SNH PERSPECTIVE ON PLANNING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Derek Manson

Planning Adviser

SNH – who were are, what we do

• Scottish Natural Heritage is funded by the Scottish Government. Our purpose is to: • promote care for and improvement of the natural heritage • help people enjoy it responsibly • enable greater understanding and awareness of it • promote its sustainable use, now and for future generations.

We do this by• Providing advice to the Scottish Government and its agencies, local

authorities, developers, land managers and others.• Promote the wider benefits of protecting and enhancing nature and

landscapes in the public interest• Targeting action to protect and enhance nature and landscapes, working in

partnership with others.

SNH and Development Plans• We are a Key Agency as

defined in planning circular 1/2009 Development Planning

• Our formal role is to co-operate with planning authorities at the following stages• The compilation of the main issues

report• The preparation of the proposed

plan• The preparation of action

programmes and proposed action programmes

How we can help Working jointly with other

agencies as part of a collaborative process of

plan-making;

Promoting the inclusion of Green Networks in

Development Plans;

Advising on the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Appraisal of development

plans ;

Adopting a team approach to our involvement in each

Plan, drawing on the expertise of a wide range of

our staff;

Raising awareness of the importance of nature and

landscapes to making good places for people to live

and work in;

Providing map-based information on nature and

landscapes;

Providing guidance and good practice on planning

for nature,

Assist in writing suggested text/policies for elements of

the proposed plan

What we seek to do

• We seek to engage pro-actively and early in development plan preparation

• We wish to provide clear, helpful advice to planning authorities and aid the implementation of a genuinely plan led system

Green NetworksWe recommend that the LDP provides a basis to fulfill the SPP requirements to protect and enhance the green network, through:

• Policies and spatial proposals that safeguard and avoid fragmentation of existing green networks and identify opportunities to create or enhance existing green network assets;

• Policies and spatial proposals that indicate new or future green network development in relation to other planning matters (for example housing growth, infrastructure provision, allocation of business land etc).

From this

To this

Strategic Environmental Assessment

• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) plays a vital role in protecting and improving all of these aspects of the environment and more by ensuring that policy-makers across Scotland embed environmental considerations into Local Development Plans.

• We are also a "Consultation Authority", along with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Historic Scotland, providing advice and comment on SEAs at screening, scoping and environment report stage.

Topics considered as part of SEABiodiversity, Flora and FaunaPopulation and Human HealthSoilWater AirClimatic FactorsMaterial AssetsCultural Heritage Landscape

Habitat Regulations Appraisal• Habitats Regulations Appraisal,

seeks to ensure that only those plans, projects and development proposals which will not adversely affect the interests of a European protected site (SPAs and SACs) are allowed to proceed.

• We welcome early engagement to help planning authorities identify any likely significant effects of draft policies and proposals on European sites, and on mitigation necessary

Landscape Capacity Study• SNH, South, East and North

Ayrshire Planning Authorities have co-funded and worked together to produce landscape wind capacity studies.

• These are based on SNH Landscape Character Assessments.

• The capacity studies only look at landscape and visual aspects of wind energy development.

Questions

Contact details: derek.manson@snh.gov.uk 0141 951 0835