Executive Summary
1. Introduction
This document forms a scoping report for a Sustainability
Appraisal (SA) incorporating the requirements for a Strategic
Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Bath Western Riverside
Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The scoping report is a
consultation document for the four statutory consultees with
environmental responsibilities in England, along with other
relevant stakeholders with a sustainability remit or a local
interest. This document includes technical terminology and
abbreviations which are explained in Appendix C.
1.1 The purpose of the SA/SEA
The purpose of the SA (incorporating a SEA) is to ensure that
environmental, social and economic considerations have been
integrated into the preparation of the Bath Western Riverside
SPD.
The SA will:
* Ensure
compliance with the SEA Directive, SEA Regulations and guidance on
SEA and SA;
* Review the
SPDs relationship with other sectoral plan’s, and plans operating
at a national, regional and more local level with regard to their
policies and programmes;
* Establish the
baseline environmental, social and economic characteristics of the
area;
* Identify any
current environmental constraints, issues and problems;
* Help develop
viable options and alternatives; and
* Review the
sustainability impacts of the options, and of the preferred SPD
option.
1.2 Objectives of the Bath Western Riverside SPD
Bath and North East Somerset Council have identified an area of
Bath known as Bath Western Riverside (BWR) for urban regeneration.
The purposes of the SPD is to provide strategic planning guidance
for the development of this site. It is envisaged that the draft
SPD will be released for consultation in July, 2005.
The Council’s adopted Vision through the existing Supplementary
Planning Guidance (SPG) is
“To create a vital and viable place which reconnects the urban
fabric of Bath in a seamless way to offer a high quality mixed use
environment that functions as a working and living quarter of the
City, and reinforces its World Heritage status”.
1.3 Methodology
The SEA/SA process consists of the following stages and is being
undertaken in accordance with government guidance issued in 2004 as
amended and clarified by the further interim guidance in 20053. The
methodology is as follows:
Stage A: Setting the context and objectives, establishing the
baseline and deciding on the scope
Stage B: Developing and refining options
Stage C: Appraising the effects of the plan
Stage D: Consulting on the plan and the SEA/SA report
Stage E: Monitoring Implementation of the Plan
For the purposes of this scoping report, Stage A of the
methodology has been undertaken which is further divided into six
key tasks. Task A5 will be undertaken as part of the forthcoming
sustainability workshop, however the remaining five tasks are
discussed this report. Task A6 will be undertaken when this report
is made available to the statutory consultees and other relevant
stakeholders.
Stage A Key tasks
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STAGE A: Setting the context and objectives, establishing the
baseline and deciding on the scope
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Stage A1: Identifying other relevant plans, programmes, and
sustainability objectives
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Stage A2: Develop relevant baseline information and define the
character of the area
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Stage A3: Identifying key Sustainability Issues
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Stage A4: Developing the SA framework including objectives,
indicators and targets
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Stage A5: Testing the plan objectives against the SA
framework
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Stage A6: Consulting on the scope of the S
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1.4 Scope of the SA/SEA
It is envisaged that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
will be undertaken on the masterplan. This SEA/SA assessment is
therefore being undertaken at a more strategic level (identifying
potential development options) and it may be more appropriate for
some sustainability / environmental issues to be considered in the
EIA.
Baseline data and the development of the SEA/SA framework has
been organised in accordance with the topics required by the SEA
Directive and the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes
Regulations 2004.
The scope of the baseline review has been refined to cover a
broader spectrum of sustainability issues which are a reflection of
the combined SEA/SA assessment and reflects government guidance on
the preparation of sustainability assessments for SPD’s.
2. Setting the context and objectives, establishing
the baseline and deciding on the scope
2.1 Task A1: Identifying other relevant plans, programmes and
sustainability objectives
The development of the SPD may be influenced by other plans or
programmes and by external environmental objectives such as those
laid down in policies or legislation. Therefore as part of this
baseline review a description of the policy context has been
included in order to enable potential synergies to be highlighted
and any inconsistencies and constraints to be identified. Copies of
the document review are contained within Appendix A.(Section 2 of
the main report)
2.1 Task A2: Develop relevant baseline information and define
the character of the area
Baseline data has been collected for the criteria required by
the SEA Directive and the UK SEA Regulations. The criteria are:
landscape and townscape; biodiversity, flora and fauna; air
quality; archaeology and cultural heritage; soils and geology;
water; population; human health; material assets; and climatic
factors. This data has been fed into the sustainability baseline.
