Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment (Form created August 2021)

The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.

If you have any additional queries, which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Title of proposal	Recommended Approach to Plan Making for North Yorkshire
Brief description of proposal	To brief the Executive and seek their support for the recommended approach to plan making for North Yorkshire, taking into consideration legal requirements, local context, an assessment of risks and benefits and feedback from the Members Planning Task and Finish Group.
Directorate	LGR Planning workstream
Service area	LGR Planning workstream
Lead officer	Linda Marfitt, Acting Head of Place-shaping & Economic Growth, Harrogate Borough Council
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	N/A

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following;

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the county council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision (Please tick one option)	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate:	X	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	The recommendations seek a robust approach to plan making for North Yorkshire.  It is too early to say what the effects of future policies will be.  However, planning policies will be based on the latest evidence, public consultation and independent examination.  New policies will seek to implement the councils climate change and environmental ambitions through the provision of new development and infrastructure and protection of the environment.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Linda Marfitt
Date	01/12/2022