SA and SEA
Introduction
The statutory purpose of producing a Local Development Plan (LDP)| is to seek a contribution to sustainable development (see section 39(2) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004).
In order to achieve this aim, the LDP will be subjected throughout its production to Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). These are both procedures which aim to integrate social, environmental and economic elements of sustainable development into plans and programmes such as the LDP. The results of SA and SEA will make the process of LDP preparation more transparent by providing the community with information about the implications of choices being made.
Sustainability Appraisal of the LDP is required under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and is defined by the Welsh Assembly Government as "a systematic and iterative process undertaken during the preparation (and review) of a plan which identifies and reports on the
extent to which implementation of the plan will achieve the environmental, social and economic objectives by which sustainable development can be defined and identifies opportunities for improving plan performance in relation to these" (Delivering Better Development Plans for Wales; consultation document 2004).
The requirement to undertake Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) derives from EU Directive 2001/42, which has been translated into UK (Wales) law through ‘The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2004’. The SEA process is intended to identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing a particular policy, plan or programme and to ensure that reasonable alternatives are evaluated.
As set out in the Initial Sustainability Appraisal Report (please see below for further information on this document), SA and SEA will also run alongside, but be clearly distinguishable from, the Habitats Regulations Assessment of the Torfaen LDP. Please view our HRA webpage| for further information on the Habitat Regulations.
Previous and current stage of SA and SEA in Torfaen
The first stage of the Sustainability Appraisal was to produce a Draft Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report| which covered both the SA and SEA processes. The Scoping Report firstly provided a review of existing baseline information, considered relevant to inform the emerging LDP. From this, it identified key sustainability issues relevant to Torfaen, and these key issues have been developed into sustainability objectives, indicators and targets which have been used to assess the policies, proposals and objectives of the LDP.
The Initial Sustainability Appraisal Report| (ISAR) identifies the social, economic and environmental implications of the Preferred Strategy options and proposals and is the second stage in the Sustainability Appraisal of the plan. This document was recently part of the consultation process on the Preferrred Strategy which closed on the 10th of March 2008. A Non Technical Summary| of this document is also available to download.
Comments received on the ISAR will be fed into the third stage of the SA process; known as the Sustainability Appraisal Report (SAR), which is the SA of the Deposit Torfaen Local Development Plan, expected in early 2009.