The Environmental Impact Assessment of Manchester Science Park - Lab Report Example

EIA Scoping Report Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction 2 Identification of main and significant effects 3 Community, Economic, and Social Effects 4 Noise and vibration 6 Traffic and Transport 7 Waste 8 Cumulative effects 8 Summary 9 Reference List 9 Introduction There has been a submission of proposed development of Manchester Science Park on the northern part of Whitworth Park in Manchester City centre. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was performed, and the Environmental Statement (ES) was submitted together with the application for construction of the proposed project. The following report contains information that can be used by the Manchester district council in the process of scoping the EIA. It also lists the developer’s significant views of the positive effects the proposed project will have on the environment that the EIA ought to look at in order to come up with detailed information that should be in the final ES (Canter, 1996, pg. 50). The site The proposed site is located in the North of Whitworth Park in Manchester city. The site selection was based on the various highlighted factors. The area surrounding the proposed site has been largely developed. The site enjoys banking, shopping, educational and social facilities within its vicinity. The location is also being served by proper road infrastructures such as the Oxford Rd B5117, the Denmark Road, and the Moss Ln E B5219. The Whitworth Park is a described as being a green space that provides a playing and adventure area. The proposed development The proposed site is located north of Whitworth Park. The developed is already in its next phase. It aims at developing the next Manchester Science Park that seeks at promoting sustainable technology. Scoping The purpose of scoping Scoping has been identified by Wood a process of determining the range of issues to be addressed and identifying the significant issues about a proposed action (Wood, 2006, pg. 322). The role of an ES is to document the findings of an EIA report. The scoping report would contain information that would be incorporated into the ES that would be further used in the application for an EIA (Gov.uk, 2002). The information may be categorized in the following areas: Identification of environmental factors that may be affected by the development of the proposed project. An assessment of the EIA methodologies to determine the significance of the impact the development of the project will have on the environment. Provision of mitigation alternatives that may have a positive effect of reducing the impact the proposed development would have on the environment. Identification of main and significant effects The scoping procedure involves assessing the main effects that the proposed project may have on the environment according to the EIA regulations (Snell & Cowell, 2006, pg. 366). After looking at some of the main effects, the scoping process further involves looking at which of those main effects will have a significant impact and should be included in the EIA scope. The significant effects have been identified as Air quality, Landscape and visual effects, Noise and Vibration, Traffic and Transport, Waste, and Community, Economic, and Social effects. Air quality The proposed next phase of development of Manchester Science Park has the potential of changing the existing air quality. The construction would entail emissions as a result of the various forms of construction work and increased traffic flow at the construction site. The key pollutant that would directly affect the air quality is the increase of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide even after the construction work has been completed. The impacts witnessed as a result of increased emission of carbon dioxide are significant across the whole globe due to the global warming phenomena while the emission of Nitrogen Dioxide will have an impact on the local air quality affecting the some of the vegetation and the surrounding ecosystem. The concentration levels of these gas emissions should be monitored and compared with air quality objectives. The scoping process identified that the following construction events would have an effect on the air quality: There would be the emission of CO2 and NO2 during and after the construction due to an increase in the flow of traffic. There would be a generation of dust during the process of construction. The impact that the construction work would have on the local air quality will have to be examined by monitoring the concentration of different gasses by using the Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS) and computer applications with the necessary meteorological and monitoring data. The construction dust assessment will assess the impact of the dust generated, as a result of construction work, on different receptors by considering the different construction activities and the wind direction. This will give a detailed information of the areas that would likely be most affected. The results obtained will give a basis for coming up with mitigation measures that would ensure that there is less emission of air pollutants. Community, Economic, and Social Effects The proposed project is likely to have a direct influence on the community, economy and the social factors. Such effects might be an increased population due to the availability of employment during and after the construction project, and an increase in the demand for local services as a result of increased population. According