The Scottish Government

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.0 In accordance with the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, a Strategic Environmental Assessment ( SEA) of the National Planning Framework ( NPF) is being undertaken by the Scottish Government.

1.1 SEA is a systematic method for considering the likely environmental effects of certain plans, programmes or strategies ( PPS) produced by public sector organisations. It aims to:

• Integrate environmental factors into policy and decision making;
• Improve policies, and enhance environmental protection;
• Increase public participation in decision making; and
• Facilitate openness and transparency of decision making.

1.2 Considerable work has already been undertaken within the NPFSEA process, including:

• scoping to explore the potential effects of the NPF, define an appropriate methodology and reach agreement on the proposed consultation timescales, with a report published in February 2007;
• an early assessment of strategic alternatives, with a report published in June 2007; and
• a full assessment of the Discussion Draft NPF, with an Environmental Report published alongside the Discussion Draft in January 2008.

1.3 Over the last 18 months, as the drafting and revision of the NPF has progressed, the SEA process has been iterative, with findings from the ongoing assessment of proposals (and alternatives to them) having been continuously fed into the decision-making process. The reports noted above are still being taken into account, and remain available online for the public to make reference to when considering the findings set out here, see:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/National-Planning-Policy/themes/npf

1.4 The NPF is currently being redrafted to take account of representations made on the Discussion Draft. In the course of the consultation process, a number of new ideas and proposals have come forward that have not so far been subjected to the full SEA process of assessment and consultation. The Scottish Government has therefore undertaken further environmental assessment work and the findings from this part of the process will be used to inform the redrafting of the NPF. Particular consideration is being given to projects which have been proposed by stakeholders as possible alternative National Developments.

Facilitating further public engagement in the SEA process

1.5 It is important that stakeholder organisations and the public are given an opportunity to comment on the findings from this additional assessment work, before the proposed NPF is finalised. This supplementary report therefore sets out the findings of an additional process of environmental assessment of Candidate National Developments.

1.6 Consultation is an important part of the SEA process. The NPFSEA process was initially informed by the discussions held as part of the series of 'listening sessions' held in early 2007. As noted above, several reports were published for public comment. Subsequently, a series of consultation seminars was held (early 2008), to elicit stakeholder views on the content of the Discussion Draft NPF. At each of these events, a workshop was held focusing specifically on the SEA, with the aim of gathering public and stakeholder feedback on the findings. Several hundred people attended these workshops, and the discussions held at this stage proved to be an important part of the SEA consultation process. All of the views expressed during these formal and informal SEA consultation activities are now being taken into account, to inform the ongoing SEA and the redrafting of the NPF itself.

1.7 The Scottish Government has also liaised with the three SEA Consultation Authorities: Historic Scotland ( HS), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency( SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage ( SNH). The Consultation Authorities have been an invaluable source of advice and technical guidance throughout the SEA process. As far as possible, the NPF team has taken into account their comments on both the findings of the assessment and the robustness of the SEA process.

1.8 The Consultation Authorities, stakeholders and the public are now invited to provide further comments on the findings from this part of the SEA process. This report is being made available for a six week period within which comments can be submitted to the NPF team.

1.9 Consultees are asked to avoid using this period of consultation simply to restate any views they have already expressed on the proposed National Developments identified in the Discussion Draft. Rather, this stage affords the opportunity for consultees to contribute to the drafting of the NPF by expressing any further views they may have on the Candidate National Developments, resulting in light of the environmental information provided in this report. The aim is to ensure that any decisions on the inclusion of National Developments in the proposed NPF are made in light of the best available environmental information. This forms part of the process of selecting the suite of National Developments to be included in the proposed NPF, but is by no means the sole process by which this will be determined.

Rationale for selection of Candidate National Developments for further environmental assessment and consultation

1.10 The findings from the consultation on the NPF Discussion Draft have been used to define the scope of this part of the assessment. All of the candidate projects for National Development status were proposed by stakeholders during this consultation process. A large number of possible National Developments were proposed by stakeholders for inclusion in the NPF.

