Sustainability Appraisal
Sustainability appraisal of local development framework documents
There is a legal requirement under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 for all Local Development Framework (LDF) Documents to be subject to sustainability appraisal before they are published for public consultation. The purpose of the appraisal is to check that the policies and guidance in the documents will promote sustainable development.
The council has appointed consultants Faber Maunsell to carry out the sustainability appraisal (SA) of the Designing a Better Walsall SPD and Natural Environment SPD. The SA is done in stages, at each key stage of the plan preparation. The first stage is called “scoping” and involves reviewing existing policies, collating the baseline information that will be used in the SA, and preparing a framework for the appraisal.
In July 2007 Faber Maunsell prepared a Draft SA Scoping Report (Word 2.13MB) for consultation. Consultation took place in July and August 2007. Copies of the document were sent to English Heritage, the Environment Agency, Natural England and other relevant organisations. The SA Framework has been revised to reflect the comments received.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
It is proposed that the SA of the Natural Environment SPD will include a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). This type of assessment is required under the European SEA Directive for certain types of plans, policies and programmes, including many land use plans. The purpose of the SEA is to assess the environmental effects of the plan, and where possible, to address any problems.
Before it starts to assess a plan, the council must make a formal decision (“determine”) whether or not a SEA is required. English Heritage, the Environment Agency and Natural England have to be consulted before the council decides. This process is called “screening.”
The council consulted the relevant organisations on the need for SEA during July and August 2007. Following this consultation, the council determined that a SEA is required for both SPDs. The SEA Determinations and accompanying Screening Statements are attached below.
The Screening Statements explain the reasons for the council’s determination and the relationship of the SEA to other types of assessment such as sustainability appraisal (SA), appropriate assessment (AA), strategic flood risk assessment (SFRA) and equality impact assessment (EqIA).
Contact us
Email LDF@walsall.gov.uk
This page was last updated on 25 January 2010