Quinn Estates Highsted Park, Land to the South and East of Sittingbourne, Kent Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report January 2021 Highsted Park, Land to the South and East of Sittingbourne, Kent Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report Revision Date Notes Author Checked Approved 2.0 20-01-21 E2165 Various Alison Banks Dr Nick Davey 2.1 07-02-21 E2165 Various Alison Banks Dr Nick Davey Entran Limited 7 Greenway Farm Bath Road Wick Bristol BS30 5RL T: 0117 937 4077 www.entranltd.co.uk ii CONTENTS PAGE 1 Introduction 1 2 Site Description 4 3 Proposed Development 6 4 ES Methodology 6 5 Key Issues to be Addressed by the EIA 10 6 Air Quality 11 7 Noise and Vibration 13 8 Landscape and Visual Impacts 16 9 Water Quality, Hydrology and Flood Risk 34 10 Archaeology and Heritage assets 36 12 Built Heritage 39 13 Ecology and Nature Conservation 45 14 Soils, Geology, Contaminated Land and Waste 50 15 Transportation 53 16 Socio-Economics, PopuLation and Human Health 55 17 Climate Change 57 18 Environmental Topics Scoped Out of the EIA 59 19 Conclusions 60 Appendix A - Proposed Visual Assessment Photograph Locations Appendix B - Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Methodology i 1 INTRODUCTION Background 1.1 Quinn Estates Kent Limited (hereafter known as ‘the Applicant’) is seeking to obtain planning permission for a mixed-use development, including new infrastructure to create new junctions onto the M2 and A2 joined by a new relief road, at land to the south and east of Sittingbourne. This forms the southern part of the wider Highsted Park Proposed Development for which a separate Environmental Statement Scoping request has been submitted. This also follows a previous Scoping Opinion for the wider Site in 2018 (ref. 17/506551/EIASCO), which has assisted in shaping the current proposals. 1.2 This report forms the Applicant’s written request to Swale Borough Council (‘SBC’), made under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, for its opinion on the likely scope of the Environmental Statement (‘ES’) which would accompany a planning application submission, where.as here, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required. SBC have previously identified that the Proposed Development constitutes EIA development in its Screening Opinion (17/506492/ENVSCR). 1.3 The following sections provide a description of the Site and Proposed Development, the proposed EIA methodology to be adopted by the Applicant and an overview of the key issues to be dealt with within the ES. 1 Figure 1.1: Site Location The Need for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 1.4 The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (the ‘EIA Regulations’) apply to the assessment of environmental effects likely to arise from certain types of development. The Proposed Development falls under Section 10(b) of Schedule 2 of the EIA Regulations for the following reasons: • The development includes more than 1 hectare of urban development which is not dwellinghouse development; • The development includes more than 150 dwellings; and • The overall area of development exceeds 5 hectares. The Purpose of Scoping in the EIA Process 1.5 This Scoping Report identifies the topics which the Applicant considers need to be addressed in the ES. It also sets out the methods to be used in order to determine the significant environmental effects which are likely to arise during both construction and operation of the Proposed Development. 2 1.6 In this way, the Scoping Report forms the basis for on-going consultation on the scope and content of the ES with statutory authorities and other relevant stakeholders. Its contents, having taken account of comments received during consultation, will be incorporated within the Environmental Statement (‘ES’). Consultation on Scoping Report 1.7 The formal Scoping Opinion by SBC will be informed by consultee feedback from statutory bodies, including SBC officers, other consultees, and statutory bodies including Natural England and the Environment Agency. 1.8 It is therefore assumed that this Scoping Report will be circulated by SBC to the relevant statutory and non-statutory consultees for comment and information. Structure of the Scoping Report 1.9 The remainder of this Scoping Report is structured as follows: • Section 2 describes the Site; • Section 3 describes the Proposed Development; • Section 4 describes the proposed ES Methodology; • Section 5 describes the key issues to be assessed; and • Section 6 onwards comprises technical assessments. 3 2 SITE DESCRIPTION 2.1 The Site covers an area of 568 Ha approximately centred at grid reference 591420, 161400. 2.2 The Site is situated immediately adjoining the built-up edge of Sittingbourne and housing areas served off Swanstree Avenue and Highsted Valley. It extends from the M2 motorway, to the south of Kent Science Park, up to the A2 London Road near Bapchild, which lies to the east of Sittingbourne. 