Planning – Screening/Scoping opinions and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) - Print version

Planning – Screening/Scoping opinions and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

Public Register

To search our public register for a Screening/Scoping opinion or EIA:

1. Visit our Planning search [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/planningappsearch]
2. Type into the first search bar (Search by reference, proposal details or address) and search for ‘Screening opinion’, ‘Scoping opinion’ or ‘EIA’ as required.
3. If you wish to search for applications relating to a specific address or date, optional search fields have been provided to input this information.
4. All applications encompassing your search will appear in list form.

EIA Regulations

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 Statutory Instrument 2011: 1824 [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1824/contents/made] – also known as the EIA Regulations - relate to certain types of development. The EIA Regulations place responsibilities on planning authorities and relate to the different stages of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process.

Stage 1: Screening to determine whether EIA is required

Before the Council can request an EIA it must determine whether the proposal is classified as an ‘EIA development’, and decide whether an EIA is required in that particular case. This process is called 'screening'. There are two ways in which it can be applied:

• A developer can ask the planning authority to give an EIA screening opinion before the application for planning permission is submitted.
• Where a planning application has been submitted without an environmental statement and no previous request has been made for a screening opinion, the planning authority has the right to adopt an EIA screening opinion, for the proposal, which will determine whether or not the scheme requires an EIA.

Stage 2: Scoping to determine what information should be covered by an EIA

Where a proposed scheme is determined to be an ‘EIA development’, the developer can ask the planning authority for advice on the scope of the information to be gathered during the EIA and to be covered in the environmental statement (which reports on the findings of the EIA). The planning authority has a period of five weeks within which to produce an EIA scoping opinion.

Stage 3: Reviewing the adequacy of environmental statements

Once an environmental statement has been submitted with a planning application the planning authority can request additional information if it considers the environmental statement to be inadequate. The adequacy of environmental statements is determined by comparison with the content requirements of the EIA Regulations [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/environmental-impact-assessment].

GOV.UK: Environmental Impact Assessment detailed guidance [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/environmental-impact-assessment].