Legislation & Guidance
TRL updated Appendix 2 of WebTAG Unit 2.11 'The Application of SEA to LTPs' for use when local authorities undertake the SEA of their next LTP. To see the updated guidance click here. TRL are able to undertake SEAs and HRAs of LTP3s for local authorities. Alternatively, we are also to provide independent support and review of in-house processes. Please contact Rob Gardner on rgardner@trl.co.uk or 01344 770575 for further information.
Appraisal and assessment of transport plans and programmes in England and Wales is undertaken in accordance with the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA). NATA encompasses environmental issues alongside other Government objectives for transport - accessibility, integration, safety and economy. NATA guidance for individual projects as well as plans and programmes is now available via WebTag.
TRL Limited were commissioned to develop guidance on SEA for transport plans and programmes including Local Transport Plans. This guidance has fully integrated SEA into the NATA framework. The revised guidance has now been published on www.webtag.org.uk and is available here. TRL offer an independent review of the appraisals prepared for major projects to ensure that they are fit for purpose before submission to the DfT. For further information contact Rob Gardner at rgardner@trl.co.uk.
Three pilots of the DfTs SEA Guidance for Transport Plans were conducted with local authorities in 2005; Somerset, East Riding, West Midlands . These pilots covered setting objectives, alternatives and significance and dealing with uncertainty. They can be found here.
SEA for Local Implementation Plans in London - click here for all of the latest guidance and advice.
The DfT have published revised guidance on Local Transport Plans (8th December 2004). This guidance is aimed at all transport authorities in England outside London, who are now required to produce the second round local transport plans by 31 July 2006. The guidance states that the SEA Directive will apply to all second round LTP's. The Guidance can be downloaded here.
Initiatives & Research
Initial research into how health issues have been addressed in the second round of Local Transport Plans reveals a good level coverage at least in terms of mentioning health and for considering the issues of access to health care, road accidents and other health determinants. For further information please download the following presentation. Please note if you wish to use information from the presentation appropriate referencing to SEA Info should be given.
The EU funded project BEACON aims to establish an effective platform for the harmonisation of approaches, methodologies, tools and data sets to be used in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of transport infrastructure of the transeuropean network. The BEACON site contains lots of useful information on transport SEA.
SEA/EPI in China is a new project that focuses on the integration of environment in transport and energy planning in China. The implementation of this project will help to build transportation and energy-use systems that are environmentally sound and capable of contributing towards sustainable development in China. The project is part of the Asia Pro Eco II Programme and will contribute to the programme’s main themes for China: energy savings, improved air quality and reduced emissions of GHGs.
The European Environment Agency have published a report entitled 'Transport and the environment: facing a dilema' (March 2006). The report presents a summary of 10 selected issues, including freight, greenhouse gas emissions, and passenger transport volumes. The report is avaliable to download here. There has been an updated version here.
The International Association of Impact Assessors (IAIA) held a SEA conference in Prague to look at developing issues and practice. A position paper from this conference, on SEA and Transport Planning, is available to download here.
The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) investigated SEA and integrated assessment to support enhanced decision making within the transport sector. The ECMT and TRL Limited jointly publish a regular SEA and Transport Planning Newsletter.
International case studies of SEA and integrated assessment practice for transport were assembled as part of the UNECE's 2001 international workshop. The workshop findings are summarised in Transport Planning: does the influence of Strategic Environmental Assessments/Integrated Assessments reach decision making?
