RPS, jointly with Arthur Cox Solicitors, recently hosted the highly successful event: ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment: Getting it Right’ at Dublin’s Merrion Hotel on the 8th May 2008.
The event was attended by a range of public bodies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Dublin Transportation Office, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and a number of Local Authorities from both within and outside of the Dublin Region. A number of private clients also attended to learn how SEA affected them.
This event, chaired by Jerry Grant, RPS Managing Director, was divided into four issue areas with focused talks provided by the following speakers:
- Dr. Yvonne Scannell (Arthur Cox), SEA – More Legal Problems;
- Dr. Antonia Gaughran (RPS Environment Dublin), Real Problems -
Practical Solutions for Implementing Best Practice for SEA; - Richard Hamilton (RPS Planning), A Planning Perspective – What does SEA mean for Developers;
- And Lorraine Fitzgerald (RPS Project Communications), Taking Account of Stakeholder Issues within the SEA Process
A question and answer session provided an opportunity for the invitees to comment and seek clarification on the issues they considered most pressing. The requirement for a Habitats Directive Assessment (also known as appropriate assessment) was queried a number of times, with both Dr. Antonia Gaughran and Dr. Yvonne Scannell providing responses. The feedback forms returned at the end of the seminar indentified a very positive response to the day and invitees stressed that they would attend a similar event.
The SEA process 1 provides an early consideration of environmental issues in the planning process and creates an opportunity for environmental factors to be considered explicitly alongside other factors such as social, technical or economic aspects. It also gives stakeholders an opportunity to shape the Plan or Programme through comment at the initial planning stages and allows them to be kept informed of decisions and how they were made.
Contact:
RPS Ireland
T: +353 1 488 2900
1 The formal, systematic and comprehensive process of evaluating the effects of a proposed policy, plan or programme or its alternatives, including the written report on the findings of that evaluation, and using the findings in publicly accountable decision making’ (Therivel et al, 1992).