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Prohibition on the grant of planning permission for unauthorised development
     21. The Commission shall not grant planning permission under paragraph (1) of Article 71 (appeal against enforcement notice  -  supplementary provisions relating to planning permission) in respect of unauthorised EIA development unless it has first taken environmental information into consideration, and states in its decision that it has done so.

Determination as to need for environmental statement, etc.
     22.  - (1) Where it appears to the Department that the matters constituting the breach of planning control comprise Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 development, the Department shall, before the enforcement notice is issued, make a determination, taking into account the selection criteria, as to whether the development is or is not EIA development.

    (2) Where it appears to the Department that the matters constituting the breach of planning control comprise or include EIA development it shall serve with a copy of the enforcement notice a notice ("regulation 22 notice") which shall - 

(a) include a copy of the determination required by paragraph (1) and a written statement giving clearly and precisely full reasons for its conclusions; and

(b) require a person who gives notice of an appeal under Article 69 (appeal against enforcement notice) to submit to the Commission with the notice sufficient copies of the environmental statement relating to the unauthorised development to enable the Commission to comply with regulation 25.

    (3) The Department shall send a copy of the regulation 22 notice to - 

(a) the Commission;

(b) the district council for the area in which the land to which the unauthorised development relates is situated; and

(c) any other authorities likely to be concerned by the unauthorised development by reason of their specific environmental responsibilities.

    (4) Where the Department serves the Commission with a copy of a regulation 22 notice it shall also provide it with a list of the other persons to whom, in accordance with paragraph (3), a copy of the notice has been or is to be sent.

    (5) Where a person gives notice of appeal under Article 69 and the Department has served on that person a regulation 22 notice with which he does not agree, that person may by notice in writing, within 4 weeks of the service of the enforcement notice, inform the Department that he proposes to seek a hearing before the Commission.

Time period for submission of environmental statement
     23. Where the Department determines, or following a hearing by the Commission confirms that an environmental statement is required, it shall be submitted to the Commission within 6 months from the date of the determination or such extended period as may be agreed in writing between the applicant and the Commission and if not so submitted the deemed application for planning permission and the ground (a) appeal (if any) shall lapse at the end of that period.

Provision of information
     24.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (2) any person on whom a copy of a regulation 22 notice is served pursuant to regulation 22(3)(b) and (c) ("the consultee") shall, if requested by the person on whom the regulation 22 notice was served, or may without such request, enter into consultation with him to determine whether the consultee has in his possession any information which he or they consider relevant to the preparation of an environmental statement and, if they have, the consultee shall make any such information available to the prospective applicant.

    (2) Regulation 8(2) and 16(2) shall apply to information under paragraph (1) as they apply to information under regulation 8(1).

Procedure where the Commission receives an environmental statement
     25.  - (1) Where the Commission receives an environmental statement, or a statement referred to by the appellant as an environmental statement, in connection with an enforcement appeal it shall serve a copy on the Department and those bodies on whom a copy of the regulation 22 notice was served.

    (2) The Commission shall give not less than 4 weeks notice to the Department and the bodies referred to in paragraph (1) that environmental information will be taken into consideration in determining the ground (a) appeal (if any) and inform them that they may make representations.

Further information and evidence respecting environmental statements
     26.  - (1) Regulation 15(1) and (2) shall apply in relation to further information as if the reference to "the Department" was omitted and the word "appellant" was substituted for the word "applicant".

    (2) If an appellant on whom notice has been given under paragraph (1) fails to provide the further information within the period specified in the notice, the deemed application and the ground (a) appeal (if any) shall lapse at the end of that period.

    (3) Regulations 25 (procedure where the Commission receives an environmental statement) and 27 (publicity for environmental statements and decisions) shall apply in relation to further information received by the Commission in accordance with paragraph (1) as if references in those regulations to an environmental statement were references to the further information.

    (4) The Commission shall send the Department a copy of any notice sent to the applicant under paragraph (1).

