National Planning Framework
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
Easy-read guide
Background
All public bodies in Scotland, including the Scottish Government, have to assess and report on the environmental effects of most of their plans, programmes and strategies. This process is known as Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and is required by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.
The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a SEA of the National Planning Framework (NPF). This paper briefly explains what SEA is to help people to participate in the process.
What is Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)?
SEA is not a test of how 'environmentally friendly' a plan is applied after its content has already been decided. Environmental impacts should be identified early in the process as the plan is written. From the outset of the policy making process, the SEA of the NPF has raised the profile of environmental issues and has ensured that decisions on its content are being made in an informed and transparent way.
SEA is required to assess the environmental impacts of the proposed NPF and also to compare this with the effects of any 'reasonable' alternatives. This helps policy makers to explore a wide range of opportunities and ideas before deciding on the best solution and, if possible, including it in the NPF. Other policy considerations mean that it will not always be possible to choose the ideal option from an environmental perspective. However, clear justification should be given where the recommendations of the SEA cannot be fully followed through in the NPF.
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What has the SEA process shown so far?
To date the SEA has shown that the NPF positively addresses many environmental challenges. It has also identified a number of issues which could usefully be explored further within the final NPF, including climate change adaptation, waste management and flooding. The NPF SEA has recognised that different environmental and policy objectives cannot always be easily reconciled. For example, it is difficult to maximise Scotland's renewable energy output without creating significant effects for landscapes and biodiversity, and tensions can arise between the objective of sustainable economic growth, and growing environmental challenges including climate change. The SEA has also shown that, to deliver the proposed suite of National Developments in an environmentally sustainable way, co-ordinated planning and mitigation measures will be required at a strategic level.
What opportunities have there been to participate in the NPF SEA so far?
You don't need to be an expert on environmental matters or a professional planner to contribute to the SEA process - all views are valid. The SEA means that any decisions that could have significant environmental effects are made in a transparent way. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that decisions are made in light of the best available environmental information.
There are key points in the SEA process where the public are encouraged to participate in the assessment. It is important that the consultation involves a wide range of people and starts early in the process to ensure that views can be taken on board.
The NPF SEA has already involved the public at a number of stages. Firstly the scoping report was published on-line. This defined the overall approach to the SEA and identified key environmental issues at the outset. Secondly, an interim report set out the findings of an assessment of strategic alternatives, which were explored early in the process of preparing the NPF. Thirdly, an SEA Environmental Report was published for consultation alongside the Discussion Draft NPF in January 2008.
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What have people said about the NPF SEA so far?
The three SEA Consultation Authorities (Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage and Historic Scotland) have been involved in the NPF SEA since the beginning of the process. Their detailed responses to the published reports have been extremely helpful.
Formal responses to the NPF SEA reports have been quite limited so far. The NPF team also undertook workshop sessions focusing on the SEA within the second round of NPF consultation seminars, in Spring 2008. These workshops were well attended by a diverse range of interest groups and individuals. Views and comments raised in the discussions were fed back into the NPF redrafting process.
Views so far have varied between interest groups and individuals. Some people have focused on specific parts of the NPF, whilst others gave more general views on the overall approach. Many people were very positive about the findings of the assessment and welcomed the transparency of reporting. Others had concerns about the environmental effects of specific developments and felt that more detailed assessment was needed before some of the proposals could be included in the NPF. This included strongly expressed concerns about the proposed airport enhancement projects, and mixed opinions on the proposals for improvements to the electricity grid to support renewable energy.
Overall, consultees broadly concurred with the specific findings, and agreed with most of the predicted environmental effects. However, in some instances, more than one consultee felt that some predicted negative effects could be more significant on the ground. Helpfully, many further mitigation measures were suggested. Some consultees also highlighted ways in which the NPF as a whole could be enhanced to make a more positive contribution to the environment. All non-confidential responses to the SEA are available on the NPF website.
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Is it too late to contribute to the NPF SEA process?
No. Following the period of consultation on the Discussion Draft NPF, it emerged that many consultees had further ideas for National Developments, that had not yet been subject to environmental assessment. The Scottish Government therefore undertook a further environmental assessment of many of these ideas, and has taken this information into account in drafting the Proposed NPF. To give the public an opportunity to comment on the potential environmental effects of these candidate National Developments, the National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 SEA: Supplementary Assessment of the Environmental Effects of Candidate National Developments Environmental Report Annex 2 - Consultation Paper was published in September.
Responses will be taken into account in finalising the proposed NPF.
If you have a view on this supplementary environmental report, we would like to hear from you by the 31st October 2008. Some questions for consultees are provided in the covering letter for the report. Please send your responses to the NPF Team at NPFTeam@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or addressed to National Planning Framework Team, Scottish Government, Directorate for the Built Environment, Area 2-H, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ.
What happens next?
The NPF is currently being redrafted in light of consultation responses to the Discussion Draft and the SEA. The intention is to lay a Proposed Framework before Parliament later in the Autumn, for 60 days scrutiny. A full summary of the SEA process is being prepared to inform that stage in the process. The intention is to publish the final NPF2 in the Spring of 2009. At that point a post-adoption SEA Statement will also be published. This will reflect on, and conclude, the process and will explain how the SEA has influenced the NPF in its final form.
For more information…
Dr. Fiona Simpson, SEA Specialist within the Scottish Government's Directorate for the Built Environment ( Fiona.Simpson@scotland.gov.uk or 0131 244 7547), can provide more detailed information on the SEA process and its findings.
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