Ministerial guidelines
Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland: Guidance for Planning Authorities
Screening and appropriate assessment under the Habitats Directive, for plans and projects that could affect a Natura 2000 site.
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (National Parks and Wildlife Service) · December 2009, revised February 2010 · 84 pages
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- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 51 through the review process it will be necessary to carry out AA screening at every stage of the planning process. If it is determined in screening that the plan may have a significant effect on a Natura 2000 site, then the Planning Authority will need to prepare a NIS. This will examine in detail the plan and its potential effects on Natura 2000 sites. This process is likely to differ somewhat from the preparation of other Natura Impact Statements in relation to projects because the data and information being gathered for the Statement are themselves likely to influence the shape of the plan. As with other forms of impact assessment, the AA process is an iterative one and the information gathered in respect of Natura 2000 sites, their conservation objectives, environmental sensitivities and existing environmental problems, should be used to guide the policies and objectives of the plan and to avoid impacts on the sites. In the interests of clarity, it is recommended that the findings of the SEA and AA processes should be compiled in separate reports. In the case of SEA these findings are documented in an Environmental Report. In the case of AA, it is recommended that the findings of this exercise are recorded in the Natura Impact Statement. An SEA will in many cases need to incorporate material from the AA; conversely, material from the SEA may help inform the AA. 4.6. Approaches to Undertaking the AA of Plans Work on the NIS can be carried out by an in-house team preparing the plan, if they have the requisite ecological and other expertise at their disposal. Alternatively external specialists may be engaged for the purpose, or a combined approach involving in-house and external expertise may be adopted. If it is carried out in-house, the team will be best placed to quickly feed the results of the process back into the plan preparation process but it is essential that the team has at its disposal the necessary competencies to deal with the planning, ecological and other technical issues involved. Involvement in and knowledge of the Water Framework Directive may be particularly important when dealing with issues
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 52 around water dependent habitats and species. Consultants, on the other hand, may bring a degree of objectivity to the process, and may be required for their ecological or other expertise. A combination of the two approaches may well offer the best solution, with specialists engaged to assist the team as required at different stages in the process, such as: • Screening for likely significant effects • Scoping and further information gathering • Assessing the impacts • Preparation of the NIS • Preparation of the AA Conclusion Statement 4.7. Maintaining the AA File It is recommended that a separate AA file is maintained throughout the entire process of preparing or reviewing a plan. The file should include copies of all documentation relevant to the AA. A separate AA file will be of considerable assistance as part of the audit trail and will record how environmental considerations were integrated into the plan. What should be on the AA file: AA screening report that includes all relevant details in relation to all plan stages and changes including the manager’s report as it pertains to each stage of the process. In a case where AA is not required (i.e. ‘finding of no significant effects’) this should be recorded and the evidence basis for this decision recorded and updated as necessary with every amendment or alteration during the plan review AA scoping issues paper NIS - which deals with mitigation/alternatives/IROPI and compensatory measures (as necessary) Competent authority decision
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 53 AA Conclusion Statement All documentary evidence of consultation with and/or opinion of NPWS/DEHLG, EPA and other statutory bodies. 4.8. Screening of Plans The screening for AA should commence with the preparation of the plan Issues Paper. A planning authority, in consultation with the Department if necessary, should determine and identify existing and potential effects of the plan on a Natura 2000 site or network. AA screening is required at every stage of the decision making process. Furthermore AA is an iterative process. The policies and objective of the plan must be formulated and the decision audited in the context of the various stages of the AA process (screening, NIS, mitigation, alternatives, IROPI and compensatory measures). The key to deciding if an AA of a plan would be required is determined by an assessment of whether the plan and its policies and objectives are likely to have a significant affect on a Natura 2000 site. The decision should not be determined by the size of the plan area alone. It will also be influenced by the nature and extent of the development likely to be proposed in the plan, and the plan area’s in situ, ex situ and in combination relationship to adjoining Natura 2000 sites and the wider Natura 2000 network. When screening the plan and its policies and objectives there are two possible outcomes: the plan poses no risk of a significant effect and as such requires no further assessment; and the plan has potential to have a significant effect (or this is uncertain) and AA of the plan is necessary. Screening can be used to establish which policies and objectives have potential to have significant effects, and therefore the ones that require further attention at the AA stage.