2.3 To the north and north east of the Site and A2 / London Road is open farmland and areas of woodland / tree belts and Teyham village, Teynham Street and Conyer occupying low lying areas which extend northwards to The Swale and Isle of Sheppey. To the east of the Site are further areas of open farmland including arable and pasture fields, commercial fruit growing areas and orchards extending towards the town of Faversham, approximately 9 kilometres from the Site. The small villages of Lynsted (about 2.5 kilometres from the Site) and Norton (about 4.5 kilometres from the Site) lie between the Site and Faversham. 2.4 To the south east and south of the Site and M2 motorway is open farmland and wooded areas. To the south west is Ruins Barn Road and an area of open farmland / countryside and dispersed development extending towards the villages of Tunstall and Borden. To the north west and west lies the built-up area of Sittingbourne, with its town centre approximately 1.1 kilometres from the Site. 2.5 The Site forms an extensive area of undulating farmland and areas of woodland on the dip slope the North Downs and North Kent Plain with a subtle undulating landform to the north of the M2 motorway and more open undulating ridge and valley landform to the north falling to the coastal plain. The Site includes large-to-moderate scale arable and pasture fields, commercial fruit growing areas and orchards subdivided by hedgerows, fences, roads, lanes and farm tracks with small-scale pasture fields adjoining Highsted and Romersham Green, with a scattered settlement pattern of farmsteads, hamlets and isolated dwellings. 2.6 The boundary of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (‘AONB’) aligns with the southern edge of the M2 motorway and therefore a small part of the Site lies in the AONB. 2.7 The topography of the Site is undulating and focused on a steep sided dry valley that extends through the central southern parts of the Site in a north west to south east direction with a broad ridgeline / area of elevated ground extending northwards from Rodmersham Green to connect to the western edge of Sittingbourne. To the north and north west of the ridge, the land falls to low lying gently undulating land around Bapchild and the A2 / London Road boundary of the Site. To the north of the Site the land falls to low lying areas and the Teynham Levels and The Swale at below 5 metres AOD. 4 2.8 The lowest part of the Site is situated in the north-eastern parts, adjoining the A2 / London Road at about 12 metres AOD with the land rising to the southwards to an area of elevated ground around Rodmersham Green at about 60 to 70 metres AOD before the land falls to the Highsted Valley at between 30 to 60 metres AOD and rises to broad area of elevated ground surrounding the Kent Science Park at about 70 to 75 metres AOD. The highest part of the Site adjoins the M2 motorway and southern boundary of the Site along Bexon Lane at about 92 metres AOD whilst to the south of the Site, the landform is gently undulating between 90 to 190 metres AOD rising to the escarpment of the North Downs at above 190 to 195 metres AOD following an east to west alignment. 2.9 The Site would be accessed via a new motorway junction on the M2 (J5a) and a new strategic relief road to link from this junction to the A2. This would significantly improve the current access arrangements to Kent Science Park, one of Kent’s most significant employment generators, and assist with current air quality and traffic issues experienced by Sittingbourne and along the A2 corridor. 5 3 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 3.1 A planning application will be submitted for the following Proposed Development: • up to 8,000 residential dwellings; • up to 33.2 Ha of commercial floorspace/land; and retail, learning, non-residential institutions and community uses; and • the provision of open spaces, woodland and greenspace; and highways and infrastructure works, including new junctions to the M2 and the A2, and associated link/relief roads at land to the south and east of Sittingbourne. 4 ES METHODOLOGY General Methodology 4.1 The Environmental Statement (ES) will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Regulations. 4.2 Proven techniques, specialist methodologies and guidelines will be drawn on as necessary. Individual environmental topics have their own methods for survey and assessment which are briefly described in Section 5. 4.3 The following methodology will be generally applied: Identification and evaluation of baseline conditions 4.4 Baseline environmental conditions relevant to each environmental topic, defined as the existing environmental conditions, will be described in the ES through collation of existing environmental records and data, consultation with relevant parties, new surveys, and with reference to environmental legislation, planning guidance and relevant published guidelines.