Likely influence of Strategy

1.20Likely influence of Strategy

The Strategy and the options considered in it will seek to manage flood risk for the benefit of the population of LB Sutton.

The Strategy options considered may affect public access to recreational features, goods and public services that can make a material difference to their Quality of Life. The perceived level of flood risk that communities are exposed to may also affect levels of stress and impact on Quality of Life.

Biodiversity

Strategy options may lead to construction, land use change, changes in flood risk, frequency or changes in water levels that have the potential to adversely affect nature conservation, biodiversity and landscape features. Alternatively, such changes may present opportunities to improve the condition of existing habitats or create new biodiversity and landscape features.

The Strategy is unlikely to have a significant adverse impact on the water quality and resources within LB Sutton, however it could affect the water flows.

Construction, changes in flood risk to areas of potentially contaminated land and changes in flood frequency which may arise as a result of the Strategy options could lead to physical and chemical changes in both ground and surface waterbodies. Such changes may affect a waterbody’s ability to achieve and / or maintain good ecological potential.

Material Assets

The Strategy will seek to manage flood risk to critical infrastructure and material assets within LB Sutton. The future implementation of options has the potential to disrupt critical transport infrastructure (such as road or rail networks), waste management facilities, utilities (such as clean water) or access to community care facilities (hospitals or health centres). The location of such infrastructure may influence the range of future potential options.

The future potential options may change the frequency and extent of flooding leading to consequent changes in the use of land affecting its versatility and or productivity.

Cultural, Architectural & Archaeological Heritage

Strategy objectives may lead to construction activities, land use changes or alterations to flooding regimes that can adversely affect historic environment sites and their settings. The future actions of the objectives may also manage the flood risk to heritage features or lead to improved access to historic environment sites.

Strategy objectives may lead to construction of flood defences, changes in flood frequency and water levels that have the potential to have negative impacts on the landscape value and character of the area. Alternatively, opportunities may exist to enhance the existing area by creating new landscape features, through sympathetic landscape designs.

8. SEa approach

1.21Initial SEA Objectives

While not specifically required by the Directive, SEA Objectives are a recognised way of considering the environmental effects of a Strategy and comparing the effects of alternatives. The Scoping Report proposed a number of initial SEA Objectives which were developed through the review of the relevant plans and programmes, and the collection of baseline data and therefore relate to the key environmental issues in LB Sutton.

Fifteen objectives were derived from the Scoping Report. Guidance states that each objective should be genuinely needed and does not duplicate or overlap with other objectives. As a result of recommendations received from consultees and through the process of SEA; baseline review, identification of key topic issues and ‘likely influence of Strategy’ assessment, the 15 SEA objectives have been reduced and refined.

Figure 8 .3 illustrates and explains which SEA objectives have been removed, reduced, refined and/or combined. The final SEA objectives which have used throughout the assessments have been highlighted in red.
Figure 8.3: SEA Scoping objectives to final SEA objectives flow chart

Download 4.45 Mb.

Share with your friends: