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

Provision of sustainable homes for all, SO15 progress towards a reduction in the risk of
flooding and SO18 the preparedness of the Borough to the impacts of climate change.
16.53 Urban development and supporting infrastructure networks, such as those being proposed
with the Local Plan and which are likely to be enhanced as a result of induced development,
all potentially affect both the use and quality of the water environment. The impact this
might have on sensitive and vulnerable European sites is considered in the HRA of the Local
Plan was considered within the Council HRA (2013) (see Appendix 9).
16.54 The Council’s HRA considered three Local Plan policies – LP01, LP02 and LP08 and their ability
to adversely affect the integrity of two European site – Thames Basin Heaths SPA and
Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham SAC. Based on the information available to it and
against the advice of Natural England, the Council was able to ascertain that implementation
of policies LP01, LP02 and LP03 would not alone or in combination with other plans or
projects adversely affect the integrity of either European site arising as a result of WRM3.
16.55 The sitting of urban development and supporting infrastructure such as roads can interrupt
the natural flows of both surface and ground waters, and can add to problems on flood
plains. Common construction practice is to use piling which creates preferential pathways for
groundwater. The quality of both ground and surface water can be affected by the run‐off
which is often laden with pollutants including fuel oils and as well as seasonal road
treatments (e.g. salt in the winter).
16.56 The Local Plan could tighten the policies that it is bringing forward to further minimise the
risks of development and infrastructure interfering with the water regime in addition to the
statutory avoidance of inappropriate development in flood plains but proactively encouraging
appropriate development and flood protection in the flood plain. Policies could also propose
that all developments incorporate systems to capture and filter surface water run‐off, into
the design of urban hard landscapes, roads and other supporting infrastructure as
appropriate. The Local Plan makes no specific references to either the protection,
minimisation of use, extraction management or site restoration of land and soil resources.
16.57 A limited number of policies and some alternatives are identified as having potentially
adverse effects on ER04, this is particularly apparent within the location set of policies.
16.58 LP01 and its both alternatives are considered to result in a mixed adverse effect on this
receptor. This is in comparison to the more positive neutral effect expected from policy LP01
and its alternatives in terms of SA.
16.59 Policy LP02 and one of its six alternatives (LP02‐A1) exhibit the same pattern of effects overall
on ER04, in contrast to the five remaining alternatives LP02‐A2(a) – LP02‐A3(b). All these have
scored adverse effects on all impact pathways. The SEA scores are not replicated in the SA
with all policy and alternatives scoring neutral. Policies LP03 – LP07 and SP06 and a number
of their alternatives, all exhibit the adverse affect on ER04 across the SEA. In contrast to these
policies, with the exception of SP08, all remaining score neutral or mixed. Neutral, mixed or
beneficial effects have been recorded by the assessment team in terms of the SA.
16.60 The potential for cumulative effects has also been considered in terms of this environmental
receptor (see: Table 57). This CEA concludes that policies LP01, LP02, LP04, LP05 and LP08
have the potential to cumulatively act in a negative manner on this receptor, however, given
the spatial extent of the area of influence over which the Local Plan has influence, it was not
considered appropriate for the CEA to be taken any further at this time.
16.61 Overall, the effect of the accepted policies contained within this Local Plan on ER04 is
considered to be neutral.
ER05 – Air Quality
16.62 The air quality receptor is defined as the current and likely future air quality in Runnymede.
Air pollution at various concentrations affect human health, natural and built environments.
Air quality limit values are set for individual pollutants to protect sensitive human and
ecological receptors.
Page | 209 Runnymede BC FINAL Sustainability Appraisal Report – Feb 2013