Sustainability Appraisal for SPD - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

The Planning Act 2008 allows for SPDs to be prepared without an SA provided that they are screened to establish whether or not an SA is required. This is an example of a recent screening for design guidance SPD: http://www.tandridge.gov.uk/yourcouncil/documents/document_display.htm?pk_document=2689

You need to check the original exemptions of the 2001 european directive when screening http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/Environment/Miscellaneous/FileDownLoad,1805,en.pdf 'When they determine the use of small areas at local level or are minor modifications to the above plans or programmes, they should be assessed only where Member States determine that they are likely to have significant effects on the environment.' The european guidance notes also indicate that this exemption would cover much of what we would term design guides/design spd .http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/pdf/030923_sea_guidance.pdf "The meaning of 'small' in the phrase 'small areas at local level' must be defined so as to take account of the differences between Member States and it will probably be necessary to decide it case by case. Interpretation will call for the careful exercise of judgement. The kind of plan or programme envisaged might be a building plan which, for a particular, limited area, outlines details of how buildings must be constructed, determining, for example, their height, width or design. There is a similar difficulty in deciding the meaning of ‘local’. The language of the Directive does not establish a clear link with local authorities but the word ‘level’ does imply a contrast with, for example, national or regional levels. The complete phrase (‘small areas at local level’) makes it clear that the whole of a local authority area could not be excluded (unless it were itself small). In some Member States local authority areas can be very large indeed and an exemption for the whole of such an area would be a major loophole in the scope of application. The key criterion for the application of the Directive, however, is not the size of area covered but whether the plan or programme would be likely to have significant environmental effects. A plan or programme which Member States determine likely to have significant environmental effects should undergo environmental assessment even if it determines only the use of a small area at local level. A similar point was made in Case C-392/96, Commission v Ireland, where the ECJ ruled that by setting thresholds on the basis of the size of projects alone, 'to the exclusion of their nature and location', the Member State exceeded the limits of its discretion. Projects could have significant effects on the environment by reason of their nature or location." So applying this intepretation, a satellite dish spd is unlikely to require spd, but a design guide for a national park might because of the significance of the impacts T

The 2009 updates to the regulations mean that SA is nolonger required, however SEA may still be required as has been said