Woking Borough Council Local Development Documents Sustainability Appraisal Report (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment) to accompany the Regulation 19 Version of the Site Allocations Development Plan Document October 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction page 4 2. Schedule of SEA Directive Requirements page 8 3. Sustainability Appraisal Process page 11 4. Policy context in which the plan is being prepared page 18 5. Contents of the Site Allocations DPD _________________________________ page 21 6. Identification and review of other relevant policies, plans and programmes that have a bearing on the Site Allocations DPD_________________________________ page 22 7. Current Baseline Situation page 23 8. Likely Situation without the Site Allocations DPD (the Business as Usual Scenario) page 31 9. Summary of the Key Challenges facing the Borough until 2027 and their Key Sustainability Issues _____________________________________________ page 35 10. Sustainability Appraisal Objectives and Framework_____________________ page 41 11. Sustainability Appraisal Methodology page 49 12. Relationship between the SA of the Site Allocations DPD and Green Belt Boundary Review report page 71 13. Factors that have informed the determination of reasonable alternatives page 72 14. Limitations and uncertainties encountered during the SA Process page 73 15. The Sustainability Appraisal and its Findings page 74 16. Cumulative Impacts page 93 17. Recommended optimising/mitigating measures page 96 18. Monitoring Arrangements page 97 19. Consultation and Next Steps page 98 20. Conclusion page 100 2 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Stages in the preparation of a Development Plan Document Figure 2: Sustainability Appraisal Process Figure 3: SA Matrix for assessing individual sites Table 1: A Checklist of the SEA Directive Table 2: Method of Travel to Work 2001 Census vs. 2011 Census. Table 3: Sustainability issues for Woking Borough Table 4: Sustainability Appraisal Objectives Table 5: Sustainability Appraisal Framework Table 6: Effect criteria checklist Table 7: List of Green Belt sites recommended for allocation/safeguarding and reasons Table 8: List of Green Belt sites recommended for rejection and reasons Table 9: Cumulative Impact Assessment List of Appendices Appendix 1 – Relationship of the DPD to other Plans, Programmes, Policies and Strategies Appendix 2 – Baseline data Appendix 3 – List of consultees Appendix 4 – List of evidence base Appendix 5 – List of sites appraised in the SA Appendix 6 – Effects criteria checklist with decision aiding questions Appendix 7 – List of sites rejected by threshold Appendix 8 – List of sites rejected by policy constraints Appendix 9 – List of reasonable alternative Green Belt sites appraised in the SA Appendix 10 – List of reasonable alternative urban sites appraised in the SA Appendix 11 – Full details of the SA of Urban sites (separate document) Appendix 12 – Full details of the SA of Green Belt sites (separate document) Appendix 13 – Summary of SA result and Green Belt boundary review report Appendix 14 – Map of land parcels assessed by the Green Belt boundary review Appendix 15 – Level of Development policy protection by the Core Strategy Appendix 16 – Anticipated capacity of appraised sites 3 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Woking Core Strategy was adopted in October 2012. It sets out the quantity of development to be provided between 2010 and 2027, their broad spatial distribution and the standards that the development is expected to achieve. In particular, it makes provision for the delivery of 4,964 net additional dwellings, 28,000 sq.m of office floorspace, 20,000 sq.m of warehouse floorspace and 93,900 sq.m of retail floorspace. The Core Strategy does not allocate specific sites to bring forward these proposals. It commits the Council to prepare a Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) for this purpose. The overall purpose of the Site Allocations DPD is to allocate specific deliverable sites to enable the delivery of the development proposals of the Core Strategy. It does not seek to review the requirements of the Core Strategy. The Core Strategy has its own built in mechanism for monitoring and reviewing its requirements. The monitoring of how the Core Strategy is performing against its objectives is reported in the Annual Monitoring Report (AMR). The latest AMR was published in December 2017 and is on the Council’s website (www.woking2027.info). In preparing the Site Allocations DPD, Woking Borough Council is required by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004) to carry out a Sustainable Appraisal (SA). 1.2 The SA has been carried out to encompass the provisions of the European Union Directive 2001/42/EC (SEA Directive), which requires an assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment. The main purpose of the European Directive is to provide adequate protection for the environment and to ensure the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation of plans and programmes. This requirement is relevant to Woking Borough because of the existence of a number of European environmentally designated sites within its boundaries such as the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Areas (SPA) and the Thursley, ash, Pirbright and Chobham Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The draft SA Report has a wider remit and assesses the environmental, economic and social implications of the Site Allocations DPD, and is published for public consultation alongside the draft DPD. Comments received will be taken into account before finalising the SA Report for Submission. 1.3 A Habitats Regulation Assessment of the draft Site Allocations DPD proposals with potential for impacts on natura 2000 and RAMSAR sites has also been carried out. This is a separate document, which complements this SA Report. The recommendations of the assessment have been taken into account in preparing the proposals of the Site Allocations DPD. 1.4 The Core Strategy which the Site Allocations DPD seeks to deliver was the subject of a comprehensive SA Report, which was considered at the Core Strategy Examination. The Inspector accepted that the SA of the Core Strategy has been prepared to meet the requirements of the European Directive and the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act. Overall, the SA Report of the Core Strategy concluded that the Core Strategy will make a positive contribution towards achieving sustainable development of the area. The SA Report of the Core Strategy is on the Council’s website (www.woking2027.info). 1.5 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) emphasise that SAs should be proportionate and should not repeat policy assessment that has already been undertaken. Where possible the local planning authority should consider how the preparation of any assessment will contribute to the plan’s evidence base. The SA of the Site Allocations DPD takes this 4 guidance into account where relevant. At the time of writing, the revised NPPF has just been published. The Council has assessed its implications for this particular SA exercise, and are of the view that none of the policies, either individually or cumulatively, will change the overall conclusions in the SA. All NPPF references refer to the 2012 version – it is not intended at this stage to change all of the references. Background to the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) 1.6 The Woking Local Development Documents (LDDs) are a collection of local planning policy documents to help guide land use decisions in the area. A range of documents will make up the LDDs, the main component of which is the Woking Core Strategy. The Core Strategy is a strategic level document which sets out the overall scale of growth envisaged up to 2027, their broad location to achieve sustainable development and the standard that the development should achieve. The Core Strategy does not allocate specific sites for development. It commits the Council to do so through the Site Allocations DPD. The Site Allocations DPD is therefore of significant importance to the delivery of the Core Strategy. 1.7 The Site Allocations DPD will identify and allocate sites for development. In particular, it will identify land for new housing, employment, green infrastructure and other land uses throughout the Borough up to 2027. In addition, it will safeguard land to meet long term development needs of the area between 2027 to 2040, including an appropriate defensible Green Belt boundary to ensure its enduring permanence. 1.8 The following diagram shows how Woking's LDDs relate to each other. WOKING LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WOKING CORE STRATEGY Sets out strategic vision, objectives and policies to 2027. Provides context for other plans and strategies. SITE ALLOCATIONS DPD DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT Identifies and allocates sites for POLICIES DPD development Detailed DM policies Purpose of Sustainability Appraisal 1.9 The purpose of the SA is to promote sustainable development through better integration of sustainability considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans, in this case the Site Allocations DPD. The SA assesses the social, economic and environmental implications of proposed proposals in the Site Allocations DPD in a consistent manner. The following box provides further general information on sustainability appraisal. 5 WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL? Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is a process through which the sustainability implications of a plan or programme, generally