SEA Environmental Report for the Draft Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028
2.4
Strategic work undertaken by the Council to ensure contribution towards
comply with relevant higher-level strategic actions and will, in turn, guide lower-level strategic actions. These documents include plans and programmes such as those detailed in Appendix I 2 (see also, Section 4 “Environmental Baseline”, Section 5 “Strategic Environmental Objectives”, Section 6 “Description of Alternatives” and Section 9 “Mitigation Measures”). These documents have been subject to their own environmental assessment processes, as relevant. The National Planning Framework (NPF) sets out Ireland’s planning policy direction for the years 2018-2040. The NPF is to be implemented through Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs) and lower tier Development Plans and Local Area Plans. The RSES for the Southern Region sets out objectives for land use planning, tourism, infrastructure, sustainable development, environmental protection and environmental management that have been subject to environmental assessment and must be implemented through the City Development Plan. As required by the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Draft County Development Plan is consistent with and conforms with national and regional policies, plans and programmes, including the NPF and the RSES for the Southern Region. The City Development Plan will, in turn, guide lower- level strategic actions, such as Local Area Plans that will be subject to their own lower-tier environmental assessments. In order to be realised, projects included in the Plan (in a similar way to other projects from any other sector) will have to comply, as relevant, with various legislation, policies, plans and programmes (including requirements for lower- tier AA, EIA and other licencing requirements as appropriate) that form the statutory decision- making and consent-granting framework.
environmental protection and sustainable development
Far in advance of both the submission of the Chief Executive’s Draft Plan to the Elected Members for approval and the placing of the Draft Plan on public display, Cork City Council undertook various works in order to inform the preparation of the Plan. The findings of this strategic work have been integrated into the Plan and will contribute towards both environmental protection and management and sustainable development within the City. Strategic work undertaken by the Council includes background work in relation to Plan Strategies and other provisions for a variety of sectors. The undertaking of this SEA process and the associated AA and SFRA processes contributed towards the integration of environmental considerations into individual Plan provisions as detailed in Section 9 of this report. 2.5 Relationship with other relevant Plans and Programmes It is acknowledged that many of the major issues affecting the City’s development are contingent on national policy and government funding. The Draft Plan sits within a hierarchy of statutory documents setting out public policy for, among other things, land use planning, infrastructure, sustainable development, tourism, environmental protection and environmental management. The Plan must 2 Appendix I is not intended to be a full and comprehensive review of EU Directives, the transposing regulations or the regulatory framework for environmental protection and management. The information is not exhaustive and it is recommended to consult the Directive, Regulation, Plan or Programme to become familiar with the full details of each.
CAAS for Cork City Council
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