THE REGIONAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY FOR THE NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND Strategic Environmental Assessment Environment Report July 2020 Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Purpose and Objectives ................................................................................................. 5 1.3 How to Comment on this Environmental Report............................................................ 5 1.4 Structure of this Report .................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Statutory Requirements ................................................................................................. 6 2 Overview of the Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy ....................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 The Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy (RTS)......................................................... 9 2.3 Form and content of the Draft RTS .............................................................................. 11 2.4 Relationship with Aberdeen City Region Deal Strategic Transport Appraisal (STA) .. 16 3 Environmental and Policy Context ........................................................................................ 20 3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Relevant Environmental Information ............................................................................ 20 3.3 Review of Plans, Programmes and Strategies ............................................................ 26 3.4 Predicted Evolution of the Baseline in the Absence of the RTS .................................. 30 4 The SEA Process..................................................................................................................... 33 4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................... 33 4.2 SEA Purpose and Objectives ....................................................................................... 33 4.3 Addressing Statutory Requirements ............................................................................ 33 4.4 Approach to SEA .......................................................................................................... 34 4.5 Previous SEA Reporting .............................................................................................. 34 4.6 SEA Framework ........................................................................................................... 35 4.7 Identification of Reasonable Alternatives ..................................................................... 40 5 How has the SEA informed the Draft RTS? .......................................................................... 41 5.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 41 5.2 Pre-Assessment Phase Work ...................................................................................... 41 6 SEA of the Draft Nestrans 2040 RTS ..................................................................................... 45 6.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 45 6.2 SEA of Draft Nestrans 2040 Strategic Framework: Vision & Key Priorities ................ 45 6.3 SEA of Draft Nestrans 2040 Strategy .......................................................................... 45 7 Further SEA Mitigation, Enhancement and Monitoring ...................................................... 51 7.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 51 7.2 SEA Further Mitigation and Enhancement Recommendations ................................... 52 7.3 Further Environmental Considerations ........................................................................ 55 7.4 Monitoring..................................................................................................................... 59 7.5 Next Steps .................................................................................................................... 59 Tables Table 2.1: Nestrans 2040 RTS Key Facts ............................................................................................. 10 Table 3.1: Key Environmental Issues Relevant to this SEA .................................................................. 21 Table 3.2 Evolution of the Baseline Scenario in the Absence of the Emerging RTS ............................ 30 Table 4.1: Requirements of the 2005 Act and how they are met in this ER .......................................... 33 Table 4.2: Nestrans 2040 RTS SEA Framework ................................................................................... 36 Table 4.3: SEA Scoring System ............................................................................................................. 39 Table 7.1: SEA Further Mitigation and Enhancement Recommendations ............................................ 53 Appendices Appendix 1: Baseline and Policy Reviews Appendix 2: SEA Scoping Consultation Responses Appendix 3: Alternative Strategies for RTS Development Appendix 4: Detailed SEA of Draft RTS Appendix 5: Environmental Constraints Plans Introduction Background 1.1.1 Nestrans is the Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) for the areas of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, with a statutory duty to produce and deliver a long-term Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) covering both local authority areas. Building upon the Nestrans RTS Refresh (2013), a new RTS is being prepared to set out an updated vision, priorities and direction for transport in the region for the next 20 years. 1.1.2 This Environmental Report (ER) has been prepared to accompany the Draft Nestrans 2040 RTS (hereafter ‘the Draft RTS’) for public consultation. In accordance with statutory requirements, the ER documents the findings of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) carried out in respect of the Draft RTS. SEA is being carried out as a plan-making tool to help shape the emerging new RTS throughout its development rather than only for retrospective reporting. Purpose and Objectives 1.1.3 SEA is a systematic method for considering the likely environmental effects of certain plans, programmes or strategies (PPS) on the environment. SEA aims to integrate environmental factors into PPS decision-making; improve PPS and enhance environmental protections; increase public participation in decision-making; and facilitate openness and transparency of decision making. 1.1.4 The purpose of this report is to report the findings of a SEA of the Draft RTS, which has been prepared by Nestrans. In doing so, this ER responds to statutory SEA requirements, considers the evolution of the emerging Draft RTS to date and presents an assessment of likely significant environmental effects from the Draft RTS. 1.1.5 The main objectives of this report are to fulfil statutory SEA reporting requirements, to identify likely significant environmental effects from the Draft RTS and to identify mitigation or enhancement measures which have been or could be incorporated into the Draft RTS prior to the formal adoption of the finalised RTS. How to Comment on this Environmental Report 1.1.6 This ER and the associated Non-Technical Summary are being issued for consultation alongside the Draft RTS and other supporting documents such as Equalities Impact Assessment, Health Inequalities Impact Assessment and Fairer Scotland Duty. All these documents will be consulted on in Summer/Autumn 2020 for a period of ten weeks. Details of how to participate in the consultation will be provided on the dedicated Nestrans 2040 website (www.nestrans2040.org.uk) and published in a local newspaper prior to the consultation period commencing early August 2020. Structure of this Report 1.1.7 This report is structured as follows: 5 The remainder of this introductory section identifies relevant statutory requirements for undertaking SEA; Section 2 explains the background to the development of the Nestrans 2040 RTS and provides a summary of its proposed content; Section 3 outlines key environmental information which has informed this SEA. The section is supported by detailed baseline analysis and a review of relevant plans, programmes and strategies provided in Appendix 1; Section 4 provides an overview of the SEA process undertaken to date and describes how the SEA has been carried out for the Draft RTS; Section 5 explains how the SEA process has informed the preparation of the Draft RTS and improved its environmental performance; Section 6 presents the key findings of the SEA undertaken for each substantive component of the Draft RTS. Detailed results from the SEA are also provided in Appendix 4; Section 7 identifies further mitigation and enhancement measures to enhance the clarity and environmental performance of the Draft RTS; and, Section 8 sets out the next steps in the SEA process and outlines potential monitoring arrangements. 1.1.8 These sections of