Milton Keynes Ldf Core Strategy: Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report

MILTON KEYNES LDF CORE STRATEGY: SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL SCOPING REPORT – OCTOBER 2006

FOREWORD

In 2004, the Government introduced a new planning system under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004). As a result, Milton Keynes Council is now required to begin the process of replacing its Local Plan with a Local Development Framework, made up of individual Local Development Documents (LDDs), which take the form of Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs).

The Council’s Local Development Scheme (LDS) (September, 2006) sets out which DPDs and SPDs the Council will produce and when. It identifies that the Council intends to produce its Core Strategy, beginning with the Issues and Options Consultation in December 2006.

Under the new planning system, Sustainability Appraisal (SA) must be carried out for all SPDs and DPDs. This scoping report is a consultation document. Its purpose is to seek comments on the scope and level of detail for the SA of the Core Strategy. Through this document the Council is seeking to establish if it has all the information and data it needs to ensure sustainability principles are central to the production of the Core Strategy and that the framework established is robust enough to support the plan through future public consultation and examination.

The Council welcomes any comments on the proposed scope and detail of the SA set out in this report. Questions have been set out at various points of the report as a guide to consultees wishing to respond to the report. A full list of these questions can be found on page 5.

Responses on this document should be sent before 5.15pm on Wednesday 8th November 2006 to the following address

Development Plans Team

Milton Keynes Council

Civic Offices

1 Saxon Gate East

Milton Keynes

MK9, 3HQ

For further information about this document or if you have any questions please contact the Development Plans Team on: -

Tel 01908-252599 Fax 01908-252330

E-mail:

A copy of this document is available on the web at http://www.mkweb.co.uk/local%5Fplan%5Freview/home.asp.

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SA/SEA Scoping Report Contents

Foreword Page

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Consultation arrangements 4

1.2 Background 6

1.3 Requirement for SA/SEA 6

1.4 The SA Process 8

1.5 Purpose and stages of the scoping report 8

1.6 Interaction between SA and the Core Strategy 8

2.0 Other relevant Plans, Programmes and Policies

2.1 Introduction 10

2.2 Methodology 10

3.0 Collection of Baseline Information

3.1 Introduction 12

3.2 Methodology 12

3.3 Review of key baseline feature 13

3.3.1  Social features 13

3.3.2  Environmental features 16

3.3.3  Economic features 20

4.0 Key Sustainability Issues

4.1 Introduction 21

4.2 Methodology 21

4.3 Review of Milton Keynes’ sustainability issues 21

4.3.1 Social issues and trends 21

4.3.2 Environmental issues and trends 23

4.3.3 Economic Issues and trends 25

5.0 The Sustainability Appraisal Framework

5.1 Introduction 26

5.2 Methodology 26

5.3 Outcomes 26

6. What happens next? 30

Appendices

Appendix 1- Review of other plans, policies and programmes 33

Appendix 2- Baseline Information 49

Appendix 3- The Sustainability Appraisal Framework 80

Tables

Table 1- List of other external consultees 4

Table 2- Complete list of consultation questions 5

Table 3- Sustainability issues identified from review of PPPs 10

Table 4- Sustainability objectives with SEA topic 27

Table 5- Remaining stages of the SA process 30

Table 6- Structure of the SA Report 31

Figures

Figure 1- Interaction between the Core Strategy and the SA 9

process

Figure 2- Deprivation in Milton Keynes compared to national 14

levels

Figure 3- Environmental constraints in the borough of Milton 17

Keynes

Figure 4- Sustainability objectives internal compatibility matrix 28

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Consultation arrangements

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Regulations specify that the four designated authorities with ‘environmental responsibility’ be given 5 weeks to formally comment on the content of this report. These authorities are:

·  The Environment Agency

·  English Heritage

·  The Countryside Agency (or its successor)

·  English Nature

The Council has also considered which other relevant bodies with environmental, social and economic responsibilities may wish to comment on the report. A full list of the additional bodies whom the report is being sent to, can be found in table 1 below.

Table 1. List of other external consultees

Aylesbury Vale District Council

Mid Bedfordshire District Council

South Bedfordshire District Council

South Northants District Council

Bucks and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre

Milton Keynes Local Strategic Partnership Planning Task Group

Milton Keynes Partnership

Milton Keynes Parks Trust

South East England Development Agency

Government Office of the South East

In addition to this, copies of this report have been placed in all public libraries within the Borough and it has also been placed on the Council web page for the public to view and comment on if they wish. Comments have also been sought internally from staff with knowledge of environmental, economic and social expertise to ensure local issues have been correctly identified.

Throughout this document specific questions have been set to promote responses on the key issues that the Council is seeking clarification on. A full list of these questions can be seen in table 2 overleaf.

Table 2- Complete list of consultation questions

Consultation questions

1.  Have all of the policies, plans, programmes and sustainable development objectives that are relevant to the production of the Core Strategy been considered?
2.  Are there any other documents that should be added to those outlined in appendix 1?
3.  Is the data collected in appendix 2, to the best of you knowledge, factually correct?
4.  Do you agree that the data collected in appendix 2 is relevant and suitable to the Core Strategy?
5.  Do you know of, or have, any additional data that would you think should be added to the list already collected?
6.  Do you agree that the issues identified above are the main sustainability issues in Milton Keynes?
7.  Are there any other sustainability issues that you believe should be added?
8.  Do you agree with the objectives, indicators and targets outlined in appendix 3?
9.  Are there any objectives or indicators in appendix 3 that should be added, removed or amended?
10. Do you have any other data that you think may inform the sustainability appraisal?