Publicity for environmental statements and decisions
     27.  - (1) Where the Commission receives a copy of an environmental statement, or a statement submitted by the appellant referred to as an environmental statement, in connection with an enforcement appeal it shall publish in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to which the enforcement notice relates is situated ("the locality") a notice stating - 

(a) the name of the appellant and that he has appealed to the Commission against the enforcement notice;

(b) the address or location of the land to which the notice related and the nature of the development;

(c) that a copy of the environmental statement may be inspected by members of the public at all reasonable hours;

(d) an address in the locality at which the statement may be inspected and the latest date it will be made available for inspection, being a period of 4 weeks from the date of the first publication of the notice;

(e) that any person wishing to make representations about any matter dealt with in the statement should make them in writing, no later than 4 weeks after the date of the first publication of the notice; and

(f) the address to which such representations are to be sent.

    (2) Where the Commission determines the ground (a) appeal it shall inform the Department of its decision and the provisions of regulation 17 (duty to inform the public of decisions) shall apply to any grant of planning permission under Article 71 as they apply to a grant of planning permission under Part IV of the 1991 Order.

Involvement of other Member States
     28. Regulation 18 (development likely to have significant effects on the environment in another Member State) shall apply subject to the following modifications - 

(a) for regulation 18(1)(a)substitute - 


" (a) on the consideration of an appeal under Article 69 (appeal against enforcement notice), the Commission is of the opinion that matters which are alleged to constitute the breach of planning control comprise or include EIA development and the development has or is likely to have significant effects on another Member State, it shall notify the Department; and";



(b) in regulation 18(1)(i) delete the word "proposed";

(c) in regulation 18(3)(a) for the words "a copy of the application concerned" substitute the words "a description of the development concerned"; and

(d) in regulation 18(3)(b) for "that application" substitute "the deemed application under Article 71(3)".

(a) Schedule 1 development; or

(b) Schedule 2 development unless the Department has made a determination that the proposed development is not EIA development.

    (2) Paragraph (1) shall not affect the completion of any development begun before the commencement of these regulations.

Restrictions on the grant of permission by simplified planning zone schemes and enterprise zone schemes
     30. After the commencement of these regulations - 

(a) an order adopting a simplified planning zone scheme under Article 14 or alteration of such a scheme under Article 17;

(b) an order designating an enterprise zone under the Enterprise Zones (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and the modification in relation to an approved enterprise zone under that Order,

shall not grant planning permission for - 

(i) Schedule 1 development; or

(ii) Schedule 2 development unless the Department has made a determination that the development is not EIA development.

Development Orders
     31. A development order under Article 13 made after the commencement of these regulations shall not grant planning permission for - 

(a) Schedule 1 development; or

(b) Schedule 2 development unless the Department has made a determination that the development is not EIA development.

(a) in article 2 (interpretation) after the definitions of - 


(i) "the 1991 Order" insert ""the EIA Regulations" means the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999;";

(ii) "dwellinghouse" insert ""EIA development" has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 2 of the EIA Regulations;"; and

(iii) "satellite antenna" insert ""sensitive area" has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 2 of the EIA Regulations.".



(b) in article 3 (permitted development) for paragraph (8), substitute - 

    " (8) Schedule 1 does not grant planning permission for - 


(a) development within the meaning of Schedule 1 to the EIA Regulations; or

(b) development of a description mentioned in column 1 of the table in Schedule 2 to the EIA Regulations; where - 


(i) any part of the development is to be carried out in a sensitive area; or

(ii) any threshold or criterion mentioned in column 2 of the table in Schedule 2 to the EIA Regulations as applicable to development of that description is respectively exceeded or met in relation to that development,



unless the Department has given a determination pursuant to regulation 5 of the EIA Regulations that the proposed development is not EIA development.".

Availability of information in relation to determinations, opinions, decisions, etc.
     34. The Department shall make available for public inspection at all reasonable hours at the place where - 

    (1) a register pursuant to article 18 of the General Development Order is kept, a copy of - 

(a) any determination or opinion given pursuant to regulation 6(1) or 9(1), notification under regulation 9(3), or determination confirmed or amended under regulation 35(2) together with the accompanying statement of reasons, the relevant request and the documents which accompanied it;

(b) any environmental statement, or further information received under these regulations; and

(c) where environmental information has been taken into consideration in determining an application or appeal, a statement containing - 


(i) the content of the decision and any conditions attached thereto;

(ii) the main reasons and considerations on which the decision is based; and

(iii) a description, where necessary, of the main measures to avoid, reduce and, if possible, offset the major adverse effects of the development.

