Sustainability Appraisal

Local Plans are subject to a process called Sustainability Appraisal (SA), which assesses the potential social, economic and environmental effects of a plan. In addition, plans and strategies such as the Local Plan are required to be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess their environmental effects. The Government recommends that these two appraisals are integrated into a single process and tends to simply be referred to as the Sustainability Appraisal (SA). 

The purpose of the SA is to promote sustainable development through the better integration of sustainability considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans.

Sustainability Appraisal of Burnley’s Local Plan

Scoping Report

An SA Scoping Report, setting out the methodology for carrying out the SA was finalised in July 2012 to update an earlier 2006 Scoping Report.

Issues and Options

An Issues and Options SA Report was prepared to support the Issues and Options Local Plan document. This was the subject of consultation alongside the Local Plan Issues and Options document from 17 February to 31 March 2014.

Issues and Options:  Additional Sites

Following on from the Issues and Options consultation, the Council consulted on an Issues and Options Additional Sites document which was accompanied by an Issues and Options Additional Sites Sustainability Appraisal. This consultation period ran from 26 August to 7 October 2014.

Preferred Options

A Preferred Options draft of the Local Plan was accompanied by a Preferred Option Sustainability Appraisal Report. This was the subject of consultation alongside the Preferred Options Local Plan over a six week period from 15 July to 26 August 2016.

Proposed Submission

The Proposed Submission Local Plan was published for the making of representations on 12 April 2017. A Sustainability Appraisal Report of the Proposed Submission Plan was also published together with a non-Technical Summary.

Proposed Main Modifications

Following the Examination Hearing Sessions held in November and December 2017, the Inspector proposed a number of Main Modifications i.e. changes to the Submitted Plan that he considered may be necessary to make it sound. 

A Sustainability Appraisal Report on the Proposed Main Modifications was produced  as an Addendum to the Proposed Submission Report. The Main Modifications and accompanying SA were subject to public consultation from 9th March to 27th April 2018.

Adoption

The Local Plan was adopted on 31 July 2018. A Post-Adoption SA/SEA Statement has been produced and can be found here.