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	Infrastructure Business Plan and Infrastructure Funding Statement 2024/25
Brief description of proposal	To consider and agree strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) spending through the Infrastructure Business Plan (IBP). This ensures that CIL serves its purpose of contributing to the delivery of the infrastructure necessary to support development in North Yorkshire. The report also looks to approve and publish the Infrastructure Funding Statement 2024/25.
Directorate	Community Development
Service area	Delivery and Infrastructure, Planning
Lead officer	Lizzie Phippard, Infrastructure Investment Officer
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment

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	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:	ü	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	The Infrastructure Business Plan (IBP) recommends funding for three projects: school expansion, public right of way improvements, and additional facilities at a sports club. These proposals are modest in scale, focus on enhancing existing infrastructure, and do not introduce significant carbon-intensive activities. As such, they are unlikely to generate substantial greenhouse gas emissions or create new climate vulnerabilities. Each project will undergo planning and regulatory processes at the delivery stage, where climate resilience and sustainability requirements will be fully addressed. A full climate change impact assessment at this strategic stage would therefore provide limited additional value. Key environmental benefits of the recommended projects include: School Expansion: Supports local education provision, reducing the need for longer car journeys to other schools. New facilities will comply with modern building standards, incorporating energy efficiency and low-carbon design. Public Right of Way Improvements: Encourages active travel such as walking and cycling, reducing reliance on private vehicles and supporting a shift to low-carbon transport modes. Sports Club Facilities: Promotes health and wellbeing by enabling local recreation, reducing the need for travel to distant facilities. There is scope to integrate sustainable materials and energy-efficient systems in the design. The use of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding ensures that essential infrastructure is delivered to support housing and employment growth identified in Local Plans. Without this supporting infrastructure, development would be less sustainable, which could have a negative effect on climate change. The Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) is a factual report detailing the expenditure of Section 106 and CIL funding over the previous financial year. It does not propose new projects or policies and therefore has no direct climate change impacts.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Kathryn Daly
Date	01/12/2025