Sustainability appraisal
North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and the North York Moors National Park Authority are producing a Minerals and waste joint plan which will cover minerals and waste planning up to 2030. Planning law requires that this plan is subject to a sustainability appraisal.
Sustainability appraisal is a tool that will enable the performance of policies and plans to be assessed against a number of environmental, economic and social objectives. This is to help ensure that the final plan represents a sustainable approach to minerals and waste development across the joint plan area.
Background
Prior to the current approach for the production of a joint plan, we had begun preparation of separate waste and minerals core strategies. Sustainability appraisal had been a key part of the preparation of those documents and as part of this process several sustainability appraisal documents had been published.
The work that has already been undertaken has helped to inform the scope of the minerals and waste joint plan sustainability appraisal.
Sustainability appraisal consultation
The first stage in the sustainability appraisal process is the production of a scoping report which sets out how the sustainability appraisal will be undertaken and the issues it will focus on.
When carrying out the sustainability appraisal it will be important to ensure that issues are considered that are important to local residents, businesses and other organisations. While certain topics, such as the likely effects on important landscapes, the atmosphere, soils and water must be considered, there are likely to be a wider variety of issues that contribute to the unique social, economic and environmental character of the joint plan area. Identifying these issues through the sustainability appraisal will enable potential effects to be minimised or avoided.
The minerals and waste joint plan sustainability appraisal scoping report can be viewed below:
Volume 1 - scoping report [1mb] [pdf] - Volume 2 - scoping report baseline [4mb] [pdf]
- Volume 3 - scoping report appendices [1mb] [pdf]
A non-technical summary of the sustainability appraisal [469kb] [pdf] has also been produced.
You can comment on the sustainability appraisal scoping report on the Minerals and waste joint plan consultation page.
Strategic flood risk assessment
Government guidance recommends that sustainability appraisal should be supported by a strategic flood risk assessment (SFRA). SFRA will allow us to assess the vulnerability of potential minerals and waste sites to flood risk. Separate SFRAs have been carried out for the three authorities involved in the minerals and waste joint plan. For further information, please visit the following webpages:
- North Yorkshire strategic flood risk assessment
- North East Yorkshire strategic flood risk assessment
- York Strategic flood risk assessment
Habitats Regulations assessment
Assessment of the effects of the minerals and waste joint plan on wildlife sites of European importance is required under the EU Habitats Directive, as transposed into UK law by the Habitats and Species Regulations, 2010. The Habitat Regulations assessment considers how significant any impacts are likely to be, and identifies whether they can be reduced (mitigated) to protect these sites or whether it is not possible to offset any likely adverse effects.
Internationally important nature sites include Special Areas of Conservation which have important habitat features, Special Protection Areas which relate to important bird populations and Ramsar sites which are internationally important wetlands. Further information on the Habitats Regulations assessment will be added as the plan progresses.
Minerals and waste site and area assessments
The minerals and waste joint plan is expected to identify broad areas and sites for minerals development and for the management of waste within the joint plan area. A minerals and waste sites and areas assessment methodology will be developed in order to assess sites and areas for their sustainability implications. This methodology will be consulted on in due course. Find out more information about site and area assessments here.