METHODOLOGY FOR A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPRAISAL
OF THE BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET LOCAL PLAN

1.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE PLANNING SYSTEM

1.1 National Policy Context

1.2 The Government’s vision of sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, both now and for generations to come. Its sustainable development strategy ‘A Better Quality of Life: A Strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK’ (May 1999) sets out a number of key indicators intended to help measure progress in achieving sustainable development and inform policy decisions. The broad objectives underlying the strategy are:

• maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment;
• social progress which recognises the needs of everyone;
• effective protection of the environment; and
• prudent use of natural resources.

1.3 PPG12 (December 1999) stresses that the planning system and, in particular, development plans can make a major contribution to the achievement of the Government’s objectives for sustainable development. The Development Plan Regulations require local authorities to have regard to environmental, social and economic considerations in the preparation of Structure Plans and Local Plans. Policies in the development plan need to implement the land-use planning aspects of sustainable development and must be capable of being addressed through the land use planning system.

1.4 B&NES Context

1.5 B&NES has adopted a Sustainable Development Policy which establishes certain goals for achieving sustainable development within the District. These include the need to ensure that: access to facilities, services and goods is not achieved at the expense of the environment; resources are used efficiently and waste avoided; nature is valued and protected; local needs are met locally; culture leisure and recreation are readily available to all; and local distinctiveness is valued and protected.

1.6 Sustainable development is also incorporated into the B&NES Statement of Vision and Values. This states that the authority will "Work towards a better quality of life for present and future generations" by promoting long term social, cultural, economic and environmental health and vitality.

1.7 The Bath and North East Somerset Local Plan will play a key role in implementing those aspects of sustainable development which relate to land use. It will influence patterns of development within the District by providing land for housing, employment and recreational needs; it will also seek to protect and enhance environmental assets and local character; and it will influence transport and access to facilities.

1.8 One of the ways that the Local Plan can be assisted in implementing the land use planning aspects of sustainable development is by carrying out an appraisal of policies throughout the Plan’s preparation.

2.0 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPRAISAL

2.1 Although it is not a statutory requirement, local authorities are now expected to undertake a full environmental appraisal of all policies and proposals in their development plans. PPG12 states:

‘The appraisal process should be an important element of every stage of the development plan process. …. At key stages in development plan preparation (e.g. prior to the deposit of the plan, and at deposit / revised deposit) the appraisal of the plan should be subject to consultation, with the responses to consultation then used to inform the next stage of plan preparation.’

2.2 The objectives for sustainable development established by the Government and B&NES recognise that the concept encompasses more than just environmental concerns and should address social and economic issues as well. Therefore the appraisal needs to incorporate these.

2.3 In formulating the appraisal methodology, the Council has taken account of guidance both in ‘Environmental Appraisal of Development Plans: A Good Practice Guide (DoE, 1993) which sets out the framework for the appraisal process and ‘Planning for Sustainable Development: Towards Better Practice’ (DETR, 1998) which provides more advice on social and economic matters.

2.4 The Guidance clearly states that the appraisal process must be:

• simple in its concept, its relationship with established planning practice and the planning process, and in its handling of information;
• transparent in its methodology and techniques, so that all involved can understand how and why policy options have been chosen;
• systematic, so that it ensures that all aspects of the environment are considered;
• accommodating, so that it is capable of entry at every level, depending on the history of plan making in the area, and the skills, knowledge and resources available;
• flexible, so that it is capable of informing decision making within whatever overall policy framework exists in, or is set by, the Council;
• progressive, in that it can embrace additional and changing information and predictive techniques in an incremental way;
• consistent, so that plans incorporating appraisal can link between tiered authorities, across plan making boundaries, and can interact usefully with the work of other agencies involved with environmental matters.

3.0 APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY

3.1 The Appraisal is an integral part of the Local Plan preparation process. It is iterative and will inform ongoing policy formulation and direction whilst also allowing for alternatives to be evaluated.

3.2 The methodology for appraising the Local Plan needs to:

• establish the main stages during the Plan process at which strategies/policies should be appraised;
• establish and define sustainable development criteria;
• establish a mechanism for appraising the strategies/policies.

3.3 When to do the Appraisal

3.4 As part of the Local Plan preparation process, all strategies, policies and proposals are formulated in the light of the overall Local Plan guiding principles which, like the Appraisal, are based on sustainable development objectives. This is a continual and informal process.

3.5 The purpose of the Sustainable Development Appraisal, on the other hand, is to appraise each of the Plan’s strategies, policies and proposals against a set of agreed sustainable development criteria at particular and clearly identifiable stages of the Plan process. The Appraisal is a more formal process and intentionally separate from the ongoing informal process described above. Figure 1 illustrates this.

3.6 It is intended that Appraisals will be undertaken at the following stages, when:

• the issues / strategies have been identified;
• policies / proposals for the 1st Deposit Plan have been formulated;
• policies / proposals are reviewed for the 2nd Deposit Plan;
• policies / proposals are subject to post Inquiry modifications.

3.7 The results of the Appraisals will be made available to the public. The Appraisal results will also inform the Plan process and the development of policies and proposals.

3.8 Sustainable Development Criteria

3.9 The initial stage of the Appraisal process involves the establishment of criteria based on the principles of sustainable development. It is against these criteria that each strategy / policy will be appraised.

3.10 The criteria selected to form the basis of the appraisal stem from Government guidance on carrying out environmental and sustainable development appraisals, principles in B&NES Sustainable Development Policy and Local Agenda 21 Vision for a Sustainable Future, and appraisals undertaken elsewhere. The criteria chosen reflect sustainable development objectives relating to land use, which planning can influence, and are listed below:

3.11 To make the process as explicit as possible and to ensure consistency of approach, the criteria have been defined to ensure they are understood by those carrying out the appraisal. Also, to make the process easier, each criterion is accompanied by a question to be asked when appraising each strategy, policy or proposal.

3.12 Recording the Results

3.13 The most straightforward method of recording the impact of each strategy / policy is by means of a matrix. This method is also recommended by the guidance. The impact of each strategy / policy can then be appraised systematically against each of the criteria.

3.14 The matrix also allows for suggested changes to other parts of the Local Plan to be recorded and where other Council strategies could help achieve sustainable development objectives - through their strategies and plans - thus reinforcing the corporate dimension in the Plan making process.

3.15 As part of the methodology a step by step quick guide for carrying out appraisals of the Plan has been produced for those involved in the appraisal process. This is set out in Annex 2.

3.16 The Appraisal: First Stage

3.17 A full appraisal of the Issues Report was carried out in November / December 1999. Summaries of the impacts of each strategy are provided in the following section.