In the early 1990s, local planning authorities began to undertake environmental appraisals of their development plans in response to Government guidance. In the mid to late 1990s, these appraisals were broadened to address economic and social as well as environmental concerns – the three dimensions of sustainable development. Sustainability appraisal developed into an integral part of spatial planning, becoming a statutory requirement for Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs) and Local Development Documents (LDDs) under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (PCPA).

The changes to the planning system under the PCPA coincided with the entry into force of a European Directive on SEA – Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment – which also applied to RSSs and many LDDs. Consequently, the Government published guidance on undertaking SA for RSSs and LDDs which incorporated the requirements of the Directive. The SEA Directive is primarily procedural in nature and sets out a series of steps that must be undertaken as part of any assessment; these steps form the basis for the SA process applied to RSSs and LDDs. This report refers to the combined requirement as ‘SA / SEA’.

English Heritage Guidance: Strategic Environmental Assessment, Sustainability Appraisal and The Historic Environment

Published in April 2010, this guidance focuses on SEA/SA for development plans, and builds on existing Government advice. It is equally applicable to the preparation of SEAs for other types of documents, such as Local Transport Plans and Water Resource Management Plans.

See the Historic Environment, Local Management website for information.

Towards a more efficient and effective use of Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal in spatial planning

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) have been requirements of spatial planning for over four years, and now play a key role. However, planners and practitioners have expressed concerns about both the way they are undertaken and the value that they add to plans. The 2010 report sets out the research findings and the recommendations to CLG for improving the efficiency and effectiveness with which SEA and SA are practiced in spatial planning.

The project’s objectives were to:

• help improve efficiency of the application of SA / SEA processes to plans and programmes;
• assess the effectiveness of SA / SEA in influencing plan outcomes and in increasing public involvement;
• improve consistency in methodology and approach through developing common baseline information, a selection of good practice case studies, and highlighting synergies and methods of integration with other required forms of assessment; and
• inform any changes to CLG guidance, as appropriate and relevant.

Recommendation 1: Planning bodies should integrate the early, evidence gathering stages of the plan-making and SA / SEA processes in order to foster a more efficient and effective approach.

Recommendation 2: The evidence base for SA / SEA should include a greater focus on spatial information and reflect the spatial nature of the plan.

Recommendation 3: The scope of the appraisal should reflect the alternatives being considered.

Recommendation 4: Those undertaking the appraisal should not be afraid to omit from its scope issues that are not likely to be significant; however, this should be done transparently with a clear explanation.

Recommendation 5: Plan-making should generate well thought out and clearly articulated alternatives.

Recommendation 6: Plan impacts should be identified and evaluated with reference to the baseline situation.

Recommendation 7: The level of detail the appraisal enters into should reflect the level of detail in the plan.

Recommendation 8: The appraisal should consider the extent to which options and policies will be effectively delivered on the ground to help avoid unrealistic assessment results.

Recommendation 9: Separate, understandable non-technical summaries of SA reports should be prepared to facilitate public engagement.

Recommendation 10: There is further scope to engage the public in SA / SEA, particularly through the use of stakeholder events focused on options.

Recommendation 11: Some topic-specific assessments can be integrated into the SA / SEA process, but Habitats Regulations Assessment should be undertaken on a largely separate basis.

Recommendation 12: Those undertaking the appraisal should ideally provide plan-makers with explicit recommendations to which they can respond.

Recommendation 13: Links between SA / SEA and Annual Monitoring Reports (AMRs) should be strengthened with significant effects identified by the appraisal monitored through indicators included in the AMR.

Click here to access the full report

Click here to access the 2006 report: A Practical Guide to the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive
Click here to access the 2005 report: Sustainability Appraisal of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents
Further information can be found on the Communities and Local Government website.

Author:

Rebecca Coates

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

29-Apr-10

Categories:

Planning / Planning Resources, Planning Matters, Policy, Practice 

Sections:

News & Media , What Planning Does

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