Braintree District Publication Draft Local Plan Section 2 - Sustainability Appraisal Report Prepared by LUC June 2017 Project Title: Sustainability Appraisal for Braintree District Publication Draft Local Plan Client: Braintree District Council Version Date Version Details Prepared by Checked by Approved by 0.1 20/03/2017 Internal Draft Jeremy Owen Jeremy Owen Jeremy Owen Jonathan Jonathan Pearson Pearson Sarah Smith Sarah Smith Sarah Temple Ciara McGuiness Shontelle Williams 1 19/05/2017 Draft for Council Meeting Jonathan Jeremy Owen Jeremy Owen Pearson Jonathan Sarah Smith Pearson Sarah Temple Sarah Smith 2 16/6/2017 Final for consultation Jonathan Jonathan Jeremy Owen Pearson Pearson Sarah Smith Natalie Collins Sarah Temple 3 26/6/2017 Updated for consultation Jonathan Jonathan Jeremy Owen Pearson Pearson Sarah Smith Natalie Collins Sarah Temple Sarah Wilson Last saved: 26/06/2017 17:10 Braintree District Publication Draft Local Plan Section 2 - Sustainability Appraisal Report Prepared by LUC June 2017 Planning & EIA LUC LONDON Offices also in: Land Use Consultants Ltd Design 43 Chalton Street Bristol Registered in England Registered number: 2549296 Landscape Planning London Glasgow Registered Office: Landscape Management NW1 1JD Edinburgh 43 Chalton Street Ecology T +44 (0)20 7383 5784 London NW1 1JD Mapping & Visualisation [email protected] FS 5660056 EMS 566057 LUC uses 100% recycled paper Contents 1 Introduction 6 The Local Plan area 6 The Braintree District Publication Draft Local Plan 6 Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment 8 Structure of this report 12 2 Methodology 14 Stages of SA 14 Overarching approach to the assessment 25 Approach to the SA of site allocations 26 Difficulties encountered 33 3 Sustainability context for development in Braintree District 34 Review of plans, policies and programmes 34 Baseline information 35 Key sustainability issues and their likely evolution without the Draft Local Plan 36 4 SA findings for the Publication Draft Local Plan Vision and Objectives 43 5 SA findings for the ‘Spatial Strategy’ 47 6 SA findings for the ‘Prosperous District’ policies and reasonable alternatives 59 A Strong Economy 60 Shops and Services 81 Homes 97 Transport & Infrastructure 160 7 SA findings for the ‘Creating Better Places’ policies and reasonable alternatives 173 A healthy and active district 177 Creating high quality spaces 183 Conservation areas 185 Heritage assets 193 Demolition of listed buildings or structures 195 Enabling development 197 Sites of archaeological importance 199 Community facilities 201 8 SA findings for the ‘District’s Natural Environment’ policies and reasonable alternatives 207 Biodiversity, landscape character and agriculture 208 Land, water and air quality 220 Climate change and air quality 222 Flood risk and surface water drainage 230 External lighting 236 9 Delivery and Implementation 238 Implementation and Monitoring 238 10 Summary of SA findings for the site allocations and reasonable alternatives 240 SA findings for the Draft Local Plan site options 240 SA findings for the preferred site allocations 250 SA findings for additional site options 258 Summary of SA findings for the Publication Draft Local Plan site allocations 264 11 Cumulative effects of the Publication Draft Local Plan 273 Introduction 273 Cumulative effects assessment 281 12 Monitoring 291 Monitoring 291 13 Next steps 296 Next steps 296 1 Introduction 1.1 The Braintree Local Plan is set out over two separate documents, ‘Section 1’ at a more strategic regional level and ‘Section 2’ which relates to Braintree District only. Both documents together are considered to be the Braintree District Local Plan. This Sustainability Appraisal Report has been prepared by LUC as part of the integrated Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Section 2 of the emerging Braintree Local Plan. 1.2 This report relates to the Publication Draft Local Plan being prepared for Regulation 191 consultation and it should be read in conjunction with that document. The Local Plan area 1.3 Braintree District is a rural district in the north of Essex and is the second largest district by area in the County. Just over half of the residents live in the three main towns of Braintree, Witham and Halstead. The remainder live in the attractive rural areas of the District, where there are about 60 villages, including six larger villages. The District lies between the regional growth centres of Chelmsford, Colchester and Cambridge, and is close to Stansted Airport, the M11 and the Haven Ports. Additionally, the District is located about 45 minutes from London by rail. 1.4 Braintree is the main market town in the District and provides employment, town centre retailing and community services. In addition, on the edge of the town, the Freeport Factory Outlet Centre and adjacent retail park provide retail and leisure facilities, which serve an area that extends outside of the District. 