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 54 4.9. Scoping Scoping follows a screening decision that AA is required, and is an extension of that process in that it identifies more precisely what AA must cover, including the data, information and level of detail required in the NIS. In this way, scoping helps at the early stages of plan preparation to reduce the possibility of relevant issues not being identified. Provision should be made to address new issues that emerge in the course of AA and preparation of the NIS. Neither the Habitats Directive nor EU guidance provides explicit guidance in relation to the scope and the level of detail to be included in the AA conclusion report. The word ‘appropriate’ is key in that the assessment must be appropriate to the Natura 2000 site, its conservation objectives and sensitivities, and to the level of detail that the AA must be conducted at, having taken cognisance of the position of the plan within the hierarchy of plans, and its potential impacts on the conservation objectives of Natura 2000 sites, taking existing conditions and issues into account. It is recommended that at the end of the scoping procedure, the plan-making authority should prepare a brief scoping report of its conclusions as to what information is to be included in the NIS, taking account of any recommendations from various statutory bodies. Furthermore, as with the initial screening process, it is recommended, as part of the scoping process, that planning authorities should consult adjacent local authorities as appropriate. 4.10. AA of the Plan It is the competent authority’s responsibility to carry out the AA of the plan. The NIS of plans should be based on best available information, objective criteria, best scientific knowledge and expert judgement in relation to its impact on the integrity of a Natura 2000 site with respect to the conservation objectives of the site and to its structure and function. There should be no reasonable scientific doubt as to the absence of effects.
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 55 In the event that the plan requires AA, mitigation measures may need to be formulated. If mitigation measures cannot offset the impact of the plan on the integrity of a Natura 2000 site and network, the competent authority must then proceed to identify and assess alternative solutions. Once the assessment of alternative solutions is complete and if it is concluded by the competent authority that no alternative solutions exist and that adverse impacts remain, the competent authority must decide to either abandon the plan or undertake to establish that the plan can be considered to be necessary for imperative reasons of overriding public interest. If valid IROPI considerations exist, the competent authority is required to assess what compensatory measures are necessary and whether these will effectively offset the damage to the Natura 2000 site and network, before the plan can proceed to the next decision making stage of the process (i.e. the pre-draft, draft and proposed amendments stages). 4.11. Consultations with the DEHLG It is recommended that the advice of the Department is taken on board by the competent authority in finalizing the process. In order to facilitate consultation, sufficient information should be provided in the NIS on the following: The geographic area involved (a map should be included); The nature of the plan, and its intended lifespan; The likely scale, nature and location of development within the area during the life of the plan (in broad terms), and its predicted significant environmental impact; Review of existing and potential environmental and infrastructural problems; Cumulative and in combination impacts; Associated relevant strategies (e.g. Wind Energy Strategy); The location of Natura 2000 sites and their conservation issues and sensitivities. It is recommended that the Department be consulted by a planning authority at every stage of the plan making process (i.e. at the pre-draft, draft and proposed amendments stages).
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 56 The Department’s comments, if any, on a draft plan and the associated AA should be taken into account by the planning authority before the plan is adopted. In each iteration of the plan, earlier observations from the Department should be carried forward. In addition, it is recommended that the Department be informed when the plan is adopted. The information made available in this notification should also include a statement as to how Departmental comments on the draft plan and the associated AA report were taken into account. 4.12. Transboundary Requirements It is recommended that the consultation procedures outlined in the SEA Guidelines (DEHLG, 2004) are followed in relation to AA in this regard including where a plan impacts on a Natura 2000 site. 4.13. Adoption of Plan When a plan is adopted it is recommended that, similar to SEA procedures, all parties who commented on the plan including government departments, members of the public, adjacent local authorities as appropriate, and any relevant transboundary state should be notified. It is recommended that the following items be made available to those so informed: The plan as adopted; A statement summarising how ecological considerations in relation to Natura 2000 sites have been integrated into the plan. It is recommended that this outlines how the AA report reflects the outcome of the AA and consultations and the reasons for choosing the plan as adopted in the light of other reasonable alternatives considered; The NIS. The AA Conclusion Statement
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 57 Monitoring measures to ensure that, in the implementation of the plan, all of the requirements (including mitigation and compensation measures) are met. 4.14. AA Conclusion Statement It is recommended that planning authorities include a clear and discrete AA Conclusion Statement as a distinct section in the written statement of the plan separate to the SEA statement. 4.14.1. Recommended Format for Statement The following format for the AA statement is recommended: Summary of how the findings of the AA were factored into the plan; Reasons for choosing the plan as adopted, in the light of other reasonable alternatives considered as part of the AA process; and A declaration that the plan as adopted will not have an adverse effect on the integrity of a Natura 2000 site or sites. Copy of NIS. 4.15. Monitoring Through the AA Process While there is at present no explicit requirement for the monitoring the ongoing impact of the implementation of a development plan on the conservation objectives of Natura 2000 sites, it is best practice to do so. It is recommended that this includes a review of what has arisen in terms of impacts in the life of the preceding plan, e.g. deterioration or loss of habitats or species in a SAC or SPA, as a consequence of development and altered land use, increase in population, encroachment, disturbance, etc.
