Capability Submitted to Submitted by Client AECOM Scott House, Alençon Link Basingstoke Hampshire RG21 7PP United Kingdom Habitats Regulations Assessment of Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2015 - 2031 April 2015 AECOM HRA of Gloucestershire LTP Gloucestershire County i Council Prepared by: .................... Checked by: ......................... Amelia Kent Dr James Riley Ecologist Associate Director Approved by: ......... Dr James Riley Associate Director Rev No Comments Checked Approved Date by by 0 First issue 01/04/15 Scott House, Alençon Link, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 7PP, United Kingdom Telephone: 01256 310 200 Website: http://www.aecom.com April 2015 AECOM HRA of Gloucestershire LTP Gloucestershire County ii Council Limitations AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“AECOM”) has prepared this Report for the sole use of Gloucestershire County Council (“Client”) in accordance with the Agreement under which our services were performed. 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April 2015 AECOM HRA of Gloucestershire LTP Gloucestershire County iii Council Table of Contents Non-Technical Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2005 – 2031 (LTP) ............................................................................................ 1 1.3 Findings of the HRA Screening ....................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2015-2031 (LTP) ............................................................................................... 3 2.2 Introduction to Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) ................................................................................................ 3 3 HRA Methodology .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 3.1 Approach to the assessment ........................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1.1 A proportionate assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1.2 The process of HRA ................................................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Task One: Likely Significant Effect Test (Screening) ....................................................................................................... 7 3.3 Air quality and European sites ......................................................................................................................................... 8 3.3.1 Local air pollution ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 3.3.2 Diffuse air pollution ................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Noise/lighting and European sites ................................................................................................................................. 10 3.5 Human disturbance ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 4 HRA Screening ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 12 4.2 Screening of the eight policy areas of the LTP .............................................................................................................. 13 4.3 Screening of the seven Connecting Places Strategies (CPS) ....................................................................................... 18 4.4 Other Plans and Projects............................................................................................................................................... 42 4.5 HRA Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................................... 42 April 2015 AECOM HRA of Gloucestershire LTP Gloucestershire County iv Council List of Acronyms HRA Habitats Regulations Assessment LTP Local Transport Plan AA Appropirate Assessment SAC Special Area of Conservation SPA Special Protection Area cSAC Candidate Special Area of Conservation pSPA Proposed Special Protection Areas IROPI Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest EIA Environmental Impact Assessment LSE Likely Significant Effect CPS Connecting Places Strategies CVS Central Severn Vale FOD Forest of Dean NC North Cotswold SC South Cotswold SVS Stroud, Stroud Valleys and South of Stroud TK Tewkesbury April 2015 AECOM HRA of Gloucestershire LTP Gloucestershire County 1 Council Non-Technical Summary 1.1 Introduction This is the Final Report of the Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) of Gloucestershire County Council’s Local Transport Plan 2015 – 2031 (LTP). The Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA) Screening has sought to identify any potential effects of the LTP on some of Gloucestershire’s most valuable natural areas; namely areas designated as ‘Natura 2000’ sites, protected under European legislation. 1.2 Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 2005 – 2031 (LTP) This is the first formal review of Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3) since its adoption in 2011. Through this review the County Council outlines a shift in its emphasis for transport towards one that enables conditions for economic growth by improving the quality of place. Gloucestershire’s new vision for transport encapsulated the importance of journey time reliability, the promotion of different travel choices, and enabling economic and housing growth. The overall vision for Gloucestershire’s transport is for: ‘A reliable transport network providing door to door travel choices’ With this vision in mind the LTP objectives are to: • Secure conditions for sustainable economic growth in Gloucestershire; • Enable communities to benefit from economic prosperity; • Conserve and enhance Gloucestershire’s unique natural, built and historic environment, and; • Create healthy, safe and engaged communities. Seven ‘Connecting Places Strategies’ which characterise the distinctive transport issues affecting Gloucestershire and eight policies have been developed to identify the challenges to, and the outcomes