Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement
SEA Consultation Requirements
Consultation, specific to the SEA, is required at several stages in line with the Scottish Government’s SEA Guidance (2013) ( Scottish Government (2013) Strategic Environmental Assessment Guidance. The Scottish Government, Edinburgh. ) . As a minimum, the statutory SEA Consultation Authorities listed in Section 5.3 (SEA Scoping Workshop) are consulted on the need for a SEA and the scope of the SEA. The findings of the assessment are outlined in the Environmental Report and a public consultation on the plan and the report must be carried out before any plan can be adopted. The principal consultation requirements are outlined in Table 5.1. The SEA Scoping Report, Draft Environmental Report and SEA Post Adoption Statement will all be consulted on via the SEA Gateway and published on the Transport Scotland website.
| Steps in the SEA | Consultation requirements in Scotland |
|---|---|
|
Decision on scope and level of detail of the assessment (SEA Scoping Report) |
Consult Consultation Authorities (5-week statutory minimum) |
|
Draft Environmental Report and draft plan or programme (PES) |
Consult Consultation Authorities (12 weeks). Consult the public |
|
During preparation of plan or programme |
Take account of Environmental Report and opinions expressed (produce second draft of Environmental Report if substantial changes are required) |
|
Adopted plan or programme: statement and measures concerning monitoring (SEA Post Adoption Statement) |
Consult Consultation Authorities. Consult the public |
Engaging with Consultation Authorities from the beginning of the SEA process is important, as each organisation brings their individual environmental expertise to the assessment process and ensures that the consultation process undertaken by a Responsible Authority is robust. This in turn means that the public can gain a better understanding of the likely effect of a plan on the environment and meaningfully contribute to the plan’s preparation process by offering an informed view ( Scottish Government (2013) Strategic Environmental Assessment Guidance. The Scottish Government, Edinburgh. ) .
Engagement with General Public
As part of the STAG appraisal, participation and engagement with public and stakeholders are key elements of the process. Public consultation has allowed the A96 Corridor Review team to capture relevant feedback to inform the identification of the current problems and opportunities affecting the corridor across all modes of transport. Suggestions for potential options to address the problems on the corridor have also been collated as part of the consultation process. The first public consultation ran for four weeks from 12 May to 10 June 2022 with briefing sessions for key stakeholders running in parallel with the public consultation. The online StoryMap ( Jacobs AECOM (2022) A96 Corridor Review StoryMap. ) published on 12 May 2022 allows information to be updated on a regular basis, keeping stakeholders and the public up-to-date with the progress of the A96 Corridor Review.
To engage the public and stakeholders, an online consultation feedback survey was created. Respondents were asked about their travel habits, their use of different modes of transport, the benefits and disadvantages of using the A96 corridor, and their general thoughts on travel and transport across the corridor. In total, 4,687 responses were received, 4,594 via the online consultation feedback survey and a further 93 submitted as email.
The SEA Screening Report ( Jacobs AECOM (2022) A96 Corridor Review: Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report. ) was issued to Scotland’s ‘SEA Gateway’ for subsequent issue to the Consultation Authorities. It was also made available on the Transport Scotland website in summer 2022. The Screening Report concluded that an SEA would be required, as discussed in Section 1.3.
A Stakeholder and Public Engagement Consultation Report ( Jacobs AECOM (2022) A96 Corridor Review: Stakeholder & Public Engagement Consultation Report. ) was published on the Transport Scotland website in December 2022. This included a summary of the public consultation undertaken between May and June 2022.
SEA Scoping Workshop
A list of environmental stakeholders was established for the A96 Corridor Review project. The first (virtual) meeting of these key stakeholders was for a SEA Scoping Workshop that took place on 02 February 2023.
The environmental stakeholders comprise the following organisations:
- Transport Scotland
- Jacobs AECOM
- The SEA Statutory Consultation Authorities (NatureScot, HES, SEPA)
- Scottish Forestry
- The Highland Council
- Aberdeen City Council
- Aberdeenshire Council
- Moray Council
- Deveron, Bogie & Isla Rivers Charitable Trust & River Deveron District Salmon Fishery Board
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
Scoping Report Feedback
A Scoping Report ( Jacobs AECOM (2023) A96 Corridor Review: Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report ) was issued to the Consultation Authorities and wider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) between 17 January 2023 and 20 February 2023 for comment. Feedback was sought on whether the baseline and policy information presented was comprehensive and the proposed methodology appropriate. Responses were received from Aberdeenshire Council, HES, NatureScot, SEPA and Scottish Forestry. In their responses, the consultees were generally content with the approach but provided further detail on additional baseline and policy, which have since been updated and are presented in this Environmental Report (Appendices B and C). All consultation responses and the SEA responses to them, are provided in Appendix D (Scoping Report - Consultation Responses) of this Environmental Report.