The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment)(England and Wales) Regulations 1999 identify which projects would require, or would be likely to require an EIA.

The Regulations distinguish between “Schedule 1 Development” (such as major infrastructure and industrial projects) which always requires an EIA and “Schedule 2 Development” which may require an EIA depending on the scale of the development and its likely environmental impact.

Where a proposed development is deemed to require an EIA, it will be necessary to prepare and Environmental Statement, describing in detail the various studies carried out in order to assess environmental impact.  The EIA Regulations are specific about the information which must be included in an Environmental Statement and it is important to identify the scope of work necessary at an early stage in the planning of a development project.

Certain aspects of environmental impact assessment, such as ecological and archaeological investigations can take several months to complete and surveys of plants and wildlife may need to be conducted at a specific time of year.  Careful advance planning of an EIA is therefore crucial to its success and we encourage clients who are considering a development project to talk to us at “the concept” stage.  Pushing forward with the design of a development without addressing environmental impact can lead to costly delays and possible refusal at the planning application stage.

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