Integrating Land Use Planning with River Basin Management Plans

Kevin Lynch, Senior Planner, Cork City Council Chair of the water Management & Planning Working Group

26th November 2015

Purpose of this Presentation

• Stronger link between land use planning and River Basin Management Plans .

• What do planners do and who are we. • The Work of the Water Management & Planning

Working Group. • What can planning do to assist RBMP & vice versa.

Percentage of polluted river sites surveyed in 2010 – 2012 grouped by severity of pollution and suspected causes where assigned.

First Cycle of RBMPs + Planning

• In the first cycle of RBMPs, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was the mechanism through which RBMPs were to be transposed through Planning.

• Missed the national level. NSS preceded SEA • Have since been incorporated into Regional

Planning Guidelines via SEA but still at the higher level.

• Not far-reaching enough e.g. development plan policy or development management

• Transposition shouldn’t stop at SEA.

Issues

• Lacking local involvement – science side good. • Advisory councils abandoned. • No follow up. • Economic crash • Many LA’s opted out. • Credibility issue for future stages.

A water-friendly planning system

• Recognised need for the Water Management & Planning WG to assist WFD implementation

• There have been insufficient linkages between the implementation of RBMPs and planning

• Planning has a key role in delivering the requirements of the WFD through its influence on new development.

Development Management

• Pre planning • Public Involvement • In house expertise • External inputs – EPA - IW • EIA/AA • An Bord Pleanála • SID etc

The role of the planner (and what can be learnt for RBMPs)

• Information manager . • Integration. • Decision Making • Communication. • Public participation. • Enabler. • Heavy Duty Legislation

European Court of Justice (July 2015) C-461/13 (2)

• Project: dredging for navigation along river in Germany • Member States are required — unless a derogation provided

for by the Directive is granted — to refuse authorisation for an individual project where it may cause a deterioration of the status of a body of surface water or where it jeopardises the attainment of good surface water status or of good ecological potential and good surface water chemical status by the date laid down by the Directive.

• This decision impacts on projects and should influence the determination in whether to permit them.

European Court of Justice (July 2015) C-461/13

• Consequences • Implications for planning and environment sections to be

advised and to assess projects against WFD criteria. • What impact will this have on resources? Not just on

individual projects but broader strategies and plans?

Water Management & Planning Working Group (1)

• Water Management & Planning Working Group established in June 2015 under the WFD National Implementation Group

• Comprising initially: – EPA (Marie Archbold, Alaine Clarke) – County & City Manager’s Association (Kevin Lynch) – Regional Planner’s Network (Michael Lynch) – Department of Environment, Community and Local

Government (Karen Kenny) – An Bord Pleanála (Hugh Mannion) – Irish Water (Suzanne Dempsey)

Water Management & Planning Working Group (2)

• Lifetime to coincide with publication of RBMPs end of 2017;

• Sub-groups may be formed depending on focus, e.g. forestry, coastal, wetlands.

Purpose of the WG (1)

• Purpose of the WG: – to ensure, as far as practicable, that the land-use

planning system, and those working in it, can implement the provisions of the WFD, including RBMPs;

– In turn, that planning can contribute effectively to the next cycle of RBMPs.

Purpose of the WG (2) • Water Management and Planning Guidance to be prepared by the

EPA in collaboration with working group. • Advise on engagement with planners and those involved in the

planning system on the implementation of RBMPs. • Collaborate with other agencies and organisations on guidance in

order to avoid duplication of efforts (e.g. where other guidance may be drafted, e.g. Water Guidelines by DECLG).

• Facilitate communication among relevant stakeholders through the EPA Catchment Management Network.

• Consider how Local Economic and Community Plans can help secure integrated catchment management.

• Advise on the training needs of planners in area of water management/water-friendly planning.

Water Management & Planning Guidance

• An immediate focus of the Group is to ensure that Guidance for planners and planning authorities is prepared and disseminated;

• The guidance focuses on explaining the WFD, and how it influences planning decisions & spatial plans. It also explains the process of integrated catchment management and how planners might contribute to that process;

• Anticipated publication 2016; • Dissemination at IPI National Planning Conference 2016.

How to achieve a water-friendly planning system?

• Guidance will examine e.g.: – Development Management

• WFD Assessment • Sustainable Drainage Methods

– Forward Planning • Mandatory objective in development plans to meet

requirements of RBMPs. As a result, development plans are now in effect required to be key agents for achieving WFD objectives

• Maximise benefits from policies e.g. green, blue and grey infrastructure

• Wetlands survey -> long-term vision?

Two-way process

• How should land use planning system also inform RBMPs? – ‘Sustainable human development’ projects –

derogation under WFD necessary – Local knowledge on pressures – Projected growth forecasts – Available capacity in receiving environment to

facilitate growth

2nd Cycle of RBMPs • Engage with planning authorities in contributing to the

next cycle • Questions arising:

– Will the RBMP outputs be user-friendly and how can they be used to inform land-use and spatial planning?

– Will the POMs be sufficiently detailed to be of value to the planning system?

– What are the potential risks of various potential forms and patterns of development to achieving water objectives?

• Significantly improved scientific data: liaison between planners and WFD local authority officers required to assist in understanding.

Resourcing a water-friendly planning system

• What capacity have you / your organisation to: – contribute towards informing evidence-based plans e.g.

interpreting data used to prepare RBMPs and POMs to inform development plans?

– Advise on individual projects in respect of WFD requirements?

• Planners will need your expertise to inform development plans and water /catchment management considerations of individual projects.

• Good linkage already exists in some local authorities between planning and water/environment sections. Further support necessary to facilitate understanding of RBMPs and associated data.

New Process Questions

• EPA involvement good but tendency for national groups to look inward and against integration.

• Continued erosion of local democracy. • Top down process. • Consultation fatigue. • People need to be involved even where there

is bad news.

Ethical – Broader Issues • Planning – Integration – tendency to balance – - having regard to etc. • RBMP – science – yet there are many shades of grey

and competing interests. • Currently Housing crises – 3 years ago unfinished

estates – priorities change. • AA – Habitats Directive key factor influencing water

issues currently – Blackwater Issue – FWPM – v homes – schools?

• If there are other societal issues of precedence then derogation should apply

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