Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process that must be followed for certain types of major development before they are granted development consent. The requirement for EIA comes from a European Directive (85/33/EEC as amended by 97/11/EC).

The procedure requires the production of an Environmental Statement (ES) describing the likely significant effects on the environment and proposed mitigation measures. The ES must be circulated to statutory consultation bodies and made available to the public for comment. Its contents, together with any comments, must be taken into account by authority determining the application before it may grant consent.

From the developer’s (promoter’s) view point, the EIA, in parallel with project designs, provides a useful framework within which environmental considerations and design development can interact. The EIA may indicate ways in which the project can be modified to avoid possible adverse effects and, by taking these steps early in the design process, means it is more likely that these can be accommodated within the design. Correspondingly, it is also likely to make the formal planning approval stages run more smoothly. Consequently, when EIA is carried out properly it can be used to overcome potential objections and minimise risk to the project.

For the Planning Authority and other public bodies with environmental responsibilities, EIA provides a basis for better decision making. A corresponding thorough analysis of the implications of a new project before a planning application is made and the provision of more comprehensive information with the application should enable authorities to respond more quickly.

An EIA can require input from 20+ specialist consultants. The Evans Jones planning team provide full project management services for the production of fully documented and complaint EIA’s for a range of development types.

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