Overview
Objectives - Environment
To protect the built and natural environment.
The Environment Objective aims to protect the built and natural environment. This includes reducing the direct and indirect impacts of transport facilities and their use on the environment of both users and non-users. The environment impacts of concern include noise, atmospheric pollution of differing kinds, vibration, formal intrusion, severance, and impacts on the countryside and wildlife, ancient monuments and historic buildings and so on. While some of these can be readily quantified, others such as severance are much more difficult to define and analyse. More recently, the Environment Objective has been defined more widely to include reduction of the impact of transport on the global environment, particularly through emission of carbon dioxide, but also by consumption of scarce and non-renewable resources.
The Environment Objective has 10 sub-objectives that reflect the various impacts of concern:
- to reduce noise
- to improve local air quality
- to reduce greenhouse gases
- to protect and enhance the landscape
- to protect and enhance the townscape
- to protect the heritage of historic resources
- to support biodiversity
- to protect the water environment
- to encourage physical fitness
- to improve journey ambience
Key Entry Points:
Introductory Material
An Introduction to Transport Analysis, (TAG Unit 1.1) introduces the Government’s Objectives for transport and their role in the appraisal process.
Guidance for the Project Manager
The Overall Approach: Steps in the Process (TAG Unit 2.1) and Objectives and Problems (TAG Unit 2.2) provide an overview of how the identification of environmental problems is integral to the study process and how the appraisal of options against the environment objective fits into the overall transport appraisal process.
The Appraisal Process (TAG Unit 2.5) explains the appraisal framework, including the Appraisal Summary Table (AST) that is used to assess the achievement of the Government’s Objectives for transport.
See also Strategic Environmental Assessment for Transport Plans and Programmes (TAG Unit 2.11).
Guidance for the Expert
The Environment Objective (TAG Unit 3.3) provides detailed guidance appraising against the environment sub-objectives.
A full list of TAG Units is available on the Documents page.
For further information:
The policy background to the development of the Governments five objectives for transport is set out in more detail in A New Deal for Transport, The Government's White Paper on the future of transport (DETR, 1998) and A New Deal for Trunk Roads (“The Roads Review”) (DETR, 1998). These documents are available on the DfT website - see Transport Policy Links.
Information on the Government’s policies on sustainability and environmental protection, including its strategies for air quality and greenhouse gases, is available on the website of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). A number of documents are listed in Environment Links. Information on transport, physical fitness and health is available from the Health Development Agency, including Making T.H.E links - integrating sustainable Transport, Health and Environmental polices (Health Education Authority, 1999).
Updated: October 2009