Environmental Impact Assessments: what you need to know

If you want to change the use of certain types of land, you’re increasingly likely to be asked to provide an Environmental Impact Assessment. Suzie Horne asked the experts what they involve.

Sounds worrying – what exactly are they?

EIAs came into force in England on 10 October 2006 and similar regs apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They are designed to protect uncultivated land and semi-natural areas from damage by agricultural work.

They most commonly come into play in these situations:

• When there are plans to plough grassland.
• When hedges, fencing or ditches are being removed or large quantities of earth or stone moved.
• Where buildings are planned on this type of land, those over a certain size (especially intensive pig and poultry units) must have planning permission from the Local Authority under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999.
• Where agricultural operations only are involved, then the application will be handled by Natural England.

What exactly is uncultivated and semi-natural land?

Uncultivated land is defined as land which has not been worked physically or chemically for 15 years. Semi-natural areas include things like calcareous and acid grassland, fen, marsh and swamp, coastal and flood plain grazing marsh, species-rich upland or lowland hay meadow and bracken.

Areas smaller than 2ha (4.8acres) are usually exempt, as is restructuring involving less than 4km (2.5 miles) of field boundaries or less than 10,000cu m of earth or rock, or other restructuring which involves a total farm area of less than 100ha (247acres).

“Anything outside these thresholds needs formal consent from Natural England,” explains Tony Hargreaves, environmental consultant at Brown & Co’s Bury St Edmunds office.

However sensitive areas such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Broads and Scheduled Ancient Monuments have lower thresholds. And Natural England says farmers shouldn’t improve land bit by bit just to creep in under these thresholds.

In fact the most common problems are farmers simply being unaware of the regulations, says Mr Hargreaves.

I think I may need an EIA, where do I start?

“If your proposed works are above the thresholds then you must contact Natural England for a formal screening opinion for them to decide if there are likely to be significant effects from the project, or whether it can proceed without consent, without an environmental statement (EIA),” he says.

Natural England then has 35 days to make a decision and may visit the site or consult people who it thinks may be interested in your plans.

The screening application form from Natural England will ask for information such as a plan identifying the land affected, details of its current state and its present and past management and a description of your proposed project.

If Natural England thinks that the project will not have a significant effect on the environment then it will be allowed to go ahead. Otherwise the project will need consent, which will require an environmental statement to be produced and a further application to be made to Natural England. Either way, Natural England must give reasons for the decision.

Where a project is allowed to go ahead following a screening decision only, work must be started within three years of the decision being given.

I have been told I must produce an environmental statement – how do I do this?

“Ask Natural England for what is known as a scoping opinion,” recommends Mr Hargreaves. “This will outline what the environmental statement needs to include and will help you make sure that it is suitable for the purpose. It will often save you money by ensuring you do only what is required.

“One of the benefits of getting a scoping opinion (which must be provided within five weeks of asking) is that it will give you a guide as to how much the environmental statement will cost to produce.

“If you need a consultant’s help, which is likely if they are asking for environmental surveys of birds and plants, then you can look at the likely costs and decide whether, overall, it is going to be worthwhile in terms of the financial or other benefit from the works.”

The environmental statement must usually include the following:

• A description of the location, design and size of your project
• Details of your plans to avoid, reduce or remedy any significant adverse effects
• Information to identify and assess the main environmental effects of your project
• An outline of alternatives which you have considered and reasons for the project being chosen.

There should also be a non-technical summary of this information and any other information needed to make an assessment of the environmental impact of the project.

In some cases, it will be worth offering extra environmental enhancements, such as the retention or replacement of features or habitats to offset the environmental impact of your project, says Mr Hargreaves.

I’ve submitted an environmental statement, what happens now?

Natural England may ask for more information and will send your environmental statement for consultation to bodies like the RSPB and other wildlife organisations. These have six weeks to respond and they may offer other ideas, especially about how to reduce any negative environmental impact of the project, or perhaps change its design by retaining certain areas of habitat or replacing them.

These are considered by Natural England but will not necessarily become requirements of the EIA, says Mr Hargreaves. The application is also made public in local newspapers and is posted on the Natural England website.

You can usually expect a decision from Natural England within about 10 weeks of submitting your environmental statement.

Once consent has been given, then the work must commence within one year and be finished within three years. “Don’t be tempted to do more than you have been given consent for,” warns Mr Hargreaves.

If you are refused permission, there is an appeals procedure decided by the Secretary of State at DEFRA.

How long does the whole EIA process take?

It depends on the site and the size of the project, but realistically you should start the process at least one year before you want to begin the work, suggests Mr Hargreaves. In some cases it may need longer depending on what surveys are needed and at what time of the year.

What if I start work and then find out I should have applied to Natural England?

Breaching the regulations risks prosecution (plus a fine) and being made to reinstate the land to how it was before the works were carried out. Also, treatment of uncultivated and semi-natural land comes within the cross compliance regulations so you also risk an SFP penalty.

The area I want to work on is woodland – do the same rules apply?

There are separate rules for forestry. The Forestry Commission administers the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 and the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (Scotland) Regulations 1999.

These affect four types of forestry project and require a similar process of assessment:

• Planting new woods and forests, whether by direct seeding or natural regeneration, planting Christmas trees or short rotation coppice
• Deforestation – felling to use land for a different purpose
• Forest roads – creating, altering or maintaining private ways on land used or to be used for forestry purposes
• Forestry quarries

As with uncultivated and semi-natural land, thresholds apply.

How much is the whole process likely to cost me?

There is no application charge, nor is there any fee for screening or scoping opinions. However, some farmers making an application under these regulations may need consultancy help. Costs here are usually between £1000 and £10,000 per project, depending on the environmental implications and the degree of detail and the type of studies Natural England requires, says Mr Hargreaves.

Where do find out more?

England EIA Unit 0800 028 2140 http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/environment/land-use/eia/pdf/eia-faq.pdf

Scotland Administered by SEERAD local area and area sub offices. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Agriculture/Environment/16808/7217

Wales Administered by National Assembly for Wales, divisional offices http://www.countryside.wales.gov.uk/fe/master.asp?n1=366&n2=679&n3=46

Northern Ireland Administered by DARD 028 90 54326 or http://www.dardni.gov.uk/index/environment/impact-on-the-environment.htm

Forestry Commission 01223 314 546 or http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6DFKBC