Severn Trent Water Ltd Water Resources Management Plan 2019 Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report ________________________________ ___________________ Report for Severn Trent Water Ltd ED62813 | Issue Number 1 | Date 18/01/2017 Ricardo Energy & Environment Severn Trent Water Ltd | i Customer: Customer Contact: Severn Trent Water Ltd John Sanders Ricardo Energy & Environment Customer reference: Enterprise House, Lloyd Street North, Manchester, United Kingdom. M15 6SE SVT/SEA Confidentiality, copyright & reproduction: e: [email protected] This report is the Copyright of Severn Trent Water/Ricardo Energy & Environment. It has been prepared by Ricardo Energy & Environment, a trading name of Ricardo-AEA Ltd, Authors: under contract to Severn Trent Water Ltd. The contents of this report may not be reproduced in Alexandra Scarlat, Ed Hargreaves and Ed whole or in part, nor passed to any organisation Fredenham or person without the specific prior written permission of Severn Trent Water Ltd. Ricardo Approved By: Energy & Environment accepts no liability John Sanders whatsoever to any third party for any loss or damage arising from any interpretation or use of Date: the information contained in this report, or reliance on any views expressed therein. 18 January 2017 Ricardo Energy & Environment reference: Ref: ED62813- Issue Number 1 Ricardo in Confidence Ref: Ricardo/ED62813/Issue Number 1 Ricardo Energy & Environment Severn Trent Water Ltd | 2 Table of contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 Background and Purpose of Report .................................................................................. 4 1.2 Strategic Environmental Assessment ............................................................................... 4 1.3 Requirement for SEA of Severn Trent Water’s Water Resource Management Plan ........ 5 1.4 SEA and Water Resources Management Planning .......................................................... 5 1.5 SEA Approach ................................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Habitats Regulations Assessment..................................................................................... 8 1.7 Water Framework Directive Assessment .......................................................................... 9 1.8 SEA Consultation ............................................................................................................ 11 1.9 Structure of the Scoping Report ...................................................................................... 12 2 Severn Trent Water Supply System and Water Resources Management Planning ............................................................................................................................. 14 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Severn Trent Water’s supply system .............................................................................. 15 2.3 Severn Trent Water Resource Management Plan 2019 ................................................. 17 2.3.1 Area under consideration for the SEA .................................................................... 17 2.3.2 Temporal scope of the SEA ................................................................................... 17 3 Policy context .......................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Review of Plans, policies and Programmes .................................................................... 20 4 Environmental Baseline Review ............................................................................. 33 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 33 4.1.1 Limitations of the data and assumptions made ...................................................... 33 4.1.2 Overview................................................................................................................. 34 4.2 Biodiversity, fauna and flora ............................................................................................ 34 4.2.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 34 4.2.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 41 4.2.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 41 4.3 Population and Human Health ........................................................................................ 42 4.3.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 42 4.3.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 44 4.3.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 45 4.4 Material Assets and Resource Use ................................................................................. 47 4.4.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 47 4.4.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 48 4.4.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 48 4.5 Water ............................................................................................................................... 48 4.5.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 48 4.5.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 63 4.5.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 64 4.6 Soil, Geology and Land Use ............................................................................................ 65 4.6.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 65 4.6.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 71 4.6.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 71 4.7 Air and Climate ................................................................................................................ 72 4.7.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 72 4.7.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 76 4.7.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 78 4.8 Archaeology and Cultural Heritage ................................................................................. 78 4.8.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 78 Ref: Ricardo/ED62813/Issue Number 1 Ricardo Energy & Environment Severn Trent Water Ltd | 3 4.8.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 81 4.8.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 81 4.9 Landscape and Visual Amenity ....................................................................................... 81 4.9.1 Baseline .................................................................................................................. 81 4.9.2 Future Baseline ...................................................................................................... 90 4.9.3 Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 90 4.10 Inter-relationships between SEA topics .......................................................................... 90 4.11 Summary of Key Issues .................................................................................................. 90 5 Draft SEA Objectives and Proposed Assessment Framework ............................. 95 5.1 Draft SEA Objectives and Proposed Assessment Framework ....................................... 95 5.2 Proposed Framework for Assessment .......................................................................... 105 5.2.1 Primary Assessment ............................................................................................ 105 5.2.2 Secondary, cumulative and synergistic environmental effects ............................ 117 5.2.3 Consideration of reasonable alternatives ............................................................. 119 6 Use of SEA in WRMP Options and Programme Appraisal .................................