As well as the assessment of the project in its own right, the EIA is required to take account of cumulative impacts of the construction and operation of the project with other reasonably foreseeable projects in the area.
The approach to the cumulative assessment will follow the guidance within The Planning Inspectorate’s Advice Note 17, cumulative effects assessment relevant to nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIP Advice on Cumulative Effects Assessment). Advice Note 17describes a staged approach to the cumulative effects assessment that involves identifying a long list of other projects to be considered, reducing this to a shortlist, gathering information and then assessing the cumulative effects. The list of other projects will be developed in consultation with local authorities and other stakeholders.
The other projects will include those projects which have been approved and where construction may or may not have started, projects for which an application has been submitted but not determined, and potentially other known projects in earlier phases of development.
The longlist of other projects will be identified based on theoretical zones of influence of different types of impact, such as construction dust or visual impact. A number of factors, such as the timing of the construction and operational phases, the scale and nature of other projects, and the sensitivity of the environment will be used to shortlist projects for further assessment. Information on these projects will be gathered from sources such as the documents provided in the planning applications. The outcome of the assessment will be presented in the ES, submitted as part of the DCO application.
The types of other projects which would be considered include other major transport projects such as the various projects under the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s City Access programme (City Access Programme), which includes several sustainable travel projects, such as the Cambourne to Cambridge scheme as well as housing development and other applications submitted to local planning authorities.
Projects such as the new A421 dual carriageway, construction of which is underway as part of the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements scheme and is likely to be built before the start of construction for East West Rail, will be considered as part of the future baseline for the EIA of East West Rail and not included in the cumulative effects assessment.
