Conducting a Successful SEA

Dr Steven Smith

SEA in Practice, Malta, 11 November 2011

What is SEA? How environmentally

sustainable is our plan?

The SEA Directive The SEA Directive is essentially procedural and

sets out a series of steps that must be undertaken as part of an assessment; reflect these steps in the plan-making procedure to help ensure compliance

(Undertaking SEA does not offer any guarantee of a more environmentally friendly plan; SEA is decision-aiding not decision-making)

What makes for a successful SEA? Establish close links between the plan-making

and assessment processes Scope out less relevant issues Work with plan-makers to develop reasonable

alternatives Consider the best SEA methodology to adopt Identify significant effects Provide plan-makers with explicit

recommendations for improving the plan Establish indicators for monitoring significant

effects

Establish links between plan-making and SEA “Many benefits of SEA may be

lost if it is carried out as a completely separate work-stream or by a separate body. But it is also helpful to involve people, either within the Responsible Authority or outside, who are not directly concerned in producing the plan or programme and can contribute expertise or a detached and independent view”

Establish links between plan-making and SEA

Evidence

base

Options

generation

Preferred options / draft plan

Draft plan for consultation

Plan

Scoping Report

SEA

SEA of:

options

preferred options

draft plan

SEA Report

Review policy context, establish baseline, identify problems, determine scope

Consult on scope

Assess emerging plan, identify significant effects, propose mitigation measures, suggest indicators for monitoring

Set out how the SEA was carried out and how alternatives were assessed and selected

Effective scoping “Most practitioners scope in all

issues rather than those that are just significant”

“it can take a bit of courage to scope things out”

“if issues are not significant these should be dropped as the assessment moves on”

Quotes from research interviewees

Effective scoping

Material assets

Population Biodiversity / Flora / Fauna

Climatic factors

Air Water Soil Human health

Cultural heritage

Architectural heritage

Landscape

And the inter-relationships between them

Begin by considering the issues identified in the SEA Directive…

Develop reasonable alternatives “Where an environmental assessment is

required… an environmental report shall be prepared in which the likely significant effects on the environment of implementing the plan or programme, and reasonable alternatives taking into account the objectives and the geographical scope of the plan or programme, are identified, described and evaluated…”

SEA Directive, Article 5(1)

Develop reasonable alternatives European Commission guidance on the SEA

Directive defines an alternative as “a different way of fulfilling the objectives of the plan or programme”; very little further guidance

“It is essential that stakeholders are given the opportunity to consider genuine alternatives”

UK Department for Communities and Local Government (2008) Spatial Plans in Practice: Supporting the reform of local planning

Develop reasonable alternatives “Consideration of meaningful

alternatives is not easy and plan makers are still at a relatively early stage on the learning curve”

“In some cases may be there aren’t any alternatives; but it needs to be explored”

“a lot of alternatives are not that realistic”

Quotes from research interviewees

Develop reasonable alternatives In March 2011, the UK High Court ruled that part

of the Forest Heath District Core Strategy must be quashed because the Environmental Report failed to present… “an accurate picture of what reasonable alternatives there are and why they are not considered to be the best option”… in relation to an urban extension to the district’s main town

Save Historic Newmarket Ltd v. Forest Heath District Council [2011] EWHC 606, a challenge under s.113 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 to the

adopted Forest Heath Core Strategy

Develop alternatives in relation to…

Vision

Strategic objectives

Delivery Strategy

Managing and monitoring

How much development should there be?

Where should development go?

When should development happen?

By what means will the development be delivered?

What do alternatives look like?Spatial Option 1 Sustainable urban extensions to coastal towns

Focus growth predominantly on the coastal towns of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, through a combination of development within the existing built up areas, combined with planned sustainable urban extensions. Some development will be located in other parts of the District to meet local need.

Spatial Option 2 New settlement at Ford

Concentrate growth at Ford, through development of a new settlement (Ford Eco-town) providing major housing, employment and community facilities.

Spatial Option 3 Expansion of inland settlements

Focus a higher proportion of new development towards the larger inland settlements, particularly Barnham/ Eastergate/ Westergate and Angmering.

What do alternatives look like?

What do alternatives look like?

Alternatives can exist in a hierarchy

SEA methodology: ‘objectives-led’Environmental objectives

Option A: Locate the majority of new development in Settlement X

Option B: Locate half of new development in an urban extension to Settlement Y and distribute the remainder between Settlements X and Z

Option C: Locate the majority of development in Settlements Y and Z and provide for considerably higher densities in Y

Objective 1 – reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Because…

Objective 2 – protect and enhance biodiversity

XX X

Conclusions - Including the relative significance of the impacts, any assumptions made in undertaking the assessment, different impact dimensions, potential mitigation and monitoring measures

SEA methodology: ‘baseline-led’ For each topic (e.g. water, climate change) ask:

What’s the policy context? What’s the situation now? What would be the situation without the plan? What are the key issues? What will be the situation with the plan?

Under Alternatives A, B, C and D

How can we mitigate adverse impacts and enhance positive ones?

How can we best monitor the plan’s implementation?

Identify significant effects “Determining significance is

the biggest single “process” problem identified by practitioners in SEA”

“analysis showed more significant adverse environmental effects identified for biodiversity (28%) and landscape (15%) and least on material assets (3%), air (6%) and soil (6%)”

Identify significant effects

Landscape Soil Air

GHG emissions Biodiversity

Health health How does the

emerging plan perform in relation to each area?

Does the plan maximise its potential contribution to each area?

Where do the trade-offs lie?

Identify significant effectsImpact magnitude

Sensitivity of the receiving environment

Low Medium High

Large Somewhat significant

Significant Very significant

Medium Of minor significance

Somewhat significant

Significant

Small Not significant

Of minor significance

Somewhat significant

Propose explicit recommendationsSEA recommendation Secretary of State

responseChanges made to plan

Green infrastructure

Policy CC8 should be revised to explicitly require the preparation of Green Infrastructure Strategies for each of the 22 Regional Hubs

We agree that the pursuit of Green Infrastructure will be particularly important in the 22 hubs as they are a main focus for development proposed in the draft RSS. However, we would stop short of explicitly requiring the production of Green Infrastructure Strategies as…

Addition of a reference to the 22 hubs and Strategic Development Areas in the final sentence of the policy:

“The provisions of this policy apply region-wide. However, the successful designation and management of Green Infrastructure will be particularly important in areas designated as regional hubs”

Monitor significant effects

Plan

SEA

Plan policies and proposals

Significant environmental

effects

‘Output’ indicators

‘Significant effects’ indicators

Monitoring report

Sustainability Appraisal “sustainability appraisal covers wider social and

economic effects of plans, as well as the more environmentally-focused considerations in the [SEA] Directive”

What do we mean by ‘successful’? Makes a demonstrable difference to the plan’s

environmental credentials? (NB SEA often plays a ‘fine-tuning’ rather than a ‘plan-shaping’ role)

Promotes a more structured approach to plan-making centred on alternatives?

Provides stakeholders with an enhanced understanding of the plan’s impacts?

Raises awareness of environment and sustainability issues amongst plan-makers?

Various possible indicators of success

Thank you

Dr Steven SmithURS Scott Wilson | Environment6 - 8 Greencoat PlaceLondon SW1P 1PL

T: 44 (0)20 7798 5121E: steve.smith@scottwilson.com