Sustainability Appraisal - Supplementary Report [EXAM 115/115B]
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 LUC was commissioned by Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) in November 2019 to undertake further work on the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA))[1] of the new Local Plan.
1.2 The Local Plan was submitted to government by CBC on 30th April 2018 and Examination hearing sessions took place between May and July 2019. Following the hearings, the Inspectors wrote a post-hearing letter to the Council (30th September 2019[2]) which raised a number of points in relation to the SA work carried out to date. The purpose of this Supplementary SA report is to present the further work undertaken to address those points.
1.3 The remainder of this report is structured as follows:
- Chapter 2 sets out the scope of the Supplementary SA work that has been carried out.
- Chapter 3 describes the methodology used in the SA.
- Chapters 4 and 5 report the findings of the Supplementary SA work.
- Chapter 6 summarises the changes to the SA since the Regulation 19 SA Report[3].
- Chapter 7 presents a monitoring framework for the SA.
- Chapter 8 sets out the next steps to be undertaken in the SA and Local Plan preparation processes.
1.4 A Non-Technical Summary of this report is also available separately.
[1] SEA and SA are separate processes but have similar aims and objectives. National Planning Practice Guidance shows how it is possible to satisfy both requirements by undertaking a joint SA/SEA process, and to present an SA report that incorporates the requirements of the SEA Regulations. The SA/SEA of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan is being undertaken using this integrated approach and throughout this report the abbreviation 'SA' should therefore be taken to refer to 'SA incorporating the requirements of SEA'.
[2] Examination document 69
[3] Enfusion (January 2018) Central Bedfordshire Council Local Plan: Pre-Submission Regulation 19 Consultation Sustainability Appraisal
