Strategic Environmental Assessment: Implementation in Practice

Date for 2012 to be confirmed

Presenters

Ric Eales
William Sheate
Clare Twigger-Ross
Paula Orr
Owen White

Ric Eales, BSc, MSc

Richard Eales is the founder and Principal of Collingwood Environmental Planning (CEP) and has over 20 years' experience of environmental, sustainability and planning consultancy. Ric has been at the heart of developing approaches to implementing the SEA Directive in the UK. He managed a commission for the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) (now Communities and Local Government) to develop guidance on Sustainability Appraisal of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Documents, incorporating the requirements of the SEA Directive. He undertook pilot studies to test the government's draft guidance on the SEA Directive as well as the Sustainability Appraisal guidance, and was part of the research team for the Scottish Executive's SEA Pathfinder project.

Ric has also provided specialist input into the development of guidance to support the implementation of the Environment Agency's policy on SEA and delivered SEA training to its staff. He recently worked on SEA guidance for practitioners focussing on some of the specific topics covered by the Directive, namely soil, air and water for a SNIFFER project (The Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research). Other commissions include a study for the South West Regional Assembly on baseline data requirements for the SEA Directive, delivering SEA training courses for London boroughs, English Nature (now Natural England) and Environment Agency staff and an R&D project for the Environment Agency on the application of integrated appraisal at a strategic level. He has also recently delivered training on SEA and the planning process for the Cyprus government and undertaken a critique for the RSPB/WWF of the Government's Appraisals of Sustainability of the various National Policy Statements covering energy and ports.

He has considerable experience of undertaking environmental and sustainability assessments of a variety of types of policies, plans, programmes and projects and research into environmental assessment tools, techniques and approaches for UK government, regional government and statutory environmental agencies. Ric has also provided quality assurance roles for several SEAs and SAs and reviewed legal compliance with SEA Directive and relevant guidance, published articles on SEA and SA and delivered guest lectures for undergraduate and postgraduate environmental courses. Recent and ongoing SEA / SA commissions include managing two SAs incorporating SEA and Health Impact Assessment for the Greater London Authority for their proposed Water Strategy and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, inputting to the SEAs for the Welsh Assembly on their Rural Development Plan and the Deer Commission for Scotland on their vision and strategy, the Sustainability Appraisal of the South West draft Regional Spatial Strategy and Government's proposed changes, SEAs of several river basin districts' River Basin Management Plans for the Environment Agency and several SAs of Local Development Documents for Brent Council including their Core Strategy, Site Allocations and South Kilburn Supplementary Planning Guidance. He has recently been advising Westminster council on the SA of their Core Strategy.

William Sheate, BSc, MSc

William Sheate is an Associate with Collingwood Environmental Planning and Reader in Environmental Assessment (p/t) at Imperial College London. Originally an ecologist, Bill has worked, lectured and published widely on environmental impact assessment (EIA) for more than 25 years. He has worked as a practicing ecologist, in consultancy, academia and in the voluntary sector.

His experience lies in the development and application of EIA/SEA legislation in the European Union, procedures, methodologies, and public and NGO participation. He has been an expert advisor to the EC, the European Environment Agency, the Irish, UK and Uruguay governments, CPRE, the National Trust, RSPB and WWF; was a long-standing member of the Environment Agency (and formerly NRA) Thames Regional Committees; and involved in various committees of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA). He has also provided expert evidence to public inquiries and to international and court hearings, and has many years experience of teaching and training at advanced levels.

Bill has managed major studies for the European Commission DG Environment on SEA and Integration of the Environment into Strategic Decision-Making (2000/01); on the relationship between the EIA and SEA Directives (2004/5); and led an international team in the development and application of sustainability assessment of biodiversity management scenarios for declining agricultural areas in upland Europe (EU 5FP, 2002-5). Recent and current activities include research on and undertaking SEA in Scotland an d Wales, research in Ireland on the Water Framework Directive and its relationship with other environmental Directives, a number of major projects for the European Environment Agency on scenar io and long-term futures studies, and sustainability appraisal for the Greate r London Aut ho rity on the GLA's proposed Water Strategy and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. He has also recently undertaken a critique for the RSPB/WWF of the Government's Appraisals of Sustainability of the various National Policy Statements covering energy and ports.

Bill has published extensively in the assessment field, was the founding Editor of the Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (ICP/WSPC; 1998-2009), and is the author of Making an Impact: A Guide to EIA Law and Policy (1994, 2nd edition 1996) published b y Cameron May, London and Tools, Techniques and Approaches: Collected Writings in Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, published by World Scientific, Singa pore (2009). He is a member of the Academic Panel of Francis Taylor Building barristers' chambers in London and also an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Environment and Development at the University of Manchester.