to the 2011 census, Manchester city has a population of more than half a million people (Crook, 2012). Manchester city has also been termed as the fastest growing city in Britain (Crook, 2012). It has been witnessing the generation of more employment opportunities thus, attracting more people from various parts of the world. The proposed project in Manchester city centre will have the capability of increasing Manchester’s population. The increased population has the potential of affecting some community services in the Whitworth area of Manchester city centre. The services most likely to be affected include transport, medical, education as well as other infrastructural resources existing in the area. The scoping report has identified the following effects will be as a result of the construction of the proposed project: Increase in the population during and after construction. There would be more employment during and after construction of the project An increase in demand for local services After looking at the community, social and economic factors that could be affected a key mitigation measure would be to increase the financial contribution at the ward and district levels in order to curb any would be strain on the local community services. Landscape and visual effects The construction of any project has the potential of affecting the physical landscape of any area thus affecting features such as the character and quality (Wathern, 2004, 15). The visual changes come about if the character and quality change the opinion of individuals of how the landscape looks. The proposed project lies in Manchester city centre north of Whitworth Park. The area is characterized by vegetated landscape owing to the nearby park. The Whitworth is a protected landscape. The scoping process identified the effects might be as a result of the construction of the proposed project: There would be a change in the landscape as a result of the earthworks that will take place during the construction process. The landscape character will change after the construction process is completed. The land cover on the site will change so as to give way for the construction of the proposed project. The quality of the landscape will change. A landscape assessment will have to be conducted on the proposed site. The assessment process will entail looking at quality and character of the landscape (European Commission, 2014). The assessment will be undertaken by means of a desk study that will update any studies that had been conducted earlier. An analysis of the visual setting of the surrounding area will also have to be looked at, and necessary deductions made in relation to the findings. The visual assessment will be supplemented by lighting studies that will look at the lighting levels at night and propose new lighting sources associated with the proposed project. Upon looking into the scoping report on the landscape and visual effects, the following are some of the proposed mitigation alternatives that would reduce the effects of the construction of the proposed project on the landscape: The report finds prudent for the project, where possible, to retain key landscape features that otherwise would be affected. A master plan should be designed in consideration of the adverse effects on the landscape that it would have. Noise and vibration The construction process entails an increase in the noise and vibration levels as a result of earthworks and construction at the site (Kilian, et al., 2010, pg.62). These levels might also be affected by the increase in the flow of traffic to and from the construction site. The proposed project has the potential of causing temporary and permanent noise pollution. The temporary noise and vibrations will be as a result of the construction work of the proposed project while the permanent noise and vibrations may be as a result of the increased traffic flow that would be witnessed at the project after its completion. The following are the some of the effects of the proposed project on the levels of noise and vibration as presented in the EIA scope: There would be an increase in the noise levels on the site as a result of earthworks and construction processes An increase in noise and vibration levels as a result of increased construction traffic flow An increase in noise after construction due to an increase in the flow of traffic Some of the mitigation measures that can reduce the adverse effects of the increased levels of noise as well as vibration include but are not limited to the following: Coming up with the construction environmental plan in order to include measures that would minimize noise and vibrations. Implementing measures that would minimize the traffic flow of private vehicles and other unnecessary locomotives. Traffic and Transport A construction site is subjected to increased flow of traffic due to the construction of the proposed project. After the construction of the project, there would be an increase in the flow of traffic for people who wish to access the building premises. The construction of the proposed project would entail the construction of a road network infrastructure that would provide access to the completed project. The transport effects witnessed throughout the construction period are only temporary and will last the course of the construction period. The scoping process has identified the effects of the proposed project on the traffic and transport sector: An increase in the traffic flow during and after construction. There would be changes and improvements on some of the road infrastructure leading to the proposed project. The