Sustainability Appraisal - Bradford Core Strategy and Site Allocations DPDs

Context: The Bradford Local Plan consists of a portfolio of Development Plan Documents (DPDs), including two Area Action Plans and a recently adopted Core Strategy. Following recent changes to the planning system including the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (July 2018) and introduction of a standard methodology for calculating local housing need, together with changes in local policy circumstances, the council has recently started a formal review of its adopted Core Strategy.

In parallel the Council is also progressing a Site Allocations DPD to identify the key remaining allocation sites that will support the strategic development requirements identified through the Core Strategy, including housing and employment sites.

Sustainability Appraisal: National planning policy states that local plans are key to delivering sustainable development and they must be prepared with the objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development . Sustainable development seeks to strike a balance between economic, environmental and social factors to enable people to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

It is therefore important that the Bradford Local Plan - Core Strategy DPD: Partial Review and Site Allocations DPD contributes to a sustainable future for the district. To support this objective, the Council is required to carry out a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) of the Local Plan .

SA is a means of ensuring that the likely social, economic and environmental effects of the Local Plan are identified, described and appraised and also incorporates a process set out under a European Directive and related UK regulations called Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Where negative effects are identified, measures will be proposed to avoid, minimise or mitigate such effects. Where any positive effects are identified, measures will be considered that could enhance such effects.

At a strategic level, the SA will also help to inform the selection of plan options by appraising reasonable alternatives in respect of, in particular, different levels of growth that could be accommodated in Bradford District over the plan period, the distribution of growth between settlements and site allocations. The SA will therefore be an integral part of the preparation of the Local Plan.