This scope of this data collection has been expanded to include
several additional social and economic topic areas in order to
address the full spectrum of sustainability issues. (Section 2 of
the main report)
2.3 Task A3: Identifying key sustainability issues
Within the city of Bath and BWR, certain sustainability issues
are more significant than others, e.g. high house prices could be a
particular socio-economic constraint. These issues will need to be
highlighted as areas of concern within the sustainability
appraisal. These key sustainability issues were highlighted through
the following means:
* Review of
relevant regional and local plans and programmes
* Analysing
baseline data and trends
The key sustainability issues have been divided into social,
environmental and Economic. (Section 3 of the main report)
2.4 Task A4: Development the SA framework
A sustainability framework to test the performance of the
options and the SPD has been developed. This framework is also
helping to compare the strategic level plan objectives relating to
the scale of growth, the general mix of uses and their general
spatial location. It is also helping to develop the more detailed
plan objectives which will be prepared for the preferred
option.
The starting point for identifying a set of draft objectives
specific to the Bath region were those objectives considered in the
Sustainability Appraisal of the South West Regional Spatial
Strategy. These were then compared to other regional and local
documents. The objectives may be refined further based on
consultations with key stakeholders, either as a formal
consultation response or as a result of information obtained during
the workshop. (Section 4 of the main report)
The draft Sustainability Objectives for the SEA/SA
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Environment
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Minimise consumption of natural resources including
minerals |
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Promote efficient and renewable energy sources such as combined
heat and power and photovoltaic cells, whilst reducing the adverse
environmental impacts of all forms of energy production such as
greenhouse gas emissions. |
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Reduce risk to the community, business and the environment from
climate change (including flooding, sea level rise, changes in
temperature and precipitation) |
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Protect and enhance built heritage and conserve archaeological
sites
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Protect sites designated for their conservation, heritage and
landscape value
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Protect, maintain and enhance wildlife corridors, biodiversity,
habitats and species through consultation with BAP
partners |
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Raise understanding and awareness of biodiversity
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Protect and enhance the urban and rural landscape and promote
the efficient use of land.
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Promote more sustainable transport and reduce the need to travel
by private car, by improving access to and choices between modes of
transport such as public transport, cycling and
walking |
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Encourage a switch from transporting freight by road to rail or
water
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Promote fuel efficient transport systems accessible to all
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Improve air quality by reducing emissions to air
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Maintain or reduce noise levels and minimise light pollution
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Encourage water efficiency, recycling of water and the use of
sustainable
urban drainage systems |
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Protect and maintain soil stability and soil groundwater and
surface water quality.
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Promote the reclamation / remediation and redevelopment of
brownfield land and re-use buildings where
appropriate. |
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Promote sustainable design
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Minimise waste production and manage in accordance with the
waste
hierarchy |
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Promote high quality local food and drink (green purchasing
policy?)
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Reconnect farmers and food producers with local communities
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Maintain and increase total areas of open space and improve
access to and quality of open space and rights of
way. |
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Social
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Reduce health inequalities and improve the well-being of the
city’s
population |
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Promote healthy lifestyles by providing recreational
facilities
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Provide access to services and facilities that meets peoples’
needs,
capitalising on ICT |
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Reduce risk of anti-social behaviour through consultation with
the Police
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To offer everyone whether they are owner occupiers, first time
buyers, social tenants, key workers or people who rent privately
the opportunity of a decent home at a price they can
afford. |
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Promote vibrant, cohesive and safe communities with sense a of
place and
identity, where local needs are met locally |
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Encourage increased access to and participation in cultural
activities in the
city |
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Improve education opportunities and ensure there are sufficient
school places to meet local need |
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Enhance equality of all sections of society
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Economic
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Develop the local economy in ways that meet local peoples’ needs
and skills base and provides employment
opportunities. |
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Reduce poverty, unemployment, income inequality and low pay
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Provide access to learning, training, skills and knowledge for
all sections of
society |
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Increase the circulation of wealth within the region
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Ensure the necessary infrastructure to support a more
sustainable and diverse economy and encourage business
growth. |
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Develop greater integration with key economic sectors
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Promote sustainable tourism which conserves and enhances the
environment, has the support of local communities and encourages
visitors throughout the year. |
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Maintain and/ or enhance the attractiveness, vitality and
economic viability of
town centres |
2.5 Task A5 Testing the SPD objectives against the SA
framework
In line with the interim advice note produced by the ODPM in
April, 2005, this part of the process will be undertaken during
stage B following on from consultation on the scoping report.
2.6 Task A6 consultation on the scope of the SA
The scoping report will be issued to the statutory consultees
and other relevant stakeholders along with a covering letter
clarifying their input and requirements within the statutory
five-week period.
The consultation will seek to:
* Seek guidance
as to whether the SEA is required for the SPD (As per interim ODPM
guidance)
* Ensure that
the SA is comprehensive and robust enough to feed into the SPD and
support this document during the later stages of full public
consultation and examination;
* Advice on the
appropriateness of the of the sustainability objectives
* Advise on the
appropriateness of the key sustainability issues
* Advise on the
comprehensiveness of the baseline data.
It is proposed that a workshop is held with the Statutory
Consultees and other relevant stakeholders to discuss the issues
raised in the scooping report during the statutory five week
period.