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 4 - Plans - AA and Development Planning 58 4.16. Additional Guidance It will take a number of years of implementing AA of plans by Member States before a comprehensive base of experience is built up in undertaking AA of plans and monitoring the environmental effects on Natura 2000 sites resulting from the implementation of plans. There is considerable flexibility in tailoring monitoring arrangements to the nature of different types of plans, and it is to be expected that there will be a degree of refinement in the early years of carrying out AA. While there is a substantial amount of environmental data available at national level, it will not always be possible to link changes in the environment to the implementation of particular plans. The Department will liaise with planning authorities with regard to monitoring, and may issue additional guidance at a later date based on emerging best practice and experience. Reference should be made to EU Commission guidance and case law of the European Court of Justice.
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 5 - Projects - AA and Development Management 59 5. Projects - AA and Development Management 5.1. Overview This section gives guidance to planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála on implementing the Habitats Directive with regard to their role in granting permission for developments to be carried out either through the planning and development or strategic infrastructure processes. The Habitats Directive, as it relates to development management and the strategic infrastructure process, requires a robust, thorough and transparent application by all the consent authorities. The implication of this is the need to consider all proposed developments/projects for Appropriate Assessment. 5.2. The Development Plan, Natura 2000 Sites and Development Management The development plan is required to include appropriate policies and objectives for the conservation and protection of European sites and to ensure that their integrity will not be adversely affected by development. The development plan and/or LAP will have established the sustainable planning policies and objectives for the area and the development management process implements these policies and objectives over the time period of the plan. It will have indicated the location of the Natura 2000 sites and the sites’ conservation objective(s) will be available from the NPWS. This will alert planning staff and the general public to both the Natura 2000 site locations and also the sensitiveex situ areas, i.e. those areas outside the site where development will have to be carefully considered and managed to ensure that there are no significant effects on Natura 2000 sites.
- Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland - Guidance for Planning Authorities Section 5 - Projects - AA and Development Management 60 5.3. Types of Projects Section 2.1.2 outlines the types of projects and developments that will require consideration for AA. In summary this includes: All development that requires a planning permission process (either through the planning authorities or An Bord Pleanála), including those that require an EIS to be carried out (above- and sub-threshold); All public development carried out by planning authorities including development which goes through either the Part X or XI21 processes, including those which require an EIS to be carried out (above- and sub-threshold); Exempted development either within a Natura 2000 site or which could potentially have a significant effect on Natura 2000 sites, including excavation of trial holes and other site/ground investigations (see 5.4 below); All material contravention proposals; All other local authority authorised ‘projects’ – waste permits, discharge licenses, recreation and amenity projects and road works. If in doubt as to whether certain developments require AA, the Department may be contacted in such cases. 5.4. Exempted Development Under the current Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2009, development which is normally exempted development will require planning permission if it consists of or comprises the excavation, alteration or demolition of places, or sites of ecological interest, the preservation of which is an objective of the development plan for the area in which the 21 Part X and Part XI Planning and Development Act, 2000 as amended
Source Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (National Parks and Wildlife Service): Appropriate Assessment of Plans and Projects in Ireland: Guidance for Planning Authorities (December 2009, revised February 2010) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.