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	Malton and Norton on Derwent Neighbourhood Plan- Decision Statement and Referendum
Brief description of proposal	To present the results of the Malton and Norton on Derwent Neighbourhood Plan 2020-2027 (the Neighbourhood Plan) referendum and the requirements of North Yorkshire Council as the Local Planning Authority to formally ‘make’ (adopt) the Neighbourhood Plan.
Directorate	Community Development
Service area	Planning
Lead officer	Rachael Balmer, Planning Policy and Place Manager Matthew Lishman, Planning Policy and Place Officer
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	None

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 council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	Decreases emissions	Decreases 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	Decreases pollution	Decreases pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	Increases resilience	Increases resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	No effect on ecology	Positive impact on ecology	Positive impact on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	Increases protection of heritage and landscape	Increases protection of 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 to Members included in the report relate to the positive result following the referendum of the Malton and Norton on Derwent Neighbourhood Plan. Neighbourhood Plans are prepared by qualifying bodies external to North Yorkshire Council and seek to put in place planning policy to guide future development and the use of land in a neighbourhood area. This plan therefore has no implications for Council Operations, and it is noted that there would be positive impacts in a number of areas within the County, but this is only in relation to the areas of Malton and Norton on Derwent Parishes- the plan has no wider area of influence. Following preparation, the Neighbourhood Plan has been submitted to the local planning authority and an independent examination has taken place. The examination concluded that the Neighbourhood Plan, subject to modifications, meets the basic conditions and other relevant legal requirements and should, therefore, proceed to the referendum stage. On 16 July 2024 the Council’s Executive formally agreed with the Examiner’s findings and on 3 October 2024 a referendum took place, which achieved a positive result. Following the referendum, the Neighbourhood Plan has come into force as part of the statutory development plan. North Yorkshire Council is now required to formally ‘make’ (adopt) the plan. Screening in the chart above indicates that this Neighbourhood Plan would have both positive and neutral environmental effects, but importantly no negative effects. While positive effects are identified, a full CCIA is not included. This is in-line with the council’s guidance on preparing a full CCIA, which states that it may not be necessary or proportional to undertake a full CCIA if the proposal will be subject to planning permission, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). As the policies in the Neighbourhood Plan would be used to assess proposals seeking planning permission, it is considered that it is not necessary to undertake a full CCIA. In addition, the Neighbourhood Plan has been subject to SEA and HRA screening and assessment processes. Through these exercises it was concluded with amendments which were undertaken pre-submission that the plan is unlikely to have significant environmental effects. NB: The EIA has been reviewed 18 October 2024 following a positive result at referendum. As the plan content is unchanged the findings are unaltered.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Trevor Watson
Date	18/10/24