1.5 Witham and Halstead are smaller market towns, which provide employment, retail, and community services. All three of the settlements contain town centres, with some areas in need of regeneration. There are also two large areas in need of regeneration at former factory sites in Silver End (between Braintree and Witham) and Sible Hedingham (north west of Halstead). Witham is situated on the main London to Norwich railway line, as are the adjoining villages of Hatfield Peverel and Kelvedon, and there are significant levels of commuting from these stations, particularly to London and Chelmsford. The towns of Haverhill and Sudbury adjoin the District and provide services for residents in the northern, more isolated, rural areas of the District. The Braintree District Publication Draft Local Plan The Environment Report should include: ‘an outline of the contents and main objectives of the plan or programme and of its relationship with other relevant plans and programmes’ (SEA Regulations Schedule 2(1)) 1.6 The Braintree District Core Strategy was adopted in 2011. A Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) was produced in the first half of 2014 to update the Council’s evidence on housing need. The SHMA indicates that between 761 and 883 new dwellings are required per year in the District to 2026; this is substantially more than the annual provision in the Core Strategy (based on the old East of England Regional Strategy target) of 273 dwellings per year. In light of this new housing evidence and the new national policy requirements in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the Council resolved in June 2014 not to proceed with its draft 1 Of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 Braintree District Publication Draft Local Plan Section 2 - 6 June 2017 Sustainability Appraisal Report Site Allocations and Development Management Plan, for which Publication consultation had been completed, and instead commence work on a new Local Plan. 1.1 The Braintree District Local Plan will include all major planning policy for the District in a single document and will need to meet the requirements of the NPPF, key aspects of which are set out in Chapter 3 of this SA Report. Once complete, it will replace both the Core Strategy (adopted 2011) and the Local Plan Review saved policies (adopted 2005). The main objectives of Section 2 of the Local Plan relate to the following: • creating a successful economy; • retail and town centres; • housing need; • transport infrastructure; • broadband; • education and skills; • protection of the environment; • good quality design; • healthy communities; • social infrastructure; • sustainability; and • empowering local people. 1.2 Responsibilities for minerals and waste development plans will remain at the County level and the Braintree District Local Plan will therefore need to take account of the Essex Minerals Local Plan (adopted 2014) and the saved policies of the Essex Waste Local Plan (adopted 2001) until the emerging Replacement Waste Local Plan is adopted (expected Autumn 2017). Local communities may choose to produce a neighbourhood plan for their area in order to set out a vision and planning policies for the use and development of land in a neighbourhood. Any such plans will need to be in conformity with the strategic policies in the Braintree District Local Plan. 1.3 The work completed on the Site Allocations and Development Management Plan and the comments which were received during consultation on the Publication draft of that document will be rolled forward into the new Local Plan. It is therefore not the intention of the Council to review in detail all the decisions relating to minor site allocations and settlement boundary changes which have been agreed by the Local Development Framework (LDF) Sub Committee and Council over the last two years. The Council also adopted an Interim Planning Policy Statement in September 2014 which states, ‘The Council accordingly adopts the land allocations and development management policies detailed within the ADMP for use within development management decision-making. The Council is of the view that these robust and clear statements should be given appropriate weight in all matters under consideration and that these are material considerations for the Council’. 1.4 The Local Plan will set out the Council's strategy for future development and growth in the District up to 2033 and will include strategic policies, development management policies and site allocations. Having completed a SHMA, the Council carried out a study to calculate its Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN) which indicates a need for 845 net new homes per annum during 2013-2037 and a suggested housing target in the range 793-845 net new homes per annum. The Council also carried out a Call for Sites during August-October 2014 to identify potential sites for development. 1.5 As the Council has to plan for a larger number of new homes in the District than were provided for in the Core Strategy, it will need to look at larger and/or more numerous development sites.