Sustainability Appraisal of the Sandwell Local Plan 2024-2041

2 Purpose and content of the Regulation 19 SA Report

The purpose of the Regulation 19 SA

N21 The Regulation 19 SA Report has been prepared to summarise the SA process to date and help inform the examination stage of the preparation of the Local Plan. The Regulation 19 SA Report presents the findings of the sustainability appraisal of the Sandwell Local Plan, which is composed principally of 88 policies.

N22 The purpose of the SA of the Local Plan is to:

• Identify, describe and evaluate the likely sustainability effects of the SLP proposals and their reasonable alternatives;
• Inform the Council's decision-making and preparation of the SLP; and
• Provide an opportunity for statutory consultees, interested parties and the public to offer views on any aspect of the SA.

Structure of the Regulation 19 SA Report

N23 The SA of the Sandwell Local Plan is presented in three volumes:

N24 Volume 1: Non-Technical Summary (NTS) (this document) provides a summary of the Regulation 19 SA.

N25 Volume 2: Main SA Report contains the following chapters:

• Chapter 1 presents an introduction to this report.
• Chapter 2 sets out information about the SLP and the SA process to date.
• Chapter 3 presents the evolution of the environment without the SLP.
• Chapter 4 sets out the SA methodology.
• Chapter 5 presents details of the reasonable alternatives considered throughout the SA process.
• Chapter 6 presents details on the preferred approach.
• Chapters 7 to 15 set out the likely significant effects on the environment, per SEA topic.
• Chapter 16 presents the cumulative effects assessment.
• Chapter 17 sets out a range of monitoring recommendations for the SLP.
• Chapter 18 summarises ways in which the SA has influenced the SLP throughout the plan making process, including through recommendations made in the SA.
• Chapter 19 outlines the conclusions, residual effects and next steps.

N26 Volume 3: Appendices provides further contextual information as follows:

• Appendix A presents a review of other relevant policies, plans and programmes (PPPs).
• Appendix B presents the SA Framework
• Appendix C presents the consultation responses received during each stage of the SA process from statutory consultees.
• Appendix D provides additional context to Chapter 4 of the main Regulation 19 SA Report regarding the topic specific methodologies and assumptions used to assess policies, proposals, and reasonable alternatives.
• Appendix E presents the pre-mitigation assessment of 120 reasonable alternative sites.
• Appendix F presents the assessment of SLP policies.
• Appendix G considers the mitigating influence of SLP policies and presents the post-mitigation assessment of 120 reasonable alternative sites.
• Appendix H sets out SMBC's outline reasons for selecting and rejecting each of the reasonable alternative sites assessed in the SA process.