Scottish Crown Estate strategic management plan: strategic environmental assessment - post adoption statement

2 The Strategic Environmental Assessment Process

2.1.1 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the ‘2005 Act’) requires public bodies in Scotland to carry out SEA on their plans, programmes and strategies. SEA is a way of examining plans, programmes and strategies as they develop, to identify any significant effects they may have on the environment. It ensures that environmental considerations are taken into account. SEA also aims to build in any mitigation measures where required, to avoid or minimise any potentially significant adverse effects on the environment, and look for opportunities to enhance a strategy’s environmental performance.

2.1.2 This SEA process began with the production of a Screening and Scoping Report which was submitted to the SEA Gateway in April 2019. Representations received from the SEA Consultation Authorities (Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Historic Environment Scotland (HES)) to the Screening and Scoping stage helped to inform the content of the draft strategy and the following stages of the SEA process. All SEA topic areas were scoped into the assessment.

2.1.3 The assessment and the production of the SEA Environmental Report progressed during July and August 2019, in parallel with the preparation of the draft Plan.

2.1.4 Following consultation on the draft Plan and associated Environmental Report, an independent analysis of consultation responses received was carried out and is available online at https://www.gov.scot/publications/consultation-analysis-report-draft-strategic-management-plan-scottish-crown-estate/.

2.1.6 This Post Adoption Statement concludes the SEA process and sets out those ways in which the findings of the SEA Environmental Report, and the views expressed by consultees have been taken into account.

2.1.7 Section 18(3) of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 sets out the information that should be included in the Post Adoption Statement. This can be summarised as:

• how the environmental considerations have been integrated into the plan;
• how the Environmental Report has been taken into account;
• how the opinions of consultees have been taken into account;
• the reasons for choosing the plan as adopted, in light of the other reasonable alternatives considered; and
• the measures to be taken to monitor the significant environmental effects of the implementation of the plan.