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

Receptor
Key Issues, challenges and potential responses for the Local
Plan
rail. Consequently the volume of traffic that makes use of the existing road
network and that which passes through the borough, its towns, and villages is
high. This volume of traffic can have adverse impacts on the condition of
buildings and supporting infrastructure. The current condition of the built
environment of a number of towns is considered to be of poor quality,
therefore there is the opportunity to improve the condition of this receptor
significantly.
Possible LP Response: The Local Plan could bring forward policies that ensure
the production of a set of coherent Area Action Plans to enhance the quality
and offer of the towns as well as improve the integration of land use and
infrastructure planning at both the strategic and the local levels. Policies could
ensure that supporting infrastructure is brought forward to enable and
enhance the towns in terms of access for communities and the quality of the
public realm and townscape.
How LP Responded: The Local Plan does not contain a specific policy set for
the built environment, instead it relies upon a group of policies that focus
upon developing urban areas such as LP04 – LP08 the comprehensive
redevelopment of the former DERA site.
Evolution of Baseline in Absence of Plan
13.21 It can be expected that the population in Runnymede, as within the South East, will continue
to grow. This will increase demand for housing, employment space and supporting social and
community infrastructure (e.g. schools, hospitals and health centres, retail provision etc).
Potential Impact Pathways
BE1 Quality of Design of new development
13.22 Changes to the built environment could change an area from a design and aesthetics
perspective. The scale and extent of any effects would depend on the location, nature and
scale of any new development or maintenance works and the characteristics of the affected
area.
BE2 Impacts on built structures
13.23 The built environment is subject to change over time and needs to be regularly maintained.
Adverse impacts can affect the quality of the built environment such as available resources
for maintenance
BE3 Impacts on the ambience of settlements
13.24 Pressure to develop within Runnymede could affect the characteristics of the built
environment within existing settlements potentially in both negative and positive ways
depending upon how development is situated.
Consideration of Policy and its Alternatives on ER08
Policy LP01: Strategy for the Location of Development
13.25 With regard to the SEA (Appendix 4) all policy options have a generally positive impact.
13.26 Having regard to the conclusion of SA in Appendix 3, overall, all the policy approaches have a
neutral impact. It is noted that the impact on RSF 14 (the reuse of urban land) is undermined
by the greenfield alternatives, whilst the impact on air quality is adverse (RSF 16) for all
alternatives. There is again an adverse impact on RSF 20 – the impact on the natural and
heritage environment. The need to accommodate growth will have a consequence for all the
receptors, but the impact of the alternatives is not different for planned or unplanned
growth.
13.27 LP01 overall in the SA consideration does not have a different impact to the alternatives.
They are all neutral.
Policy LP02: Housing Provision and Distribution
13.28 The impact of all alternatives on the BE are all positive (Appendix 4).
Page | 174 Runnymede BC FINAL Sustainability Appraisal Report – Feb 2013