Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Provisional Local

Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey 2006/07 – 2010/11 Environmental Report on the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey 2006/07 – 2010/11 Non-Technical Summary March 2006 Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Report for the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey 2006/07 to 2010/11 1. Introduction The aim of this brief non-technical summary is to provide a synopsis of the key contents of the full Environmental Report for the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey 2006/07 to 2010/11 (referred to as the Plan). 2. 2.1 Overall Approach to the Strategic Environmental Assessment Purpose of the assessment The Environmental Assessment of Plans & Programmes Regulations came into force in England and Wales in 2004. Under those regulations Local Transport Plans are identified as one of the types of plans and programmes that need to undergo strategic environmental assessment. The purpose of a strategic environmental assessment is to see whether a plan could place the environment at risk of damage and give rise to opportunities for the environment to be improved. By identifying the risks of environmental damage and the opportunities for environmental benefit that might arise from a plan, strategic environmental assessment helps to identify changes that could be made to improve the plan’s environmental performance. In other words, strategic environmental assessment can be used to find ways of reducing the risks of damage and increasing the chances of a plan delivering environmental improvements. 2.2 Method of assessment The strategic environmental assessment of the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey (2006/07 to 2010/11) was carried out on behalf of the Surrey County Council Local Transport Planning team by the council’s in-house team of environmental assessment specialists. The strategic environmental assessment used a set of ten criteria to evaluate the likely environmental performance of the Plan, which reflected the following aspects of the environment: • • • • • Air quality Climate change Land, soil and mineral resources Materials efficiency and waste Water resources and quality • • • • • Built environment Historic environment Natural environment and biodiversity Landscape Welfare, health and well-being The strategic environmental assessment examined the extent to which the individual components of the Plan, and the Plan as a whole could present risks of damage and opportunities for benefit to the different aspects of the environment listed above. The extent to which each of the identified risks and opportunities could be considered to be ‘significant’ at the county level was assessed, using ranks ranging from ‘very high significance’ to very low significance’. The findings of those assessments were used to determine which aspects of the environment might be placed at greatest risk and which were most likely to benefit from the Plan. A summary of the key findings of the assessment is given in section 4 of this report. 1 3. Overview of the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey The strategic environmental assessment examined three main components of the Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey: the Plan objectives; the alternative strategies that had been considered for the Plan; and, the schemes that would be used to put the Plan into action. The following figure summarises the structure and content of the Plan. Provisional Local Transport Plan for Surrey 2006/07 to 2010/11 Plan Objectives Objective 1 Tackling congestion to limit delays Objective 2 Increasing accessibility to key services & facilities Objective 3 Improving road safety & security Objective 4 Enhancing the environment & quality of life Objective 5 Improving management & maintenance of the highway network Alternative 1 Strategic Alternatives Smarter Choices Promoting measures to influence travel behaviour with little or no emphasis on infrastructure changes Alternative 2 Enhanced Infrastructure Improving existing transport infrastructure with little or no emphasis on promoting measures to influence travel behaviour Alternative 3 The Balanced Approach Balancing physical improvements to existing transport infrastructure with measures designed to influence travel behaviour Alternative 4 Business as Usual The approach taken under the existing Local Transport Plan (2000/01 to 2004/05) focusing on infrastructure improvements with some use of measures designed to influence travel behaviour Group 1 Supporting Public Transport Group 2 Promoting Alternatives to the Car Including: Travel planning Cycling schemes Walking schemes Rights of Way improvements Group 3 Enabling Safe & Secure Travel Including: Safer Routes to Schools Local safety schemes Road crossing schemes Traffic Management & Calming schemes Group 4 Looking after the Transport Network Including: New road & local road schemes Carriageway & footway maintenance Bridge strengthening schemes Structural maintenance schemes Other maintenance schemes Proposed Schemes Including: Bus infrastructure schemes Bus priority schemes Public transport interchanges Park & Ride schemes Key Components that will feature in the version of the Local Transport Plan submitted to the Department for Transport in 2006 Alternatives developed for the purposes of the strategic environmental assessment 2 4. 4.1 Summary of Main Findings Objectives A summary of the findings of the assessment of the Plan’s objectives is set out in the table below. Objective 1 (tackling congestion), Objective 2 (increasing accessibility to key services and facilities), and Objective 4 (enhancing the environment and quality of life) were assessed as only likely to give rise to opportunities for the environment to benefit. Objective 4 was considered likely to present the greatest number of opportunities for environmental benefit. Objective 3 (improving road safety and security) and Objective 5 (improving management and maintenance of the transport network) were assessed as likely to give rise to risks to the environment and to opportunities for environmental benefit. Objective 5 was considered likely to give rise to the greatest number of risks to the environment. Summary of findings for the Plan objectives Very high significance Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3 Objective 4 Objective 5 High significance Medium significance Low significance Very low significance 2 - 4 3 2 5 2 1 3 2 9 - 1 - 3 2 1 1 - - - Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect 4.2 Strategic alternatives A summary of the findings of the assessment of the alternative strategies that were developed for use in the strategic environmental assessment of the Plan is set out in the table on the following page. All four strategic alternatives – Alternative 1 (Smarter choices), Alternative 2 (Enhanced infrastructure), Alternative 3 (the Balanced Approach) and the Alternative 4 (Business as usual) – were assessed as having the capacity to give rise to risks to and opportunities for the environment. Alternative 2 and Alternative 4 were assessed as likely to present the greatest number of risks to the environment, with Alternative 1 being the least risky option. Alternative 3 and Alternative 1 were considered likely to give rise to the greatest number of opportunities for the environment to benefit. 