Sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental assessment

What is a Sustainability Appraisal (SA)?

The Sustainability Appraisal process is a key aspect of plan preparation. The purpose of the process is to assess how planning documents comply with the principles of sustainable development, and how the plan balances the environment, social and economic needs of the community.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

A Strategic Environmental Assessment forms part of the Sustainability Appraisal.
As part of the revised planning system, all Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) require a Strategic Environmental Assessment.

The purpose of this type of assessment is to provide a more effective way of appraising plans and their potential environmental effects.

The process of Strategic Environmental Assessment comes from a European Directive that was incorporated into UK law in 2004. The requirements of this directive will be incorporated into the Sustainability Appraisal of each plan, to provide for a well rounded assessment, looking at the environmental, social and economic needs of Shropshire.

Core Strategy and Mineral Resources Sustainability Appraisal Reports

As part of the Submission Versions of the Core Strategy and the Mineral Resources Development Plan Documents (DPDs), the council have prepared Final Sustainability Appraisal Reports. These reports build on the work of the Scoping Reports in May 2005, the Interim Sustainability Appraisal in July 2005, and the Preferred Options reports in February 2006, and include a full assessment of the submitted policies in both the Core Strategy and Mineral Resources DPDs.

To view these Final Sustainability Appraisal Reports follow the relevant attachments on this page. Also available to download are the two Scoping Reports, Technical Appendix 1 (Relevant Plans, Programmes, Polices and Strategies), Technical Appendix 2 (Detailed Baseline Information) and the Preferred Options reports.