Abstract
This Section of the Post Adoption Statement focuses on how the SEA findings have informed the finalisation of the Plan for Offshore Wind. Part 3 of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 sets out the requirements for the post-adoption stage of SEA. This includes publication and advertising of the Plan, the Environmental Report and a Statement setting out:
- How environmental considerations have been integrated into the plan (Section 18(3)a of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005);
- How the environmental report has been taken into account (Section 18(3)b);
- How consultee opinions have been taken into account (including transboundary consultations)1 (Section 18(3)c and d);
- The reasons for choosing the plan or programme as adopted, in the light of the other reasonable alternatives considered (Section 18(3)e); and
- Measures to be used to monitor the significant effects of the plan (Section 18(3)f).
In order to fulfil these requirements, in the following paragraphs the findings of the technical and environmental assessment have been brought together and linked with the consultation findings on a topic by topic basis. To aid interpretation of the statement, the following questions provide the structure for this part of the report:
- What options were considered within the SEA, and how were they identified?
- What environmental effects were predicted by the SEA and what did consultees say about them?
- What were the views on developments in specific locations or regions?
- What were the views on the Plan as a whole and its SEA? What are the reasons for choosing the Plan as adopted?
- What monitoring will be undertaken?
"Part A - The Plan" can be found here.