More about William Sheate 

Clare Twigger-Ross, MA, MSc, PhD

Clare has fifteen years' experience of social research and the environment and joined CEP in 2002. Clare leads the practice's work social appraisal (e.g. social impact assessments - SIA) and social research. Within that she has experience in social impact assessment with a specific emphasis on understanding vulnerability and differential impacts from flooding as well major infrastructure projects. Her most recent experience in the area of social impact assessment was as the overseer and designer of a social impact assessment for the Mersey Gateway Bridge, which she worked on from 2002 until it went to public inquiry early in 2009, as part of a large t eam managed by Gifford. She appeared as the expert witness for social impacts for the client, Halton Borough Co uncil. Prior to that she oversaw and developed a social impact assessment for the Poole Lifting Bridge in 2004, again working with Gifford. Within her work for the Environment Agency she has explored aspects of vulnerability to flooding and understands the issues around equality and social inclusion. Further, she has more general experience of sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental assessment through a variety of projects. She has experience in research and practice in stakeholder engagement in environmental decision-making. She has been involved in projects focussed on stakeholder involvement for a number of years both as a consultant and working for the Environment Agency. She has training and experience in workshop facilitation which she has used in a number of projects e.g. Strategic Planning of Water Related Sports and Recreation in England and Wales (Environment Agency, 2007), Valuing the Natural Environment (Defra 2005).

Clare is a leading advocate for the value of the social sciences within the environmental arena. She has worked with the Environment Agency and Defra on a number of projects on the social aspects of flood risk management over the past three years. A key focus has been synthesising research and understanding what implications for practice specifically in the area of vulnerability and flood incident management. Further she has analysed what type of social science flood research is being carried out by Defra/Environment Agency and how that might be strengthened. She is an experienced social researcher, both qualitative and quantitative.

Paula Orr, BA, MSc

Paula is a social scientist who has worked on sustainability and participation in the UK and Chile since 1992. At CEP she has worked on climate change adaptation, the promotion and evaluation of behaviour change initiatives, social vulnerability and flooding and community impacts of coastal erosion. She is currently leading the stakeholder engagement strategy for the UK's First Climate Change Risk Assessment. In recent years she has been involved in a number of evaluations of engagement and participation processes and ran a training course in December 2009 on public participation in water governance in Central Asia.

Paula worked as an Advisor on social policy and social science at the Environment Agency from 2000 to 2007. She managed the development of strategy for public participation in River Basin Management under the Water Framework Directive (2002 - 2005) and provided guidance and advice for river basin managers on setting up River Basin District Liaison Panels and developing consultation programmes (2005 - 2006). Paula also provided advice on social issues associated with environmental policy and helped to develop tools and processes for ensuring that social issues are taken into account in policy making.

Paula was a founder member and became Director in 1992 of the Chilean environmental NGO Ecologia y Desarrollo. She pioneered work with marginal waste pickers in several major cities and created conditions for establishing recycled waste storage and marketing centres. In conjunction with this work, she was involved in setting up a number of networks and working groups on waste management and recycling, including a cross-sector working group with business and government organisations. Paula also developed and ran environmental training programmes for communities, local and regional government staff and managers from the public and private sectors.

Owen White, BSc, MSc

Owen White joined Collingwood Environmental Planning (CEP) as a Senior Consultant in April 2008, having worked as an associate freelance consultant with CEP since 2003. Over 6 years of practice, Owen has developed considerable applied expertise in SEA and SA of both spatial and issue specific plans and strategies, as well as contributing to the design and delivery of training in SEA and SA practice for professional planners and policy-makers. He has also recently delivered training on SEA and the planning process for the Cyprus government. SEAs and SAs which he has been involved in include: at the regional level the Strategic Sustainability Assessment (including Appropriate Assessment) of the South West Regional Spatial Strategy, the East of England RSS14, and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Spatial Strategy; at the local level London Borough of Brent LDF, London Borough of Tower Hamlets UDP review, and the South Kilburn SPD, and; in relation to issue specific plans and strategies, the Mayor of London's Public Realm Strategy, and his proposed Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Water Strategy.

Owen has also worked on a large number of environmental and sustainability policy analysis and research projects across a broad range of topic areas and scales, and, drawing on his environmental economics background, has provided socio-economic expert input to a number of regulatory impact assessments of proposed changes to EU regulations relating to biocides, ozone depleting substances and chemicals legislation, through which he has developed an understanding of the EU policy development and decision making processes.