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Modified developments to be considered as a whole under new environmental impact rules


The environmental impact of a modified development as a whole rather than just the modification must be considered under new impact assessment rules, introduced today.

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations consolidate the old law, which introduced pan-European environmental standards into UK planning law in 1999.

The regulations also make a number of important changes following recent case law.

The European Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive provides that an environmental impact assessment must be carried out whenever an applicable construction project is proposed.

An EIA assesses both the positive and negative impacts of proposed projects and ensures that such impacts are taken into account when a decision is made to grant planning permission of not.

The changes were necessary after the High Court held in 2009 that the previous regulations did not properly implement the EIA Directive.

The older law limited consideration of the environmental impact of a change or extension to an existing or approved development to only the change or extension, rather than looking at the effects of the development as a whole.

The new regulations provide that the development as a whole, once modified, must be considered.

A new duty to give reasons in writing when a negative screening opinion is issued by a planning authority has been introduced. This indicates that an EIA is not necessary because a particular development is unlikely to have significant effects on the environment.

The need for multiple screenings, where planning permission may be granted in principle before being fully implemented later, has been relaxed. Further screening will now only be required where the proposal is likely to have significant effects on the environment which were not identified at the time that planning permission was originally granted.

The regulations also make it clear that anyone may ask the Secretary of State to direct whether or not an EIA is required for a particular proposal.

Similar changes came into force in Scotland on 1 June 2011.

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