1.11 In order to ensure that the assessment focuses on what the Scottish Government considers at this stage to be 'reasonable' alternatives for the purposes of the SEA, a coarse sifting process has been undertaken to allow the team to focus on the environmental effects of the most likely candidate projects. Of the projects proposed by stakeholders, 52 are considered to be reasonable alternatives in this respect, because they:

• raise significant planning issues that require to be addressed;
• are at an appropriate stage in the planning process (i.e. planning or equivalent consent has not already been granted);
• are transport, energy or environmental infrastructure projects, as opposed to more complex development proposals likely to involve multiple planning and other consents; and
• are sufficiently defined to allow for a meaningful environmental assessment.

1.12 The remaining projects may or may not be included in the proposed NPF in some other form, but it is considered unlikely that they will be given National Development status in the second NPF. Some projects have not been included because they have not been adequately specified. Some of these projects may, however, prove to be viable options for the longer term. Consultees should not assume that they are being ruled out permanently.

1.13 This further assessment is being undertaken in parallel with work on the Strategic Transport Projects Review ( STPR), and although the two processes are informing one another, it is too early to draw conclusions on whether or not any of the proposals set out here will be taken forward within the STPR. Despite every effort being made to provide consistent information, consultees should be aware the assessment findings may not be identical to those from the STPRSEA, given that projects are being assessed within the context of two different strategies.

1.14 Taking into account this coarse selection process, the following Candidate National Developments have been included in this assessment:

1. Forth Replacement Crossing ¹
2. Edinburgh Airport
3. Glasgow Airport
4. Aberdeen Airport
5. Prestwick Airport
6. A9 Upgrading: Dunblane - Inverness
7. Targeted Road Improvements: Glasgow - Fort William
8. A96 growth area
9. A1, A68 and A7 route improvements
10. Improved Rail Connectivity in the West of Scotland
11. Edinburgh - Glasgow Rail Improvements Programme
12. Highspeed rail to London
13. Rail links within Aberdeen
14. Rail Service Enhancements between Aberdeen and Inverness
15. Rail Service Improvements on the Highland Mainline to Inverness
16. Borders Rail link including an extension to Carlisle
17. Edinburgh Tram
18. National Long Distance Trails Network
19. Rail Service Enhancements between Aberdeen and the Central Belt
20. Further Electrification of the Strategic Rail Network
21. Far North Rail Line
22. Upgrade Edinburgh Haymarket Public Transport Interchange
23. Rail Service Enhancements between Glasgow Inverclyde/Ayrshire
24. Reducing Conflict between Local and Strategic Traffic in Dundee
25. A90 Aberdeen to Dundee
26. Grangemouth Freight Hub
27. Rosyth International Container Terminal
28. Scapa Flow International Container Transhipment Facility
29. Hunterston Transhipment Facility and Clean Coal Power Station
30. Loch Ryan Gateway Port
31. Peterhead Deep Water Port
32. Port of Dundee
33. Sullom Voe Oil Transfer Facility
34. Sub-sea super-grid
35. Energy Transmission Infrastructure
36. New non-nuclear baseload capacity at existing power station sites
37. Outer Hebrides National Energy Zone
38. Stornoway West Harbour
39. Hunterston - Carradale Subsea Cable
40. Nigg Complex
41. Peterhead Carbon Sequestration
42. Westfield Energy Park
43. Fife Energy Park, Methil
44. Energetics Cluster on the Ardeer Peninsula
45. Glasgow Strategic Drainage Plan
46. Commonwealth Games
47. Central Scotland Green Network
48. Development of the Canal Network (Lomond Canal)
49. National network of waste facilities
50. Coastal protection -Firth of Forth
51. The Energetica Corridor
52. Edinburgh Bioquarter

SEA as part of a wider decision making process

1.15 As explained above, no final conclusions on the merits or otherwise of the Candidate National Developments have been drawn at this stage in the process, with the assessment therefore focusing on the full range of reasonable alternatives. Consultees should not take the presence or absence of any proposed development as representing a commitment by the Scottish Government at this stage.

