APPENDIX 1: Objectives and Criteria for Evaluation
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
1. A strong economy with
good job opportunities
available to the whole
community
Will the policy or proposal:
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Support the growth and development of existing businesses?
Help to attract inward investment?
Support the development of innovative businesses or industries?
Help to transform the local economy by increasing the number of knowledge based
businesses and industries?
Provide a quality portfolio of commercial sites and premises that are available for
development?
Support the development of dynamic business clusters which generate wider economic
opportunities?
Provide infrastructure which meets the operational needs of new and existing businesses?
Help to create of a vibrant City Centre?
Provide jobs and have potential to improve income levels to decent levels for local people
who are currently on low incomes?
2. Education and training
opportunities which build
the skills and capacity of
the population
Will the policy or proposal:
3. Decent housing
available to everyone
(including vulnerable
people and disadvantaged
Will the policy or proposal:
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Meet needs for well-designed and appropriately located education and/or training facilities?
Help to provide a diverse range of learning opportunities?
Help to ensure that local schools have the capacity to meet the needs of new housing
developments?
Support the creation of successful housing markets?
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
groups)
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4. Conditions and services
which engender good
health
Assist with the provision of sufficient new homes to meet local needs (taking into account
requirements of location, size, type and affordability)?
Maintain the identity of existing communities?
Integrate new housing development with existing communities?
Help to create mixed income communities by providing a better mix of house types and/or a
better mix of tenures in areas currently dominated by single tenure housing?
Provide housing to meet the needs of all vulnerable people and disadvantaged groups
(including people on low incomes, the elderly, people needing supported housing, minority
communities, people with disabilities and travellers)?
Reduce the numbers of vacant dwellings and dwellings for which there is low demand?
Improve the quality of the housing stock so that it meets decency standards and people’s
aspirations?
Improve the energy efficiency and insulation in housing to reduce fuel poverty?
Improve the environment in housing areas?
Will the policy or proposal:
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Improve the quality or availability of health services and facilities (e.g. by meeting local
needs)?
 Minimise any health risks associated with air, noise or light pollution?
 Improve access to cultural, leisure and recreation facilities (that provide opportunities for
exercise or which promote mental well-being)?
Note:
Indirect benefits should be assessed as light green. .
5. Safety and security for
people and property
Will the policy or proposal:
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
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Minimise the risk of crime and maximise security for users of the development?
Provide public spaces (including highways, footpaths and pedestrian areas) that are inviting
to use, well overlooked and well maintained?
Note:
Transport safety is covered under Aim 8 below
6. Good cultural, leisure
and recreation facilities
available to all
Will the policy or proposal:
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Increase provision of cultural, leisure and recreation (CLR) activities/ venues?
Ensure that adequate amounts of well-maintained recreational open space are available
close to where people live?
Improve access to riverside and wetland recreation areas?
Note:
Non-car based access to CLR activities is covered under Aim 7 below
7. Land use patterns that
minimise the need to
travel or which promote
the use of sustainable
forms of transport
Will the policy or proposal:
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Provide job opportunities available in locations that are accessible to people by public
transport?
Provide employment opportunities near to significant housing areas?
Locate high trip generating uses in areas where there is a choice of transport modes (in
order to reduce dependency on less sustainable modes)?
Provide opportunities to make linked trips?
Result in essential services (e.g. health services, shops, leisure facilities) being available
within easy reach of people’s homes by foot, cycle or public transport?
Provide levels of car parking which are appropriate to the location (i.e. lower levels of
provision where other modes of transport are more viable)?
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
Notes:
This is about land use and not transport networks
We are assessing what is the best distribution of development, not whether the development
should occur. Given that it will occur and people need to travel to it, is it possible to find a more
sustainable distribution in terms of need to travel?
Where the answer overall is positive but some areas would still suffer, this should be shown with
a ‘Tension’ assessment and areas adversely affected should be identified in the notes.
8. An efficient transport
network which maximises
access and minimises
detrimental impacts
Will the policy or proposal:
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Support the development of good road and rail links to other cities and international airports?
Make more efficient use of, or improve the viability of, existing public transport services?
Create a transport environment that is attractive to non-car users (pedestrians, cyclists, etc)?
Reduce or minimise traffic congestion?
Improve road safety?
Support the transfer of freight movement from road to rail and water?
Reduce the impact of traffic in residential areas?
Make more efficient use of the car (e.g. through car sharing)?
Reduce negative impacts of transportation on air quality and noise?
Note:
Where only one of the requirements would be satisfied at the expense of the others the
assessment should be that there is a tension. Where either part of the aim is only weakly
satisfied the positive assessment should be qualified (light green)
9. Efficient use of land
Will the policy or proposal:
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
which makes good use of
previously developed sites
and buildings
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Ensure that housing developments make efficient use of land (by minimising low density
development and encouraging higher density development in appropriate locations)?
