Client:
Cork City Council
Date:
March 2024
Project Title: Cork City LECP 2024-2029 Document Title: Appropriate Assessment Screening Report
Document Issue: draft
of the conservation objectives of the European Sites and specifically on the habitats and species for which the sites have been designated. Measures intended to avoid or reduce the harmful effects of the proposed project on European sites (i.e. “mitigation measures”) or best practice measures have not been taken into account in this screening stage appraisal. 1.1.2 Requirement for an Assessment under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive According to section 177U(1) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) the competent authority has a duty to: • Determine whether the proposed Project is directly connected to or necessary for the management of one of more European Sites; and, if not, • Determine if the Project, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, would be likely to have a significant effect on the European Site(s) in view of best scientific knowledge and the Conservation Objectives of the site(s). This report contains information to support a Screening for Appropriate Assessment and is intended to provide information that assists the competent authority when assessing and addressing all issues regarding the construction, operation and decommissioning of the Project and to allow the competent authority to comply with the Habitats Directive. Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive defines the requirements for assessment of projects and plans for which likely significant effects on European Sites may arise. The Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive together list habitats and species that are of international importance for conservation and require protection. The Habitats Directive requires competent authorities, to carry out a Screening for Appropriate Assessment of plans and projects that are not directly connected to or necessary for the management of a European Site, to assess whether the plan or project alone or in combination with other plans or projects, would be likely to have significant effects on European Sites in view of best scientific knowledge and the Site’s conservation objectives. This requirement is transposed into Irish Law by, inter alia, Part XAB of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended). Section 177U(4) of Part XAB of the Planning and Development Act states: "The competent authority shall determine that an appropriate assessment of a draft Land use plan or a proposed development, as the case may be, is required if it cannot be excluded, on the basis of objective information, that the draft Land use plan or proposed development, individually or in combination with other plans or projects, will have a significant effect on a European site. " 1.1.3 Screening Methodology This Screening Report has been prepared in order to comply with the legislative requirements outlined in Section 1.2 above and aims to establish whether or not the proposed plan, alone or in combination with other plans or projects, would be likely to have significant effects on European Sites in view of best scientific knowledge and the Site’s conservation objectives. In this context “likely” means a risk or possibility of effects occurring that cannot be ruled out based on objective information and “significant” means an effect that would undermine the conservation objectives of the European sites, either alone or in-combination with other plans and projects (Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), 2021). The nature of the likely interactions between the proposed development and the Conservation Objectives of European Sites will depend upon the:
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