APPENDIX 4: Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment

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 seek approval of the Executive Member for Open to Business to adopt the Statement of Community Involvement; the document that sets out the consultative and engagement requirements for preparing a local plan, involvement in neighbourhood plans and in the consideration of planning applications.
Directorate	Community Development
Service area	Planning
Lead officer	Steve Wilson, Planning Policy & Conservation Manager (Scarborough)
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	Increases emissions	Increases emissions	Increases 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 recommendation is to seek approval to adopt the SCI which sets out consultation methods employed in all areas of planning. This is not about the actual policies of the local plan or any decisions made on planning applications; it simply sets out how and when the community and other interested parties can become involved in the planning process. Impact on the areas of climate change have been considered and the supporting of new engagement technologies going forward could have a positive impact on climate change by relying more on email and online capabilities for consultation and less so on the more traditional methods of communication; letter and postage. However, there remains a need to ensure all interested persons and groups are engaged with in a manner that is inclusive – and some protected groups struggle with non-written means of communication. Advice has been sought from the Climate Change team on the limited potential to increase greenhouse gas emissions from the involvement of local communities in engagement and planning meetings. It is advised that a full CCIA is not required as there are opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Wherever possible, opportunities will be sought to hold planning meetings and engagement events in accessible locations, close to communities and accessible by foot/cycle/public transport. With this in mind, the impacts on climate change are therefore considered to be minor in nature, however, the level of communication by different means; email, social media, post, should be monitored to understand if there is a shift towards more sustainable means of communication and engagement.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Trevor Watson
Date	8 February 2024