Result in the reuse of previously developed land and vacant buildings?
Minimise new building on greenfield sites (indirect effect)?
Note:
Where the effect is indirect the assessment should be a qualified one (light green)
10. A quality built
environment
Will the policy or proposal:
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11. Historic Environment
Protected and Enhanced
Ensure that new buildings, roads, physical infrastructure and public spaces are well
designed and appropriate to their setting?
Enhance townscape character?
Result in appropriate and sympathetic landscaping around new development?
Improve access to the built environment for people with mobility difficulties?
Protect local distinctiveness and character of different areas?
Support sustainable design and the use of sustainable building materials (recycled, locally
produced, and less polluting materials) in construction?
Will the policy or proposal:
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Preserve archaeological sites and their settings?
Preserve historic buildings, sites and areas?
Preserve Sheffield’s industrial heritage?
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
12. Quality of natural
landscapes maintained
and enhanced
Will the policy or proposal:
13. Wildlife and important
geological sites conserved
and enhanced
Will the policy or proposal:
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14. Soil resources
conserved
Protect and enhance valued landscapes and the character of rural areas?
Value and protect local diversity and local distinctiveness?
Safeguard individual landscape features such as hedgerows, dry-stone walls and ponds?
Improve woodland cover in appropriate locations?
Minimise light pollution in rural areas?
Result in the restoration and appropriate after-use of mineral extraction and landfill sites?
Safeguard rivers and streams?
Protect and improve the diversity of wildlife habitats and species or make provision for their
long-term management?
Provide opportunities for habitat creation (e.g. through the landscaping of new
development)?
Protect and improve green corridors and links to maximise connectivity between wildlife
habitats?
Safeguard important geological sites?
Improve access to wildlife on suitable sites?
Will the policy or proposal:
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Assist with the reclamation of contaminated land?
Safeguard soil quality and minimise soil erosion (by preventing development on agricultural
land or other previously undeveloped sites)?
Support the development of innovative or less harmful uses for potential ground pollutants?
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
15. Water resources
protected and enhanced
Will the policy or proposal:
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16. Air pollution and
greenhouse gas
emissions minimised and
a managed response to
the effects of climate
change
Reduce water pollution (e.g. through the provision of improved sewerage and sewage
treatment facilities)?
Reduce water consumption and improve recycling of waste water?
Protect the water quality of the Canal, rivers, ponds, lakes and ground water?
Support the development of innovative or less harmful uses for potential water pollutants?
Will the policy or proposal:
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Help to reduce air pollution from current activities?
Minimise air pollution generated by new development?
Locate sensitive uses where they would not be unacceptably affected by air pollution?
Promote developments that would reduce air pollution (e.g. through innovative processes or
technology)?
Minimise greenhouse gas emissions from trips (maximising use of less polluting modes of
transport, reducing need to travel, use of environmentally friendly fuels and technologies)?
Prevent or reduce methane gas emissions from landfill sites, and past and present mining
activities?
Reduce emissions of industrial and domestic greenhouse gases reduced and keep them at
an acceptable level?
Note:
It is assumed for the purpose of this aim that mobility is needed (cf. Aim 7). The assessment
should be whether it is enabled in a way that avoids unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions
17. Minimal risk to human
life and property from
flooding
Will the policy or proposal:
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Avoid unnecessary development in areas at risk from flooding?
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
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18. Prudent and efficient
use of energy and mineral
resources
Improve or provide flood defences in areas at risk from flooding?
Support the development of sustainable urban drainage systems to reduce surface water
run-off?
Minimise the risk of flooding elsewhere in the watercourse catchment area (e.g. by
safeguarding floodwater storage areas)?
Will the policy or proposal:
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Minimise energy consumption in the construction or use of buildings?
Support the use or development of renewable energy sources?
Reduced consumption of non-renewable construction materials
Help to reduce the use of fossil fuels (i.e. oil, coal, gas)?
Promote the efficient use of mineral reserves?
Maximise the use of secondary aggregates in construction?
Notes:
This aim is not about whether energy and resources are used but, given that they will be,
whether they are used in a prudent and efficient manner.
This does not relate to impacts of transport
19. Minimal production of
waste and the reuse,
recycling and recovery of
waste maximised
Will the policy or proposal:
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Minimise the production of waste?
Support the re-use or recovery of waste through recycling, composting or energy recovery?
Improve access to facilities that encourage the minimisation, reuse and recycling of waste
and recovery of energy from waste?
Sustainability Objective
Sustainability Appraisal Criteria
20. Efficient use of
physical infrastructure
Will the policy or proposal:
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Minimise the need for new physical infrastructure (water distribution, sewers, sewage
treatment and electricity cabling/ gas pipelines)?
Utilise spare physical infrastructure capacity?