3 Summary of findings for the Strategic Alternatives Very high significance Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3 Alternative 4 High significance Medium significance Low significance Very low significance 4 3 - 1 2 4 3 2 2 2 2 4 2 1 2 2 1 1 - - 2 2 - - - Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect 4.3 Groups of Proposed Schemes A summary of the findings of the assessment of the groups of schemes that would be used to put the Plan into action is set out in the table below. All four groups of schemes, Group 1 (Supporting Public Transport), Group 2 (Promoting Alternatives to the Car), Group 3 (Enabling Safe and Secure Travel) and Group 4 (Looking after the Transport Network) were assessed as being likely to give rise to risks to the environment and to opportunities for environmental benefit. Group 4 presented the greatest number and most significant risks to the environment. Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 were assessed as being likely to give rise to the greatest number of opportunities for the environment to benefit. Summary of findings for the Groups of Proposed Schemes Very high significance Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 High significance Medium significance Low significance Very low significance 1 - 5 1 2 3 5 4 2 3 4 2 - 2 2 - 1 2 1 - - Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect Adverse impact Beneficial effect 4.4 The Plan as a whole The extent of the risks and opportunities that the Plan presents to each aspect of the environment was assessed by combining the findings for the objectives, Alternative 3 (The Balanced Approach), and the groups of proposed schemes. The aspects of the environment considered to be at greatest risk from the Plan included those relating to: 4 • The land, soil and mineral resources, on account of the demands for aggregate that would be expected to arise as a result of the need to keep the transport network in good condition and to extend it where necessary. The historic environment, on account of the amount of work that is likely to be carried out in urban areas, which may include areas or buildings of historic importance. Climate change, on account of transport’s role in the emission of carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. • • The aspects of the environment considered to be most likely to experience opportunities for beneficial effects on the environmental as a result of the Plan included those relating to: • • • The welfare, health and well being of the local population, on account of the safety, accessibility and congestion reduction measures planned. The built environment, on account of the number of road improvement schemes that are likely to be delivered within the urban areas and settlements of Surrey. Air quality and climate change on account of the accessibility and congestion measures planned. Aspect of the Environment Climate change Land, soil & mineral resources Air quality Materials efficiency & waste Water resources & quality Built environment Historic environment Natural environment & biodiversity Landscape Welfare, health & well being Risks of Adverse Impacts Overall Score 22 25 4 18 10 0 24 Rank 3rd 1st 8th 4th 7th 10th 2nd Opportunities for Beneficial effects Overall Score 18 3 24 3 5 34 5 Rank 4th 9th 3rd 9th 6th 1st 6th 18 18 4 4th 4th 8th 5 7 34 6th 5th 1st 5. Performance Monitoring Recommendations The final stage in the strategic environmental assessment checked the extent to which the indicators and targets set out in the Plan might be used to monitor and report on the Plan’s environmental performance. The Plan was found to have indicators and targets that could be appropriately used to monitor its environmental performance for six of the aspects of the environment considered in the course of the 5 strategic environmental assessment. The four environmental aspects for which the Plan did not have any indicators or targets included water resources and quality, the historic environment, the natural environment and biodiversity and the landscape. To address that gap in the performance monitoring framework for the plan the following suggestions were made in the Environmental Report. Water resources & quality Number of capital projects delivered per year that incorporate measures to minimise adverse effects on the water environment. Historic environment Number of capital projects delivered per year within 500m of a Conservation Area, a Listed Building or a Scheduled Monument. Number of capital projects delivered per year for which studies of archaeological or heritage impact were undertaken before planning permission was received and/or work commenced. Number of capital projects delivered per year that incorporate measures to safeguard or restore the historic environment of the area affected. Natural environment & Biodiversity Number of capital projects delivered per year within 1km of an area designated as being of International, European or national importance for nature conservation (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Ramsar sites, Sites of Special Scientific Interest). Number of capital projects delivered per year for which studies of ecological impact were undertaken before planning permission was received and/or work commenced. Number of capital projects delivered per year that incorporate measures to restore or enhance the nature conservation value of the area affected by the scheme. Landscape Number of capital projects delivered per year within 1km of an area of landscape designated as being of national importance (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) or local importance (Area of Great Landscape Value). Number of capital projects delivered per year for which studies of landscape impact were undertaken before planning permission was received and/or work commenced. Number of capital projects delivered per year that incorporate measures to restore or enhance the landscape of the area affected by the scheme. 6