadiums, leisure centres and multiplex cinemas”. The EIA Regulations set, for paragraph 10(b) described above, an area threshold of 0.5ha to assist in determining whether an EIA is required. For the purpose of EIA, the three development plots will be considered as a single site, and therefore the Proposed Development will be assessed as a whole, rather than as individual sites. Given that the area of the Proposed Development is 0.8 hectares (ha), exceeding the threshold as defined in Schedule 2, and taking into account the location of the Site and its potential for significant effects, the Proposed Development constitutes ‘EIA development’ under the EIA Regulations. 1.1.1 Update to the EU Directive – 2014/52/EU The revised EIA Directive (Directive 2014/52/EU amending Directive 2011/92/EU) has now been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). The UK has three years to transpose this into UK Law, in the meantime there are transitional rules in place which allow any project scoped prior to transposition to be exempt from the new requirements when the application is submitted. It is estimated that the New EIA Directive will come into force at the beginning of 2017. Blossom Street EIA Scoping Report 1 EIA Scoping Report – Blossom Street EIA Scoping Report – Blossom Street 1.2 The Purpose of the EIA Scoping 2. SITE DESCRIPTION AND CONSULTATION EIA Scoping forms one of the first stages of the EIA process. It refers to the activity of identifying the environmental ‘topics’ that should be considered within the EIA. In addition, EIA 2.1 Overview of the Proposed Development Scoping allows for the early identification of the receptors that may be affected or impacted by a new development. Through consideration of environmental ‘topics’ and potential receptors The Proposed Development is a mixed use scheme comprising office (B1), residential (C3) (both existing