Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2009/10- 2013/14
Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening
Determination: 11 November 2008
The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (“the Act”) introduced a process for the identification and assessment of plans, policies and strategies (PPS) produced by public sector bodies. The Act requires these bodies to determine whether PPS should be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
Financial or budget plans and programmes are generally exempt from SEA.
From 2007 local authorities were required to submit to the Scottish Government their first Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs) as part of the Strategic Housing Investment Framework (SHIF). The SHIP sets out how the investment in affordable housing will be directed in West Dunbartonshire over the period 2009/10 – 2013/2014. The principal purpose of the SHIP is to improve the long term investment planning for affordable housing arising from the Local Housing Strategy and the West Dunbartonshire Local Plan.
The Strategic Housing Investment Plan is a financial plan which sets out how affordable housing identified in the WD Local Plan and Local Housing Strategy will be funded, and in particular it:
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indicates how and when this investment will be made, and
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details the resources being made available to deliver these priorities.
The SHIP sits below the Local Housing Strategy and the Local Plan in the hierarchy and is influenced by these plans, rather than influences them. Given this placing in the plan hierarchy and the financial nature of the plan, it is not considered that the SHIP requires to undergo a SEA.
West Dunbartonshire Council submitted its screening report in respect of the SHIP 2009/10 – 2013/14 to the SEA Gateway on 2nd October 2008. The report was passed by the Gateway to the statutory consultation authorities, Scottish Natural Heritage, Historic Scotland and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. All three agencies have responded to the consultation to say that they do not consider the SHIP to have significant environmental effects.
Consequently, it has been determined by West Dunbartonshire Council under Section 8 (1) of the Act that a Strategic Environmental Assessment is not required in this instance.
