2.3.1 Appropriate Assessment (AA) ............................................................................. 5

Tables

Table 3.1: Summary of SEA Environmental Report Submissions … 10 Table 5.1: Targets, Indicators and Sources … 24

Prepared for: Transport Infrastructure Ireland AECOM

National Cycle Network Plan SEA Adoption Statement

Prepared for: Transport Infrastructure Ireland AECOM

National Cycle Network Plan

1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction and Legislative Context

This is the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Adoption Statement for the National

Cycle Network (NCN) Plan (referred to hereafter as the ‘NCN Plan’).

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a process for evaluating, at the earliest

appropriate stage, the likely environmental effects of implementing a Plan or other strategic

action in order to ensure that environmental considerations are appropriately addressed in the

decision-making process both during the preparation and prior to adoption of a plan.

The European Directive (2001/42/EC) on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Plans and

Programmes on the Environment (the ‘SEA Directive’) was transposed into national legislation

by:

European Communities (EC) (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and

Programmes) Regulations 2004 (S.I. No. 435 of 2004); and

Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) Regulations 2004

(S.I. No. 436 of 2004).

These regulations were subsequently amended by the:

EC (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) (Amendment)

Regulations, 2011 (S.I. No. 200 of 2011); and

Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental Assessment) (Amendment)

Regulations, 2011 (S.I. No. 201 of 2011).

Schedule 2 (9) of S.I. No. 435 of 2004 highlights that an SEA “shall be carried out for all plans

and programmes…which are prepared for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry,

transport, waste management, water management, telecommunications and tourism, and

which set the framework for future development consent of projects listed in Annexes I and II

to the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive”1. The SEA for the NCN Plan has therefore

been undertaken to meet the requirements of S.I. No. 435 of 2004 (as amended).

The legislation requires that the plan-making authority must make available an SEA Adoption

Statement summarising how the SEA and SEA consultations have been taken into account in

the making of the Plan. In addition, the plan-making authority has to detail the reasons for

choosing the plan or programme as adopted, in the light of the other reasonable alternatives

dealt with, and the measures decided concerning monitoring.

1 Section 9(1) of S.I. No. 435 of 2004 as amended by S.I. No. 200 of 2011

Prepared for: Transport Infrastructure Ireland

National Cycle Network Plan SEA Adoption Statement

This SEA Adoption Statement is a reflective document that looks back on the SEA process,

what has been achieved and it also sets out what monitoring will be done in the future.

1.2 Content of the SEA Adoption Statement

The main purpose of an SEA Adoption Statement is to document how environmental

considerations and the views of statutory consultees and other submissions, and observations

received during the consultation phases have been taken into account during the preparation

of the final Plan and the arrangements put in place for monitoring.

The SEA Adoption Statement is described in Article 9 of the SEA Directive as a statutory

requirement and should be made available with the adopted Plan. The SEA Adoption

Statement will be issued to the ‘environmental authorities’ previously consulted, with a view to

outlining the key stages of the SEA process and illustrating how environmental considerations

have been integrated into the plan and key decisions taken in the Plan as a consequence of

the SEA.

The SEA Adoption Statement is required to include the following information:

a) How environmental considerations have been integrated into the Plan (Section 2);

b) How the Environmental Report, submissions and observations made to the planning

authority and any transboundary consultations (where relevant) have been taken

into account during the preparation of the Plan (Section 3);

c) The reasons for choosing the Plan, as adopted, in the light of the other reasonable

alternatives dealt with (Section 4); and

d) The measures decided upon to monitor the significant environmental effects of

implementation of the Plan (Section 5).

On adoption of the National Cycle Network Plan the authority (Transport Infrastructure Ireland

(TII)) is required under Section 13I of the Planning and Development (Strategic Environmental

Assessment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. No. 436 of 2004) as amended, to make this SEA

Statement available to the ‘environmental authorities’ and the public.

1.3 Implications of SEA for the Plan

An SEA Screening Report was prepared by AECOM for the NCN Plan in November 2021. The

screening sought to determine whether the full SEA process was required for the NCN Plan.

The report concluded the following:

“… the plan is likely to set the framework for subsequent plans and projects which have the

potential for significant effects on the environment. This includes, potentially, plans

requiring an SEA process or projects requiring an EIA process. For this reason, it is

concluded that a full SEA process is required to accompany the NCN Plan”

Prepared for: Transport Infrastructure Ireland AECOM

National Cycle Network Plan SEA Adoption Statement

The SEA was subsequently undertaken, with the findings of the SEA process being presented

in the SEA Environmental Report, which accompanied the draft NCN Plan for public

consultation (May 2022).

Following consultation on the draft NCN Plan, the SEA Environmental Report was updated to

in order to take account of:

consultation comments on the draft NCN Plan and Environmental Report; and

changes to the draft NCN Plan that were made following consultation.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has taken into account the findings of all relevant SEA

outputs during the development of the NCN Plan. In this respect the SEA has formed an

integral part of the evidence base for the NCN Plan.

Prepared for: Transport Infrastructure Ireland AECOM

National Cycle Network Plan SEA Adoption Statement

2. How Environmental Considerations were Integrated into the Plan

2.1 Introduction

Environmental considerations were integrated into the NCN Plan making process at all stages,

i.e., the Scoping stage, at the Environmental Report stage and following the submissions and

observations from the ‘environmental authorities’ and the public.

Environmental considerations were integrated into the NCN Plan through:

Responses to consultation.

Communication of environmental sensitivities throughout the SEA process.

Appropriate Assessment2.

Consideration of alternatives.

Integration of individual measures into the NCN Plan (i.e., SEA and AA).

These stages are discussed in more detail below.

2.2 Consultation

The ‘environmental authorities’ identified by the SEA Regulations, were issued the SEA

Scoping Report in March 2022. Currently, the SEA environmental authorities are as follows

the:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine;

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage [including the Development

Applications Unit]; and

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

As the NCN Plan has the potential to affect the environment in Northern Ireland, transboundary

consultation was also undertaken with the main environmental authority in Northern Ireland:

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA): Northern Ireland

Environment Agency (NIEA)3.

The Draft NCN Plan and SEA Environmental Report were made available for consultation,

alongside consultation on the draft NCN Plan4. The SEA environmental authorities, as well as

2 A Stage 2 Appropriate Assessment (AA) has been undertaken alongside the preparation of the Plan. 3 A submission was also received from Department for Communities (DfC): Historic Environment Division (HED). 4 Website for the NCN Plan Consultation available at: https://ncn.consultation.ai/

Prepared for: Transport Infrastructure Ireland AECOM

National Cycle Network Plan SEA Adoption Statement

the relevant transboundary authority, were notified so that they may make a submission or

observation in relation to the SEA Environmental Report and / or the draft NCN Plan.

Details of the submissions made during the SEA Scoping Report and draft NCN Plan and / or

the SEA Environmental Report while on public display is provided in Section 3.2 and Section