DRAFT Sustainability Appraisal Report for the Emerging Local Plan ...

equirement for 10% of energy for all new developments to come from renewable sources,
however the Note has not been the subject of public consultation) and the measures
proposed in the draft 2012 Air Quality Plan (AQAP) cannot be implemented without
substantial funds. It is therefore recommended that the mitigation strategy proposed in this
section is introduced as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) addressing both air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the SPD would be to provide guidance on
air quality and climate changes mitigation measures required to ensure the sustainability of
the new development as proposed in the policies of the emerging Local Plan. The air quality
measures that the Council intends to take are already set out in the draft 2012 AQAP. The
SPD would take account of the issue of cumulative effects and interactions and possible
trade‐offs between climate change and air pollution mitigation measures.
Air Pollution / Carbon Reduction Strategy
9.103 Appropriate mitigation can ensure
that adverse impacts of
developments are avoided,
minimised or offset, in line with the
National Planning Policy Framework:
“Local planning authorities should
seek opportunities to achieve each of
the economic, social and
environmental dimensions of
sustainable development, and net
gains across all three. Significant
adverse impacts on any of these
dimensions should be avoided and,
wherever possible, alternative
options which reduce or eliminate
such impacts should be pursued.
Where adverse impacts are
Figure 12 ‐ Hierarchy of methods for addressing air
pollution
unavoidable, measures to mitigate the impact should be considered. Where adequate
mitigation measures are not possible, compensatory measures may be appropriate” (s. 152 of
the NPPF).
9.104 The hierarchy of methods for addressing air quality and greenhouse gas emission issues is
shown in Figure 12. Any adverse impacts should be avoided in the first place. This means that,
for instance, locations where current air pollution levels are high should be avoided. If
alternative sites cannot be identified, the development design, layout and location should be
looked at in terms of potential reductions in air quality impacts and greenhouse gas
emissions. If redesign measures are not sufficient to fully reduce the impacts to an acceptable
level then mitigation can be used to either protect sensitive receptors (from existing or future
pollutant concentrations) or reduce total air pollutant / greenhouse gas emissions from the
proposed development. As it is assumed that every development will add to overall air
emissions and, in some cases, introduce new exposure to an area of poor air quality,
offsetting measures will provide money for schemes that improve overall air quality.
9.105 Specific measures should be suited to development’s scale, predicted magnitude of air quality
impacts and existing pollutant concentrations. A generic (non‐exhaustive) list of mitigation
and offsetting measures, grouped into categories, has been compiled from available guidance
documents (Appendix 15). This list should be read alongside its Table 1 where the type of
measures was assigned to developments according to their size/predicted impact and existing
pollutant concentrations.
9.106 Under the current system only the largest developments or developments within or adjacent
to an AQMA are required to go through an Air Quality Assessment. However, even in the case
of large developments located in areas poor air quality, the predicted changes in nitrogen
dioxide / particulate matter concentrations modelled by the developer continue to show
negligible or insignificant impacts. The following are possible reasons for this.
Page | 136 Runnymede BC FINAL Sustainability Appraisal Report – Feb 2013