1.16 It is important to bear in mind that this assessment forms just one part of an ongoing rigorous process of analysis and evaluation of all of the Candidate National Developments. As announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth in September 2007, a set of 6 criteria is being used to assess the suitability of each suggested National Development for inclusion in the NPF. However, it is intended that the findings from this environmental assessment, and the views expressed on them by consultees, will form an integral part of the process of deciding which projects will be designated as National Developments.

Methodology for the Supplementary Assessment of Candidate National Developments

1.17 The assessment of Candidate National Developments uses the same methodology as that used to assess the content of the Discussion Draft NPF and specifically the National Developments included therein. This included the following key steps:

1. revisiting the analysis of contextual environmental objectives undertaken for the SEA of the Discussion Draft NPF, to ensure the assessment remains relevant and up-to-date in the light of more recent statements of policy.
2. consideration of the environmental baseline and analysis of environmental problems, in the light of the emergence of further sources of information since the assessment of the Discussion Draft was undertaken. The baseline information was also supplemented with more detailed information relating to each Candidate National Development, to ensure the findings are as accurate as possible. Additional mapped data was repeatedly referred to during the course of the assessment, but has not been re-presented here, given that it is available on line. Where relevant, website references to this information have been provided.
3. identification and evaluation of the environmental effects of each of the Candidate National Developments against the SEA objectives and sub-criteria which were used to assess the Discussion Draft NPF and its proposed National Developments. ( Appendix 1)
4. this was supplemented by the gathering of further evidence to ensure that professional judgement was substantiated as far as possible with available information on the environmental effects of the proposed developments. The findings were adjusted on the basis of this evidence, where appropriate. This included liaison with Transport Scotland to integrate emerging findings from the ongoing SEA of the Strategic Transport Projects Review ( STPR) with the NPFSEA, building in the findings from other available environmental assessments and research, and drawing on views expressed by consultees on previous assessments of the emerging content of the NPF
5. This stage also included careful consideration of the 'positioning' of the assessment of each National Development within the broader hierarchy of decision-making. No systematic analysis of project alternatives was undertaken - instead, the list of 52 developments themselves formed relevant alternatives for the NPF to take into account. However, some consideration was also given to the strategic alternatives to each development, where these were known and documented. For some of the Candidate National Developments this meant taking into account the findings of SEA work which has already been completed or is ongoing. For others, there will be a need to give further consideration to strategic alternatives for the projects, prior to further assessment at the project level. As far as possible, these requirements will be incorporated into the NPF Action Programme and / or SEA mitigation schedule that emerge from the SEA and will be included in the proposed NPF.
6. analysis and consideration of the effects of the projects on, and in the light of, the wider content of the NPF. This included identification of potential cumulative, synergistic and secondary effects of each of the developments, in the light of the overall NPF strategy, and a strategic compatibility analysis.
7. preparation of this report, in order to ensure that the findings from the process are reported in an accessible and transparent way, to facilitate understanding and application by the public and stakeholder organisations, the NPF team, Scottish Ministers, and the Scottish Parliament.

1.18 As noted in the Environmental Report for the Discussion Draft NPF, this is a high level assessment being undertaken at the national level. As a result there remains some uncertainty about the environmental effects of some of the proposals, which will require further consideration at more detailed levels of planning. In their responses to the Environmental Report on the Discussion Draft, SEPA and SNH confirmed that this level of assessment was generally appropriate to the nature and scale of the NPF. The NPFSEA has focused only on the broad concept of each development, to reflect the nature of the National Development designation itself. Consultees are asked to bear this in mind when considering the findings set out in this report.

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