Sustainability appraisals
Sustainability appraisals look at the economic, social and environmental impact of plans. These appraisals are an essential part of making a good Local Plan.
They must meet the legal requirements of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) directive – go to GOV.UK: Strategic environmental assessment and sustainability appraisal.
Integrated impact assessment
We are undertaking an integrated impact assessment (IIA) of the emerging Local Plan. It will comprise:
- a sustainability appraisal (SA), including a strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
- a health impact assessment (HIA)
- an equalities impact assessment (EqIA)
We have prepared an IIA for our Local Plan Initial Proposals. You can read this document and send us your comments below. Comments must be received no later than 5pm, Monday 19 February 2024.
Integrated impact assessment, scoping report 2022
The first step in a Local Plan sustainability process is to prepare a 'scoping report'. This sets out:
- the context in which the plan is being prepared
- our sustainability objectives
- how we will carry out the assessment
- the relevant environmental, economic and social issues
Our IIA scoping report built on the previous integrated sustainability appraisal (ISA) of the emerging Local Plan undertaken in 2016 ('scoping' stage) and 2018 ('issues and options' stage). We consulted on this report from 17 May 2022 to 21 June 2022.
The report provides an updated economic, environmental and social policy context and baseline information. It sets out our approach to the IIA, drawing on the ISA work carried out to date. In our approach, we intend to strengthen the IIA and the soundness of the Local Plan.
Integrated Impact Assessment scoping report
Previous sustainability appraisal work
You can download previous sustainability appraisal work below.
Sustainability Appraisal scoping report
Local Plan, Issues and Options (Stage 2) Integrated Sustainability Appraisal