Sustainability Appraisals and other assessments

Sustainability Appraisal/Strategic Environmental Assessment (SA/SEA) is a process of appraising the social, environmental and economic effects of plans strategies and policies from the outset of plan preparation.

The aim is to ensure that they promote sustainable development. All Development Plan Documents are required to undergo a SA/SEA. We have produced an SA/SEA Scoping Report, which sets out the framework by which the documents will be appraised. Assessments have been produced for the issues and options, and also for the preferred options and submission stages as the documents progress. These appraisals form part of the Local Development Framework. The results of the Sustainability Appraisals have been informed by the Equalities Impact Assessments and the Habitat Regulations Assessments set out below.

Equalities Impact Assessments

Equalities Impact Assessments are intended to make sure that policies contained within a document do not adversely discriminate against any equality group (based on age, disability, gender, race, faith or sexual orientation). It does this by identifying issues of concern to the equalities groups and then assessing whether each policy addresses these issues. If an adverse impact is found then an action plan is required to address the impact.

Equalities Impact Assessments have been prepared for the following:

• Millbay and Stonehouse Area Action Plan  - Submission
• Devonport Area Action Plan - Submission
• North Plymstock Area Action Plan - Submission
• Core Strategy - Preferred Options

Habitat Regulations Assessments

Habitat Regulations Assessments have been produced to determine whether policies and proposals of Plymouth City Council’s (PCC) Local Development Framework (LDF) documents will have a significant adverse impact on sites of European Importance for Nature Conservation. These assessments identify any potential conflicts between the LDF documents and the conservation objectives for these sites, and suggest options for avoiding any damaging effects.

Habitat Regulations Assessments have been prepared for the following:

LDF Core Strategy

North Plymstock Area Action Plan

Devonport Area Action Plan

Millbay and Stonehouse Area Action Plan

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