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

of their natural beauty). Runnymede is typified as being a London urban fringe area
constrained by Green Belt, alluvial flood plains and nature protection.
16.110 Current indicator data suggests (see: Table 90) that the condition of this environmental
receptor is overall favourable. The favourable condition assessment is transferred to its SEA
Factor status.
16.111 No landscapes in Runnymede are protected under the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
but 78% of its land area is designated as metropolitan Green Belt. Pockets of high quality
urban environments pepper an otherwise non‐distinct urban realm. Urban development and
supporting infrastructure developments and schemes have the capacity to significantly affect
the quantity of both the borough’s Green Belt and its urban environments.
16.112 It is possibly optimistic to expect this Local Plan to bring forward policies to replace poor
quality environments, enhance good quality environments, and strictly protect those limited
environments that are deemed excellent. It might equally be optimistic to have expected it to
brought forward policies that makes it possible to promote the development of places fit for
the 21 st Century living, whilst managing the control of the risks such an ambition would
present to the character and integrity of the limited amount of Runnymede’s good
landscapes.
16.113 The Local Plan contains no specific landscape and visual polices. The importance of retaining
landscape and protecting visual amenity is loosely expressed in a number of policies on town
centre development such as and tourism Policy SP06. The Local Plan contains a number of
specific policies that have the potential to adversely affect the limited landscape and visual
amenity quality that exist. These are the group of policies that focus upon developing urban
areas such as LP01, LP02, LP04, LP05 and LP08 the comprehensive redevelopment of the
former DERA site. Policy SP05 promotes the principle of ‘good design’ as advocated by the
NPPF.
16.114 It has been determined that cumulative effects are not considered to be significant on this
receptor.
16.115 Overall, the effect of the accepted policies contained within this Local Plan on ER10 is
considered to be neutral.
ER01 – ER10 Overall Conclusion
15.116 The Local Plan preparation, as part of the SAR, has involved an examination of the impact of
the policy alternatives on the 10 environmental receptors. The 18 policy alternatives have
given rise to a number of issues that have required different degrees of scrutiny at the
various levels of assessment that form part of the SEA and SA process. These are set out in
sections 5 to 14.
15.117 The assembled data suggests that the 10 environmental receptors exhibit differing degrees
of robustness and this reflects the complex relationship with the local area. Inevitably some
of the receptors, such as ER01 (Natural Environment and Biodiversity), ER05 (Climate
Change), and ER06 (Air quality) are particularly vulnerable to development changes in the
local area. Consequently when considering the impact of the policy alternatives it was
anticipated that any form of additional development would need to balance the impact on
the environmental receptors and the need to accommodate the future needs of the local
communities.
15.118 The scrutiny that has taken place as part of the SEA and SA process and reported in this
Sustainability Appraisal Report has provided the groundwork that will form an implicit part
of the consideration of future proposals. A key part of this consideration will be the need to
follow through with mitigation measures outlined in Appendix 2 to ensure that the impact
on the environmental receptors is moderated.
16.116 The report covers a spectrum of indicators that range from the negative to the positive. The
overall view from the conclusions, when balancing the outcome of the SEA with the SA, is
that the need to protect the receptors with the future needs of the local community results in
a Plan with a neutral impact.
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