Environmental Impact Assessment

The regulations governing the requirements for the submission of an environmental impact assessment of proposed developments are in the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (the EIA Regulations) (as amended). They ensure that for certain developments, an assessment of the potential environmental impacts and the proposed mitigation measures is produced and submitted alongside any planning application in a document called an Environmental Statement. Only developments which may have a significant environmental effect require an Environmental Statement to be produced.

The EIA Regulations cover 2 broad categories of developments. Those listed in Schedule I of the EIA Regulations (e.g. very large quarries or large waste incinerators) will always require an Environmental Statement to be produced. Developments listed in Schedule II may do so if certain locational or size criteria are met eg a proposed waste management site exceeds 0.5 hectare in area or falls within a “Sensitive Area” for example a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The EIA Regulations make provision for the planning authority to “adopt” a Screening Opinion as to whether it considers a Schedule II development is likely to have a significant impact on the environment and so require that an Environmental Statement would need to be produced.

Screening Opinion

A Screening Opinion is produced by the planning authority either following receipt of a request for one in advance of a planning application being submitted or when a planning application is submitted and the proposal is considered to be Schedule II development and exceeds one of the relevant criteria. One may also be carried out in relation to unauthorised development where the planning authority serves an Enforcement Notice and it is considered that the development constitutes either Schedule I or Schedule II development.

Any request for a Screening Opinion should be accompanied by:

• A plan identifying the land
• A brief description of the nature and purpose of the development and of its possible effects on the environment
• Other information or representations as the person making the request may wish to provide or make

The planning authority has three weeks to adopt a Screening Opinion unless a longer period is agreed in writing with the party making the request. There is no requirement for any consultation or publicity to be carried out in relation to this process.

Scoping Opinions

A Scoping Opinion is produced when the planning authority receives a request from a prospective applicant for  a statement specifying the information to be provided in an Environmental Statement. The request for a Scoping Opinion should be accompanied by:

• A plan identifying the land
• A brief description of the nature and purpose of the development and of its possible effects on the environment
• Other information or representations as the person making the request may wish to provide or make.

The planning authority has five weeks to produce the Scoping Opinion unless a longer period is agreed with the party making the request and is required to consult with those parties which would be statutory consultees if a planning application were to be submitted for the development proposed. The County Council will consult those Parish Councils for the parishes within which the proposed development would be located. There is no requirement for wider public consultation.

Recent scoping and screening opinions can be viewed via the link on the left.