Client:
Cork City Council
Date:
March 2024
Project Title: Cork City LECP 2024-2029 Document Title: Appropriate Assessment Screening Report
Document Issue: draft
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Introduction MEC Ltd was engaged by Cork City Council to prepare a report to inform screening for appropriate assessment for the proposed Cork City Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP). This Screening Report for Appropriate Assessment forms Stage 1 of the Habitats Directive Assessment process and is being undertaken in order to comply with the requirements of the Habitats Directive Article 6(3). The function of this Screening Report is to identify the potential for the plan to result in likely significant effects to European Sites and to provide information so that the competent authority can determine whether a Stage 2 Appropriate Assessment is required for the plan. 1.1 Background and context of the Local Economic and Community Plan (the plan) The purpose of the LECP, as set out in the Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) Guidelines (2021) is “ to set out, for a six-year period, the objectives and actions needed to promote and support the economic development and the local and community development of the relevant Local Authority area, both by itself directly and in partnership with other economic and community development stakeholders ”. The overall aim is “ to promote well-being and quality of life of citizens and communities ” including all people living and working in the county, some of whom are not citizens. The LECP provides the framework for local implementation of national and regional framework plans that set out the development path for the state and the region over the next 10 to 20 years. The key spatial plans at national and regional level are the National Planning Framework Ireland 2040 and the National Development Plan 2021-2030 (NPF/NDP) and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Southern Region (RSES). The LECP identifies objectives from those framework plans to be implemented locally. It identifies local objectives under other national and regional policies in areas including social inclusion, rural development, urban regeneration, health and well-being, education, training and skills development, employment, enterprise and climate change / climate action. The LECP must be consistent with overarching local authority plans – in particular, the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 and Cork City Corporate Plan to 2024. All of the local plans need to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which Ireland is a signatory. The UN SDGs aim to address urgent economic, social and environment challenges in a harmonised way across all governments of the world . 1.1.1 Screening for Appropriate Assessment: Legislative Context Legislative protection for habitats and species is provided within the European Union by the Habitats Directive. The Habitats Directive has been implemented in Ireland and throughout Europe through the establishment of a network of designated conservation areas known as the Natura 2000 (N2K) network. The N2K network includes sites designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), under the EU Habitats Directive and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the EU Birds Directive 2009/147/EC (as amended). SACs are designated in areas that support habitats listed on Annex I and/or species listed on Annex II of the Habitats Directive. SPAs are designated in areas that support: 1% or more of the all-Ireland population of bird species listed on Annex I of the EU Birds Directive; 1% or more of the population of a migratory species; and more than 20,000 waterfowl. This Screening Report for Appropriate Assessment is being prepared in order to enable the competent authority to comply with Article 6(3) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC (The Habitats Directive). It is prepared to assess whether or not the project alone or in combination with other plans and projects is likely to have a significant effect on any European Site in view of best scientific knowledge and in view
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