Commitments and Cumulative Impact Assessment

Applicants must consider the effect of known commitments and consider the cumulative impact of the proposals in question. In judging which commitments should be considered, it will be relevant to consider, inter alia, the likelihood of them being implemented, and their potential scale and significance. The basic approach to assessing the impact of commitments, i.e. the key stages of the exercise, are set out later in this section. In the case of proposals which are not in accordance with an up to date local development plan and not within an existing centre, their effects on a planned investment in a nearby centre may be highly material. The range of factors to be considered are detailed at para 3.2.15 above. Equally, any adverse impacts as outlined above should be balanced against the positive effects of the proposals, in terms of; investment; employment generation; social inclusion; and physical and economic regeneration.