Milton Keynes Local Transport Plan 4: Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report (updated following consultation) Milton Keynes Council October 2019 SEA for the Milton Keynes Transport Environmental Report Infrastructure Delivery Plan Quality information Prepared by Checked by Approved by Ryan Putt Nick Chisholm-Batten Steve Smith Environmental Associate Director Technical Director Consultant Nick Chisholm-Batten Associate Director Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position V2.0 31st May 2019 Consultation 31st May 2019 Nick Chisholm- Associate version Batten Director V3.0 15th October Updated version 15th October Nick Chisholm- Associate 2019 following 2019 Batten Director consultation Prepared for: Milton Keynes Council Prepared by: AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited Portwall Place Portwall Lane Bristol, BS1 6NA United Kingdom T: 0117 901 7000 aecom.com © 2019 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: Milton Keynes Council AECOM SEA for the Milton Keynes Transport Environmental Report Infrastructure Delivery Plan Table of Contents Non-Technical Summary ......................................................................................................... 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Priorities and objectives for the Transport Infrastructure Delivery plan ..................................................................... 3 SEA explained .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 This Environmental Report ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 2. What is the scope of the SEA? ................................................................................ 6 SEA Scoping Report ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Key issues for the SEA and SEA Framework ............................................................................................................................ 8 3. Assessment of reasonable alternatives for the TIDP ................................. 13 Reasonable alternatives in SEA ................................................................................................................................................... 13 Development of schemes for delivering through the TIDP ........................................................................................... 13 Schemes considered for the TIDP ............................................................................................................................................. 13 4. Assessment of the current version of the TIDP ............................................ 15 Background ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Current version of the TIDP ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 Assessment methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Limitations of assessment ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Scheme assessment findings ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 5. What are the next steps? ....................................................................................... 46 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 46 Plan finalisation ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix A Policy and plan review and baseline information .............................. 47 Appendix B Scheme assessment tables ..................................................................... 77 Prepared for: Milton Keynes Council AECOM SEA for the Milton Keynes Transport Environmental Report Infrastructure Delivery Plan NOTE: This Environmental Report was initially released for consultation alongside the Draft Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan between June and August 2019. This version is an updated version of the Environmental Report to reflect consultation responses received during the consultation.1 1 These updates address comments number 78 and 79 as set out in section 3.4 of the Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan (TIDP) Consultation Response Report (Milton Keynes Council, October 2019) Prepared for: Milton Keynes Council AECOM SEA for the Milton Keynes Environmental Report Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan Non-Technical Summary What is Strategic Environmental Assessment? A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been carried out to inform the development of the Milton Keynes Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan (TIDP). Local Transport Authorities such as Milton Keynes Council use SEA to assess Local Transport Plans such as the TIDP against a set of environmental objectives developed in consultation with interested parties. The purpose of the assessment is to avoid adverse environmental and socio-economic effects, and identify opportunities to improve the environmental quality of Milton Keynes and the quality of life of residents through the TIDP. What is the Milton Keynes Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan? Under the Transport Act 2000, as amended by the Local Transport Act 2008, local authorities in England are required to produce a Local Transport Plan (LTP). The 2008 Act requires that LTPs contain policies and implementation plans. In this context, the Milton Keynes Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4) will replace the Local Transport Plan 3 which was adopted in 2011. The umbrella document for the LTP4 is the Mobility Strategy for Milton Keynes 2018-2036 (LTP4) Mobility for All. Adopted in 2018, the LTP4 Mobility Strategy set out the framework for Milton Keynes’ transport system, along with a series of interventions needed to achieve the growth ambitions of the borough. This SEA Environmental Report accompanies the LTP4’s Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan (TIDP) for consultation. The TIDP, which builds on the Mobility Strategy, highlights the key transport challenges and opportunities in Milton Keynes along with the transport infrastructure that needs to be delivered within the short and medium term. This is with a view to enabling growth to come forward sustainably whilst supporting the existing local communities. Purpose and content of this Environmental Report This Environmental Report, which accompanies the public consultation version of the TIDP, is the second document to be produced as part of the SEA process. The first document was the SEA Scoping Report2, which includes information about Milton Keynes’ environment and communities and the ‘framework’ against which the TIDP has been assessed. The purpose of this Environmental Report is to: Identify, describe and evaluate the likely environmental effects of the TIDP and alternatives; and Provide an opportunity for statutory consultees, interested parties and the public to offer views on the SEA process carried out to date. The Environmental Report contains: An outline of the contents and main objectives of the TIDP and its relationship with other relevant policies, plans and programmes; Relevant aspects of the current state of the environment and key environmental issues; The SEA Framework of objectives and assessment questions against which the TIDP has been assessed; 2 AECOM (February 2019) Milton Keynes LTP4 SEA Scoping Report Prepared for: Milton Keynes Council AECOM NTS1 SEA for the Milton Keynes Environmental Report Transport Infrastructure Delivery Plan An assessment of alternative approaches for the TIDP; The likely environmental effects of the TIDP; The measures envisaged to prevent, reduce and as fully as possible offset any significant adverse effects as a result of the TIDP; and The next steps for the TIDP and accompanying SEA process. Assessment of alternative approaches for the TIDP A key requirement of the SEA Regulations is to assess