Sustainability Appraisal (SA) for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report Harlow Council May 2018 SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report Quality information Prepared by Checked by Verified by Approved by Rosie Cox Alastair Peattie Steve Smith Steve Smith Assistant Consultant Principal Consultant Technical Director Technical Director Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorised Position 1 10 January 2018 Working Draft for internal review Alastair Peattie Principal Consultant 2 17 January 2018 Draft for client review Alastair Peattie Principal Consultant 3 13 March 2018 Final Draft Alastair Peattie Principal Consultant 4 09 May 2018 Final for consultation Alastair Peattie Principal Consultant Prepared for: Harlow Council AECOM SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report Prepared for: Harlow Council Prepared by: AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited 3rd Floor, Portwall Place Portwall Lane Bristol BS1 6NA United Kingdom T: +44 117 901 7000 aecom.com © 2018 AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“AECOM”) for sole use of our client (the “Client”) in accordance with generally accepted consultancy principles, the budget for fees and the terms of reference agreed between AECOM and the Client. Any information provided by third parties and referred to herein has not been checked or verified by AECOM, unless otherwise expressly stated in the document. No third party may rely upon this document without the prior and express written agreement of AECOM. Prepared for: Harlow Council AECOM SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Prepared for: Harlow Council AECOM SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 2. What is the plan seeking to achieve? ........................................................................ 2 3. What is the scope of the SA? .................................................................................... 5 Part 1: What has plan-making / SA involved up to this point? ........................................ 7 4. Introduction (to part 1) ............................................................................................... 8 5. Establishing the reasonable alternatives .................................................................. 10 6. Appraisal of the reasonable alternatives .................................................................. 25 7. Developing the preferred approach ......................................................................... 28 Part 2: What are SA findings at this current stage? ....................................................... 30 8. Introduction (to Part 2) ............................................................................................. 31 9. Appraisal of the Draft Plan ....................................................................................... 32 Part 3: What happens next? ............................................................................................. 63 10. Introduction (to Part 3) ............................................................................................. 64 Appendix I: Regulatory requirements .................................................................................. 67 Appendix II: Scoping information ......................................................................................... 71 Appendix III: SA of site options ............................................................................................ 82 Appendix IV: SA of reasonable alternatives ........................................................................ 117 Prepared for: Harlow Council AECOM SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Prepared for: Harlow Council AECOM SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report 1. Introduction 1.1 AECOM is commissioned to lead on Sustainability Appraisal (SA) in support of the emerging Harlow Local Development Plan. SA is a mechanism for considering and communicating the likely effects of an emerging plan, and alternatives, with a view to avoiding and mitigating adverse effects and maximising the positives. SA of Local Plans is a legal requirement.1 SA explained 1.2 It is a requirement that SA is undertaken in-line with the procedures prescribed by the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, which transposed into national law EU Directive 2001/42/EC on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).2 1.3 In-line with the Regulations, a report (known as the SA Report) must be published for consultation alongside the Draft Plan that essentially ‘identifies, describes and evaluates’ the likely significant effects of implementing ‘the plan, and reasonable alternatives’.3 The report must then be taken into account, alongside consultation responses, when finalising the plan. 1.4 More specifically, the SA Report must answer the following three questions: 1. What has Plan-making / SA involved up to this point? Including in relation to 'reasonable alternatives’. 2. What are the SA findings at this stage? i.e. in relation to the Draft Plan. 3. What happens next? What steps will be taken to finalise (and monitor) the plan? This SA Report4 1.5 This SA Report is published alongside the Draft Pre-Submission Local Development Plan, under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and, as such, each of the three SA questions is answered in turn below, with a ‘part’ of the report dedicated to each. 1.6 Before answering Question 1, two initial questions are answered in order to further ‘set the scene’: i) What is the plan trying to achieve?; and ii) What is the scope of the SA? 1 Since provision was made through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 it has been understood that local planning authorities must carry out a process of Sustainability Appraisal alongside plan-making. The centrality of SA to Local Plan-making is emphasised in the National Planning Policy Framework (2012). The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 require that an SA Report is published for consultation alongside the ‘Proposed Submission’ plan document. 2 The SA process incorporates the SEA process. Indeed, SA and SEA are one and the same process, differing only in terms of substantive focus. SA has an equal focus on all three ‘pillars’ of sustainable development (environment, social and economic). 3 Regulation 12(2) of the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 4 See Appendix I for further explanation of the regulatory basis for answering certain questions within the SA Report, and a ‘checklist’ explaining more precisely the regulatory basis for presenting certain information. Prepared for: Harlow Council AECOM 1 SA for the Harlow Local Development Plan SA Report 2. What is the plan seeking to achieve? Overview 2.1 Once adopted, the Harlow Local Development Plan will set out the framework to guide and shape development in Harlow to 2031, and will replace all of the saved policies of the Adopted Replacement Harlow Local Plan (2006). Plan vision and objectives Vision 2.2 By 2033, Harlow will have: regained its reputation as a place of aspiration, innovation and prosperity; secured its role as a key urban centre that has benefited from growth, regeneration and sustained investment in infrastructure, services and facilities; provided sufficient new homes to meet local needs, providing opportunities to those unable to purchase open market housing, through a significant increase in the provision of affordable homes; a reputation as a location for high tech industries, research and development, advanced manufacturing and information technology, and the disparity between the skills and qualifications of Harlow residents compared to visitors will be significantly reduced; excellent education facilities, which the varied, vibrant and aspiring communities will be taking advantage of; and become famous for its quality and quantity of public art, building on its status as a sculpture town. 2.3 Harlow’s residents will be more active, taking advantage of Harlow’s excellent sporting, leisure and cultural facilities. 2.4 The perception of Harlow as a declining economic centre will have been reversed through the success of the Enterprise Zone sites and securing the status of the district as a prime business location and retail destination. 2.5 The district’s economy will be diversified and there will be a wide range of employment opportunities across Harlow, fit for a modern and dynamic economy. 2.6 New development will have revitalised key areas. A programme of urban renewal will have replaced poorer housing stock with modern and sustainable buildings; this will have been complemented by a programme of selective development in locations across the district as part of a holistic programme of regeneration and redevelopment. 2.7 Major progress will have been made to address Harlow’s health and wealth inequalities as well as addressing localised deprivation across the district’s deprived neighbourhoods. 2.8 The amount of vacant and underused land in district will have been minimised. Urban expansion of Harlow will be complete and residents will see the benefits of the growth through better infrastructure