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	North Yorkshire Local Plan Timetable
Brief description of proposal	To recommend to Executive the approval and publication of the council’s local plan timetable, which includes key milestones as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026. The report also proposes delegated authority to the Head of Planning Policy & Place with input from the Executive Member for Open to Business for specific reporting tasks that form part of the new local plan process.
Directorate	Community Development
Service area	Planning Policy
Lead officer	Linda Marfitt Head of Policy and Place
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment	Rachael Hutton Planning Policy and Place Manager

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	There are no implications arising from the local plan timetable itself, as it only seeks to set out the timescales for the preparation of local plan. Development Plan Documents are legally required to be subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess the environmental impacts of the plan’s policies and site allocations, and in doing so test reasonable alternatives to derive the most sustainable outcome. This would have been previously considered and integrated into the Sustainability Appraisal process, which has now been ceased- although there is the forthcoming Environmental Outcomes Reports which will take the place of SEA in due course. The application of the planning process is still seen as being key to the achievement of sustainable development, by managing the use and development of land.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)	Kathryn Daly
Date	11 May 2026