The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009
| Year | 2009 |
2009 No. 2263
Infrastructure Planning
The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009
Made 1st September 2009
Laid before Parliament 8th September 2009
Coming into force 1st October 2009
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government being a designated1Minister for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to the environment, in exercise of the powers conferred by that section makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 and shall come into force on 1st October 2009.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Planning Act 20083;
“any other information” means any other substantive information relating to the environmental statement or updated environmental statement and provided by the applicant;
“any particular person” includes any non-governmental organisation promoting environmental protection;
“applicant” means—
(a) an applicant for an order granting development consent or a person who proposes to apply for such an order: or
(b) an applicant for subsequent consent or a person who proposes to make a subsequent application;
“associated development” means development for which development consent may be granted in accordance with section 115 (development for which development consent may be granted);
“the consultation bodies” means—
(a) a body prescribed under section 42(a) (duty to consult) and listed in column 1 of the table set out at Schedule 1 to the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 20094where the circumstances set out in column 2 are satisfied in respect of that body;
(b) each authority that is within section 43 (local authorities for purposes of section 42(b)); and
(c) if the land to which the application, or proposed application, relates or any part of that land is in Greater London, the Greater London Authority;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 85/337/EEC5;
“EIA development” means development which is either—
(a) Schedule 1 development; or
(b) Schedule 2 development likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location;
“environmental information” means the environmental statement (or in the case of a subsequent application, the updated environmental statement), including any further information and any other information, any representations made by any body required by these Regulations to be invited to make representations, and any representations duly made by any other person about the environmental effects of the development and of any associated development;
“environmental statement” means a statement—
(a) that includes such of the information referred to in Part 1 of Schedule 4 as is reasonably required to assess the environmental effects of the development and of any associated development and which the applicant can, having regard in particular to current knowledge and methods of assessment, reasonably be required to compile; but
(b) that includes at least the information referred to in Part 2 of Schedule 4;
“exempt development” means development in respect of which the Secretary of State has made a direction under regulation 5(5);
“further information” means additional information which in the view of the Commission, the Examining authority, the Secretary of State or the relevant authority is required to be included in a statement in order for it to be an environmental statement or an updated environmental statement;
“preliminary environmental information” means information referred to in Part 1 of Schedule 4 which—
(a) has been compiled by the applicant; and
(b) is reasonably required to assess the environmental effects of the development (and of any associated development);
“register” means a register kept pursuant to section 39 (register of applications);
“relevant authority” means the body to which it falls to determine a subsequent application;
“relevant local planning authority” has the meaning given in section 173;
“Schedule 1 development” means development, other than exempt development, of a description mentioned in Schedule 1;
“Schedule 2 development” means development, other than exempt development, of a description mentioned in Schedule 2;
“scoping opinion” means a written statement—
(a) by the Commission as to the information to be provided in an environmental statement; or
(b) by the relevant authority as to the supplementary information to be provided in an updated environmental statement;
“screening direction” means a direction made by the Secretary of State as to whether development (including any associated development) is EIA development;
“screening opinion” means a written statement of the opinion of the Commission or the Examining authority as to whether development (including any associated development) is EIA development;
“subsequent application” means an application for approval of a matter where—
(a) the application is made in pursuance of a requirement imposed by an order granting development consent; and
(b) the approval must be obtained before all or part of the development permitted by the consent may be begun;
“subsequent consent” means consent granted pursuant to a subsequent application;
“subsequent screening opinion” means a written statement of a relevant authority as to whether supplementary information is required to enable it to determine a subsequent application;
“supplementary information” means information reasonably required to assess the environmental effects of a development and which the applicant can, having regard in particular to current knowledge and methods of assessment, reasonably be required to compile;
“updated environmental statement” means the environmental statement submitted as part of an application for an order granting development consent, updated to include any supplementary information.
(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a section is a reference to a section of the Act.
(3) Expressions used both in these Regulations and in the Act have the same meaning for the purposes of these Regulations as they have for the purposes of the Act.
(4) Expressions used both in these Regulations and in the Directive have the same meaning for the purposes of these Regulations as they have for the purposes of the Directive with the exception of the expression “the Commission6”.
(5) In these Regulations any reference to a Council Directive is a reference to that Directive as amended at the date these Regulations were made.
Prohibition on granting consent without consideration of environmental information
3.—(1) This regulation applies to—
(a)
(a) every application for an order granting development consent for EIA development received by the Commission; and
(b)
(b) every subsequent application for EIA development received by a relevant authority
on or after 1st March 2010.
(2) Where this regulation applies, by virtue of paragraph (1)(a), the decision-maker must not make an order granting development consent unless it has first taken the environmental information into consideration, and it must state in its decision that it has done so.
(3) Where this regulation applies, by virtue of paragraph (1)(b) a relevant authority must not grant subsequent consent unless either—
(a)
(a) it has first taken the environmental information into consideration; or
(b)
(b) it has given a subsequent screening opinion to the effect that an updated environmental statement is not required to enable it to determine the application; and
and in either case it must state in its decision that it has done so.
When development is EIA development: general cases
4.—(1) The occurrence of an event mentioned in paragraph (2) shall determine for the purpose of these Regulations that development is EIA development.
(2) The events referred to in paragraph (1) are—
(a)
(a) a person notifying the Commission in writing under regulation 6(1)(b) that that person proposes to provide an environmental statement in respect of proposed development; or
(b)
(b) the adoption by the Commission or an Examining authority of a screening opinion to the effect that the development is EIA development; or
(c)
(c) the making of a direction by the Secretary of State pursuant to regulation 5.
When development is EIA development: directions by the Secretary of State
5.—(1) A direction of the Secretary of State shall determine for the purpose of these Regulations whether development is or is not EIA development but may only be given if—
(a)
(a) the Commission has accepted an application for an order granting development consent in respect of that development; and
(b)
(b) either paragraph (3) or paragraph (4) applies.
(2) The Secretary of State may give a direction under paragraph (1)—
(a)
(a) at any time until the decision-maker makes an order granting development consent, or as the case may be, grants a subsequent consent; and
(b)
(b) irrespective of whether the Secretary of State has received a request to do so.
(3) This paragraph applies if—
(a)
(a) the proposed development has not been the subject of a screening opinion; and
(b)
(b) the application was not accompanied by a statement referred to by the applicant as an environmental statement for the purpose of these Regulations.
(4) This paragraph applies if—
(a)
(a) the proposed development has been the subject of a screening opinion to the effect that it is not EIA development; and
(b)
(b) the Secretary of State considers that the screening opinion did not take into account information that is material to the decision as to...
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