Selby Local Plan: Second Pre-Publication Local Plan: January, 2024

Sustainability Appraisal:  Summary for Committee

Introduction

This short note is a summary of the SA process and the key outputs at this stage to help inform the Executive Committee on 6^th February 2024.  

The SA is still being finalised, but this is unlikely to substantially alter the SA Report content at this stage, particularly in relation to the appraisal findings for spatial options and site appraisals.

Summary of the process

A fully compliant Sustainability Appraisal has been undertaken in line with current Regulations.  Key stages completed to date are as follows:

Scoping – This involved collecting data, information and reviewing the policy context to identify key issues and set a method for appraising the Local Plan. 

Interim SA Report – This accompanied the issues and options consultation on the Local Plan

Interim SA Report – This accompanied the preferred options version of the local plan, focusing on the appraisal of sites and spatial options (and draft policies).

Full SA Report – This accompanied the Pre-Submission stage consultation, with a focus on updated spatial options appraisals and an appraisal of the full draft Plan.

Full SA Report – This current SA Report reflects updates to the Plan that have been made.

Considering reasonable alternatives

Central to the SA process is the consideration and appraisal of ‘reasonable alternatives’.   This is an iterative process, and often involves the appraisal of a series of different options to help inform the Plan as it develops.  

The Council has worked closely with AECOM to identify and appraise options at key stages of the plan as it has been prepared.  This has included ‘high-level’ spatial options focusing on the amount and distribution of new homes and employment.  It has also included the appraisal of individual sites to coincide with the call for sites and the Council’s site selection methodology.   As the Plan has taken shape, the options have been refined and become more detailed, culminating in four spatial options for delivering growth across the district.  These alternatives have been assessed within the latest SA Report.

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Summary of the Plan appraisal at this stage

The SA Report sets out an appraisal of the updated Local Plan viewed ‘as a whole’ (i.e. considering all of the policies in combination).   The effects are summarised below against each of the sustainability appraisal framework topic headings.    

The majority of effects are positive and are of greatest significance for Economy, Housing, Health, Heritage and Population and Communities. 

The negative effects identified are mainly residual effects that are minor and largely managed through the Local Plan policies where the potential for greater negative effects was identified.  The exception is land and soil, which records a moderate negative effect due to unavoidable loss of agricultural land.

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Air quality

Biodiversity

Climate Change Mitigation

Climate Change Adaptation

Economy and Employment

Health

Heritage

Housing

Land and Soil

Landscape

Population and Communities

Transport

Water Resources

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· Minor negative effects are predicted for air quality.  This is the same as for the initial Pre-Submission Plan.

· Moderate positive effects are predicted for biodiversity.   There has been an improvement in policy, so the overall significance is higher than the initial Pre-Submission Plan. 

· Minor positive effects are predicted for Climate Change Mitigation.  This is the same as for the initial Pre-Submission Plan.

· Mixed effects (minor positive and minor negative)  are predicted for climate change adaptation.  This is a slight improvement from the previous version and relates to additional policy details relating to flood risk.

· Major positive effects are predicted for economy and employment.  This is the same as for the initial Pre-Submission Plan

· Major positive effects are predicted for Housing.  This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan

· Mixed effects (moderate positive and minor negative) are predicted for Heritage.  This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan, but with a greater acknowledgement of site specific policy.

· Mixed effects (minor positive and moderate negative) are predicted for land and soil:  This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan, but with a greater acknowledgement of the positive effects associated with the remediation of contamination.

· Mixed effects (minor positive and minor negative) are predicted for Landscape:  This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan, but with a greater acknowledgement of the positive effects associated with townscape improvements.

· Mixed effects (minor negative and moderate positive) are predicted for population and communities:  This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan

· Mixed effects (major positive and minor negative) are predicted for Transport: This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan.

· Mixed effects (minor positive and minor negative) are predicted for Transport: This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan.

· Mixed effects (minor positive and minor negative) are predicted for water resources: This is the same as for the initial pre-submission plan

Further comments

The SA has made recommendations for improvements to the Plan throughout its development (with the intention of mitigating negative effects and enhancing positives).  The Council has responded to these recommendations at key milestones by either amending plan policies accordingly or justifying why changes are considered to be unnecessary.

Given that there have already been several iterations of the plan (and the policies), no further recommendations need to be addressed at this latest stage.

There is still potential for additional work to be undertaken on the SA throughout the Examination process.