1.2 Background to sustainability

There are many definitions of sustainable development, however it is widely accepted that the most common one is that outlined by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987:

“Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

The UK strategy for Sustainable Development- ‘Securing the Future’, was published in March 2005, building on and reviewing the 1999 strategy ‘a Better Quality of Life’. Within this strategy, the five guiding principles of UK sustainability development are set out. All five of these need to be respected if a policy is going to be sustainable:

·  Living within environmental needs- ensure that natural resources needed for life are left unimpaired for future generations

·  Ensuring a strong, healthy and just society- meeting the needs of all sections of the community, with equal opportunities and social cohesion.

·  Achieving a sustainable economy- build an economy that provides prosperity for all and in which environmental costs are paid for by those who impose them.

·  Promoting good governance- promote participation and engage with all levels of society

·  Using sound science responsibly- take into account sound evidence and public attitudes/values in policy development

In developing any plans, policies and programmes, authorities need to ensure that these principles are being addressed.

1.3 The Requirement for SA/SEA

The purpose of the SA is to ensure that the principles of sustainability are taken into account in the production of the Core Strategy. This means consideration must be given to the environmental, social and economic affects of the plan.

The appraisal combines two processes:

·  Strategic Environmental Assessment- SEA is the process for assessing the environmental impact of plans, programmes and policies to satisfy EU directive 2001/42/EC. The SEA regulations[1] detail specific procedural and content requirements, including setting out statutory consultees. Article 1 of the EU directive highlights the objective of the process as being:

‘…to provide for a high level of protection for the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans and programmes with a view to promoting sustainable development, by ensuring that, in accordance with this directive, an environmental assessment is carried out of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment

·  Sustainability Appraisal- SA is a process required under the Planning Regulations[2] to identify ensure plans and policies promote social, environmental and economic objectives. It provides an opportunity to adapt plans to incorporate a more sustainable approach.

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act states that:

‘the person (or body) preparing the plan must exercise the function with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development’ (Section 39(2)).

‘The local planning authority must also-

·  Carry out an appraisal of the sustainability of the proposals in each document

·  Prepare a short report on the findings of the appraisal’ (section 19(5))

The requirements of both processes can be run concurrently under advice laid out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in its guidance paper of November 2005, ‘Sustainability Appraisal of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks’. From this point, where reference is made to sustainability appraisal or SA this includes the requirements of the SEA Directive and Regulations.

1.4 The SA Process

The list below sets out the 5 stages of the SA as outlined in the ODPM guidance. This Scoping Report essentially reports on how the steps in Stage A of the process have been carried out. It is a mechanism by which comments can be sought, highlighting any areas of concern or additional matters that need to be addressed.

Stage A- Setting the context and (sustainability) objectives, establishing the

baseline and deciding on the scope

Stage B- Developing and refining the options and assessing effects

Stage C- Preparing the Sustainability Appraisal Report

Stage D- Consulting on the Preferred Options of the Core Strategy and the

SA Report

Stage E- Monitoring the significant effects of implementing the DPD

1.5 The Purpose and stages of the Scoping Report

As was alluded to on the previous page, the Scoping Report covers the requirements of Stage A of the SA process. The ODPM guidance suggests that there are 6 stages within this:

A1 – Identify other relevant plans, programmes and sustainability objectives that will influence the LDDs

A2 – Collect relevant social, environmental and economic baseline information

A3 – Identify key sustainability issues for the SA/plan to address

A4 – Develop the SA framework, consisting of the SA objectives, indicators and targets

A5 – Testing the DPD objectives against the SA framework and the extent to which the plan objectives are consistent with each other

A6 – Consulting on the scope of the SA with the relevant statutory bodies, key stakeholders and the public

The Scoping Report is the first stage in undertaking SA of the Core Strategy. It enables the context within which the strategy is to be prepared to be set by documenting the requirements of other plans, policies and programmes that will influence its production.

It also beings the process of setting the baseline position from which the effects of implementing the strategy can be monitored. The collection of social, environmental and economic data also enables sustainability issues that are facing the borough to be identified so they can be picked up in the strategy making process to ensure a more sustainable strategy.

The Scoping Report also establishes the framework against which the sustainability effects of the Core Strategy can by described, analysed and compared, which is key to the SA process. The Scoping Report looks to establish whether the proposed framework is robust enough to ensure that sustainability principles are built-in to the Core Strategy from the outset.

1.6 Interaction between SA and the Core Strategy

The purpose of the Core Strategy is to provide the vision and spatial strategy for the future development of Milton Keynes to 2026, setting out the key strategic policies that all development proposals in the Borough will be assessed against.

The SA process is designed to run alongside and inform the production of DPDs rather than be a stand-alone process. The findings from this Scoping Report will help inform the issues to be addressed by the Core Strategy and subsequent stages of the SA will help to ensure that all policies and proposals in the strategy have sustainability at their heart. The diagram over the page shows how the Core Strategy and the SA process interact.

Figure 1- Interaction between the Core Strategy and the SA process

Source: ODPM Guidance, p38

2.0 Task A1- Other Plans, Programmes, Policies and sustainability objectives

2.1 Introduction

The first stage of the scoping process is to review existing plans, policies, programmes (PPPs) and other sustainability objectives to establish what the key objectives, indicators and targets are, which may influence the production of the Core Strategy and have implications for the SA.

2.2 Methodology

The documents reviewed were based on the list provided within the ODPM’s guidance paper. These were also supplemented by any other documents suggested at Officer level, which mainly took the form of local documents focused on specific characteristics of the area. International, national, regional and local/sub-regional documents have been considered.

The analysis of these documents helps to establish social, environmental and economic objectives that will need to be reflected in the SA Framework and also highlight any particular issues that the Core Strategy will need to address.

A detailed review of the PPPs can be found in appendix 1. For each there is short summary of the key objectives and any specific indicators or targets that the PPP sets out. There is also a review of what the implications of the PPP are for Core Strategy and the SA process.