traffic flow data obtained in the previous years would act as the basis for evaluating the impact the construction of the proposed project would have on the traffic and transport sector. The necessary information would be obtained from Manchester City Council. Following careful consideration of the effects witnessed as a result of the proposed project the following mitigation measures have been proposed: Formulation of a construction management plan that would encompass measures of dealing with an increase in the flow of traffic. Implementing effective travel plans that would reduce the use of private vehicles to travel. Encouraging and coming up with non-motorized user pedestrian. Waste The process of construction entails coming up with waste materials at one point in time during the construction process. It is important to ensure that the waste materials coming up during construction are either reused or recycled. An effective system should be formulated to ensure that materials are separated according to their ability to be reused or recycled (European Commission, 2015). In the case that the waste products are hazardous, a proper system of treating or disposing of the waste should be put in place according to the environmental assessment process. The proposed site is in the city centre of Manchester north of Whitworth Park. There is a recycling site along Whitworth Street West, City Center along the B6469 (Manchester City Council, 2015). There is also a Mechanical Biological Treatment across the Greater Manchester that treats residual wastes to generate electricity and other end products. Due to the nature of the proposed project, there would be no hazardous materials as a result of the construction process. The waste products emerging from the construction site would be recycled at the nearby Whitworth Street West, City Center recycling plant (Recycle for Greater Manchester, 2015). After construction, a waste management plan would be implemented by the occupants of building. A waste management plan that would entail ways of waste storage and collection should be developed independently of the EIA. The scoping report, therefore, proposed that the waste ought not to be included in the EIA. Cumulative effects The proposed project in the Manchester city north of Whitworth Park would be the next phase of the development. The cumulative impacts will be provided during the process of EIA and proposal given of the already completed phase and the phase that is in the planning process. The cumulative impacts, of the individual elements such as air quality, noise, and traffic, on the various receptors, will be put into consideration where appropriate. The activities to be considered will be agreed upon after intensive consultation with the various stakeholders throughout the assessment period. Summary This particular scoping report is still at its early development stage in the EIA process. The scoping report is designed to ensure that it provides the necessary information for the implementation of the complete Environment Statement. The scoping report proposes that the EIA, for the proposed project, should encompass the following areas of discussion: Air quality, Landscape and visual effects, Noise and Vibration, Traffic and Transport, Waste, and Community, Economic and Social effects. A complete Environmental Statement will then be presented as a part of the wide statement that would aim at informing the locals, the regulators and other stakeholders of the environmental impacts of the proposed project. Reference List Canter, L. W. (1996). Environmental impact assessment. New York; Montreal, McGraw-Hill. 45-56. Crook, A. (2012). Its official: Manchester is Britains boom city. Available at: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/its-official-manchester-is-britains-boom-691227 [Accessed 22 May 2015]. European Commission. (2015). Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive - Environment - European Commission. [Online] Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/review.htm [Accessed 22 May 2015]. European Commission. (2014). Environmental Assessment - Environment - European Commission. [Online] Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/home.htm [Accessed 22 May 2015]. Gov.uk. (2002). Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A Handbook for scoping projects. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296952/geho0411btrf-e-e.pdf [Accessed May 22, 2015]. 1-52. Kilian, B., Lechner, S., & Fuhr, M. (2010). The European impact assessment and the environment. Heidelberg, Springer. 59-65. Manchester City Council. (2015). Recycling sites in Manchester search | Manchester City Council. [online] Manchester.gov.uk. Available at: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/directory_search.php?directoryID=9&keywords=whitworth&postcode=&search=Search [Accessed 22 May 2015]. Recycle for Greater Manchester. (2015). How we recover energy from waste in Greater Manchester. [online] Available at: http://www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com/recover/how-we-recover-energy [Accessed 22 May 2015]. Snell, T., & Cowell, R. (2006). Scoping in environmental impact assessment: balancing precaution and efficiency? Environmental impact assessment review, 26(4), 359-376. Wood, G., Glasson, J. & Becker, J. (2006). EIA scoping in England and Wales: Practitioner approaches, perspectives, and constraints. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 26: 221– 224 Wathern, P. (2004). Environmental Impact Assessment: Theory and Practice. Academic Division of Unwin Hyman Ltd. 4-45. Read More