The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011
2011 No. 1824
Town And Country Planning
The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011
Made 19th July 2011
Laid before Parliament 26th July 2011
Coming into force 24th August 2011
The Secretary of State being designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to the environment, in exercise of the powers conferred by that section, section 71A of the Town and Country Planning Act 19903, and having taken into account the selection criteria in Annex III to Council Directive 85/337/EEC4as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC5, makes the following Regulations:
PART 1
General
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 and shall come into force on 24 August 2011.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4), these Regulations shall apply in relation to England only.
(3) Paragraphs (2) and (6)(a) of regulation 17 shall not apply to the Isles of Scilly and, in relation to the Isles of Scilly, the reference in paragraph (7) of that regulation to paragraph (6) of that regulation shall be construed as a reference to paragraph (6)(b).
(4) Regulations 55 to 57 shall apply in relation to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively6.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and references to sections are references to sections of that Act;
“the 1991 Act” means the Planning and Compensation Act 19917;
“the 1995 Act” means the Environment Act 19958;
“any other information” means any other substantive information relating to the environmental statement and provided by the applicant or the appellant as the case may be;
“any particular person” includes any non-governmental organisation promoting environmental protection;
“the consultation bodies” means—
(a) any body which the relevant planning authority is required to consult, or would, if an application for planning permission for the development in question were before them, be required to consult by virtue of article 16 (consultations before the grant of permission) of the Order or of any direction under that article;
(b) the Marine Management Organisation9, in any case where the proposed development would affect, or would be likely to affect, any of the following areas—
(i) waters in or adjacent to England up to the seaward limits of the territorial sea;
(ii) an exclusive economic zone10, except any part of an exclusive economic zone in relation to which the Scottish Ministers have functions;
(iii) a Renewable Energy Zone11, except any part of a Renewable Energy Zone in relation to which the Scottish Ministers have functions;
(iv) an area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 196412, except any part of that area which is within a part of an exclusive economic zone or Renewable Energy Zone in relation to which the Scottish Ministers have functions; and
(c) the following bodies if not referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b)—
(i) any principal council for the area where the land is situated, if not the relevant planning authority;
(ii) Natural England13;
(iii) the Environment Agency14;
(iv) other bodies designated by statutory provision as having specific environmental responsibilities and which the relevant planning authority or the Secretary of State, as the case may be, considers are likely to have an interest in the application;
“the Directive” means Council Directive 85/337/EEC;
“EIA application” means—
(a) an application for planning permission for EIA development; or
(b) a subsequent application in respect of EIA development;
“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, 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;
“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 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 4(4);
“further information” has the meaning given in regulation 22(1);
“General Regulations” means the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 199215;
“inspector” means a person appointed by the Secretary of State pursuant to Schedule 6(1) to the Act16to determine an appeal;
“the land” means the land on which the development would be carried out or, in relation to development already carried out, has been carried out;
“by local advertisement”, in relation to a notice, means—
(a) by publication of the notice in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to which the application or appeal relates is situated; and
(b) where the relevant planning authority maintains a website for the purpose of advertisement of applications, by publication of the notice on the website;
“local development order” means a local development order made pursuant to section 61A17;
“the Order” means the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 201018;
“principal council” has the meaning given by section 270(1) (general provisions as to interpretation) of the Local Government Act 197219;
“register” means a register kept pursuant to section 69 (registers of applications etc) and “appropriate register” means the register on which particulars of an application for planning permission for the relevant development have been placed or would fall to be placed if such an application were made;
“relevant mineral planning authority” means the body to whom it falls, fell, or would, but for a direction under paragraph—
(a) 7 of Schedule 2 to the 1991 Act;
(b) 13 of Schedule 13 to the 1995 Act; or
(c) 8 of Schedule 14 to the 1995 Act,
fall to determine the ROMP application in question;
“relevant planning authority” means the body to whom it falls, fell, or would, but for a direction under section 7720(reference of applications to Secretary of State), fall to determine an application for planning permission for the development in question;
“ROMP application” means an application to a relevant mineral planning authority to determine the conditions to which a planning permission is to be subject under paragraph—
(a) 2(2) of Schedule 2 to the 1991 Act (registration of old mining permissions);
(b) 9(1) of Schedule 13 to the 1995 Act (review of old mineral planning permissions); or
(c) 6(1) of Schedule 14 to the 1995 Act (periodic review of mineral planning permissions);
“ROMP development” means development which has yet to be carried out and which is authorised by a planning permission in respect of which a ROMP application has been or is to be made;
“ROMP subsequent application” means an application for approval of a matter where the approval—
(a) is required by or under a condition to which a planning permission is subject following determination of a ROMP application; and
(b) must be obtained before all or part of the minerals development permitted by the planning permission may be begun or continued;
“ROMP subsequent consent” means consent granted pursuant to a ROMP subsequent application;
“Schedule 1 application” and “Schedule 2 application” mean an application for planning permission for Schedule 1 development and Schedule 2 development respectively;
“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 Column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 where—
(a) any part of that development is to be carried out in a sensitive area; or
(b) any applicable threshold or criterion in the corresponding part of Column 2 of that table is respectively exceeded or met in relation to that development;
“scoping direction” and “scoping opinion” have the meanings given in regulation 13;
“screening direction” means a direction made by the Secretary of State as to whether development is EIA development;
“screening opinion” means a written statement of the opinion of the relevant planning authority as to whether development is EIA development;
“sensitive area” means any of the following—
(a) land notified under section 28(1) (sites of special scientific interest) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 198121;
(b) a National Park within the meaning of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 194922;
(c) the Broads23;
(d) a property appearing on the World Heritage List kept under article 11(2) of the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage24;
(e) a scheduled monument within the meaning of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197925;
(f) an area of outstanding natural beauty designated as such by an order made by Natural England under section 82(1) (areas of outstanding natural beauty) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 200026;
(g) a European site within the meaning of regulation 8 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 201027;
“subsequent application” means an application for approval of a matter where the approval—
(a) is required by...
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