SNH PERSPECTIVE ON PLANNING AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Derek Manson
Planning Adviser
SNH – who were are, what we do
• Scottish Natural Heritage is funded by the Scottish Government. Our purpose is to: • promote care for and improvement of the natural heritage • help people enjoy it responsibly • enable greater understanding and awareness of it • promote its sustainable use, now and for future generations.
We do this by• Providing advice to the Scottish Government and its agencies, local
authorities, developers, land managers and others.• Promote the wider benefits of protecting and enhancing nature and
landscapes in the public interest• Targeting action to protect and enhance nature and landscapes, working in
partnership with others.
SNH and Development Plans• We are a Key Agency as
defined in planning circular 1/2009 Development Planning
• Our formal role is to co-operate with planning authorities at the following stages• The compilation of the main issues
report• The preparation of the proposed
plan• The preparation of action
programmes and proposed action programmes
How we can help Working jointly with other
agencies as part of a collaborative process of
plan-making;
Promoting the inclusion of Green Networks in
Development Plans;
Advising on the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Appraisal of development
plans ;
Adopting a team approach to our involvement in each
Plan, drawing on the expertise of a wide range of
our staff;
Raising awareness of the importance of nature and
landscapes to making good places for people to live
and work in;
Providing map-based information on nature and
landscapes;
Providing guidance and good practice on planning
for nature,
Assist in writing suggested text/policies for elements of
the proposed plan
What we seek to do
• We seek to engage pro-actively and early in development plan preparation
• We wish to provide clear, helpful advice to planning authorities and aid the implementation of a genuinely plan led system
Green NetworksWe recommend that the LDP provides a basis to fulfill the SPP requirements to protect and enhance the green network, through:
• Policies and spatial proposals that safeguard and avoid fragmentation of existing green networks and identify opportunities to create or enhance existing green network assets;
• Policies and spatial proposals that indicate new or future green network development in relation to other planning matters (for example housing growth, infrastructure provision, allocation of business land etc).
From this
To this
Strategic Environmental Assessment
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) plays a vital role in protecting and improving all of these aspects of the environment and more by ensuring that policy-makers across Scotland embed environmental considerations into Local Development Plans.
• We are also a "Consultation Authority", along with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Historic Scotland, providing advice and comment on SEAs at screening, scoping and environment report stage.
Topics considered as part of SEABiodiversity, Flora and FaunaPopulation and Human HealthSoilWater AirClimatic FactorsMaterial AssetsCultural Heritage Landscape
Habitat Regulations Appraisal• Habitats Regulations Appraisal,
seeks to ensure that only those plans, projects and development proposals which will not adversely affect the interests of a European protected site (SPAs and SACs) are allowed to proceed.
• We welcome early engagement to help planning authorities identify any likely significant effects of draft policies and proposals on European sites, and on mitigation necessary
Landscape Capacity Study• SNH, South, East and North
Ayrshire Planning Authorities have co-funded and worked together to produce landscape wind capacity studies.
• These are based on SNH Landscape Character Assessments.
• The capacity studies only look at landscape and visual aspects of wind energy development.