Environmental Impact Assessments – what’s required?

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) may be needed when a change to the use of uncultivated or semi-natural land is planned.

The rules have not changed, but revised guidance and application forms make it clearer when an EIA is required and the different stages that farmers need to go through.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (England) Regulations have been in force since 2006 and are overseen by Natural England.

See also: How to build climate resilience into farm business plans

The general principle is that farmers are required to seek permission before making changes to activities that will improve the productivity of 2ha or more of land which has been uncultivated for the past 15 years or is classed as semi-natural.

The definition of uncultivated means land that has not been touched physically by ploughing, breaking the soil surface or disrupting the subsoil, or treated chemically by adding any organic or inorganic fertilisers or soil improvers.

Stacy Griffiths, technical adviser with agricultural compliance specialists CXCS, says the most common area the legislation covers is the ploughing or reseeding of old permanent pasture.

“We tend to get an influx of requests in the summer, and they will either be from people wanting to improve existing grassland so they can do more with it or move from a grass to an arable rotation.

SFI could mean more EIAs

“But it is possible that more people may need to do this because of the new environmental schemes like the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

“If you are putting land which has been long-term grassland into another option, you don’t want to later realise that you should have done an EIA.”

The onus is on the landowner to provide any evidence of whether they have applied fertiliser or the land has been physically cultivated during the preceding 15 years – if that is not available then Natural England will assume the land has been uncultivated.

Records can include diary entries, dated photographs, field records and witness statements.

Semi-natural areas include priority habitats, heritage or archaeological features and protected landscapes. Areas of scrub and bracken may also fall into this category.

The EIA rules also apply if land managers are looking to alter more than 4km of field boundaries (or 2km if a sensitive area) or move 10,000cu m or more of earth or other materials on to the land (5,000cu m in a sensitive area).

This sort of work is classified as a restructuring project.

Where the land is classed as regionally significant, then the regulations can also apply to land parcels of less than 2ha. 

Screening decision

To enable Natural England to decide if the change in the use of land is likely to have a significant effect on the environment, farmers must first apply for an EIA screening decision.

A new online form has been produced, which means all the information required to apply for a screening decision is now collected in one place.

This form asks for a description and map of the project and then drills into the possible environmental impact it might bring.

Answering the questions involves supplying consultation responses from a range of sources.

For example, an archaeological survey is required from the local county archaeologist to check that improving the land will have no impact on heritage or archaeological features.

Biodiversity and biological survey information will also be needed.

A farmer may be able to carry out some botanical surveying themselves, to show what plant species can be found within the grassland.

However, additional information will be required from the Local Environmental Records Centre on the habitats and wildlife species present.

If the land in question is classified as a “national landscape” (formerly known as an area of outstanding natural beauty), or in a national park, then the National Landscapes Association or Natural Park Authority will need to be consulted.

The questions on the application form guide the applicant as to which consultation responses will be expected and there are templates available online to make it easier for farmers to put in a request to the relevant organisation.

Fees for archaeologists and environmental experts to provide a consultation response tend to range from £100-£350.

“Getting multiple consultation responses back from all these organisations is probably the most challenging part,” suggests Stacy.

“We’ve done EIA applications in Herefordshire, where the survey responses have been back within a week, but in other areas they have been much slower, and they don’t always provide the information in the format required.

“On average, it probably takes a month to get back all the responses, which then have to be drawn into the application for the screening decision.

“They basically want all the evidence on a plate and then they can work through it to give a yes or no,” she adds.

Natural England aims to give an answer within 35 days from receipt of a valid application.

Consent decision

The screening decision either gives the farmer permission to carry out the proposed work within three years or indicates that they must proceed to the next stage of the application process, which is to ask for a consent decision.

If a consent decision is needed then an experienced specialist, such as an environmental or archaeological consultant, will be needed to prepare an environmental statement, which will go out for a six-week public consultation.

If asked, Natural England will first provide a “scoping opinion”, which considers the likely significant effects on the environment, so these can be addressed point by point in the environmental statement. 

Stacy warns that failure to follow the EIA rules can result in a fine and being made to reinstate the land to its former state.

CXCS always advises that, if in doubt, farmers should apply for a screening decision.

There is a good chance that Natural England will either say a project can go ahead without its consent, or it is consented to with some compromise.

“There is usually a way to tweak the proposals so you can come to some sort of agreement. Generally, they are pretty good.”

The EIA Agriculture Regulations may apply in some cases of ELM option delivery or where land is being changed to meet biodiversity net gain obligations.

If in doubt, check with Natural England’s EIA helpline – freephone 0800 028 2140 – or email eia.england@naturalengland.org.uk