    (2) a register pursuant to article 20 of the General Development Order is kept, a copy of - 

(a) every regulation 22 notice served by the Department;

(b) every determination made by the Department in accordance with regulation 22(2) or notice confirmed or amended under regulation 35(2) in respect of a deemed application under Part VII;

(c) every environmental statement or additional information received by the Department by virtue of regulation 25(1); and

(d) every notice received by the Department under regulation 26(4).

    (3) a register kept pursuant to article 22 of the General Development Order is kept, a copy of any direction given by the Department pursuant to regulation 3.

Hearing by the Commission in relation to the Department's determination
     35.  - (1) Where a person seeks a hearing before the Commission under regulations 6(10), 9(6) or 22(5) it shall afford that person the opportunity of appearing before and being heard by the Commission.

    (2) Where a hearing is held, the Department shall consider the report of the Commission and may confirm, amend or withdraw its determination.

Appeals to the Commission for developments for which an environmental statement is required
     36. An appeal to the Commission under Article 32 or 33 in respect of an EIA application shall be accompanied by a copy of the statement which was submitted to the Department and where the Commission requires further information the provisions of regulation 15 shall apply as if the reference to "the Department" was omitted and the word "appellant" was substituted for the word "applicant".

Revocations
     37. The Statutory rules listed in Schedule 5 are hereby revoked.



Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on

L.S.

C. Smith
Assistant Secretary

23rd February 1999.

"airport" means an airport which complies with the definition in the 1944 Chicago Convention setting up the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Annex 14)[19];

"express road" means a road which complies with the definition in the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries of 15 November 1975[20];

"nuclear power station" and "other nuclear reactor" do not include an installation from the site of which all nuclear fuel and other radioactive contaminated materials have been permanently removed; and development for the purpose of dismantling or decommissioning a nuclear power station or other nuclear reactor shall not be treated as development of the description mentioned in paragraph 2(b) of this Schedule.

Descriptions of development
The carrying out of development to provide any of the following - 

     1. Crude-oil refineries (excluding undertakings manufacturing only lubricants from crude oil) and installations for the gasification and liquefaction of 500 tonnes or more of coal or bituminous shale per day.

     2.

(a) Thermal power stations and other combustion installations with a heat output of 300 megawatts or more; and

(b) Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors (except research installations for the production and conversion of fissionable and fertile materials, whose maximum power does not exceed 1 kilowatt continuous thermal load).

     3.

(a) Installations for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel.

(b) Installations designed - 


(i) for the production or enrichment of nuclear fuel,

(ii) for the processing of irradiated nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste,

(iii) for the final disposal of irradiated nuclear fuel,

(iv) solely for the final disposal of radioactive waste,

(v) solely for the storage (planned for more than 10 years) of irradiated nuclear fuels or radioactive waste in a different site than the production site.

     4.

(a) Integrated works for the initial smelting of cast-iron and steel;

(b) Installations for the production of non-ferrous crude metals from ore, concentrates or secondary raw materials by metallurgical, chemical or electrolytic processes.

     5. Installations for the extraction of asbestos and for the processing and transformation of asbestos and products containing asbestos - 

(a) for asbestos-cement products, with an annual production of more than 20,000 tonnes of finished products;

(b) for friction material, with an annual production of more than 50 tonnes of finished products; and

(c) for other uses of asbestos, utilisation of more than 200 tonnes per year.

     6. Integrated chemical installations, that is to say, installations for the manufacture on an industrial scale of substances using chemical conversion processes, in which several units are juxtaposed and are functionally linked to one another and which are - 

(a) for the production of base organic chemicals;

(b) for the production of basic inorganic chemicals;

(c) for the production of phosphorous-, nitrogen- or potassium-based fertilisers (simple or compound fertilisers);

(d) for the production of basic plant health products and of biocides;

(e) for the production of basic pharmaceutical products using a chemical or biological process;

(f) for the production of explosives.

     7.

(a) Construction of lines for long-distance railway traffic and of airports with a basic runway length of 2,100 metres or more;

(b) Construction of motorways and express roads;

(c) Construction of a new road of four or more lanes, or realignment and/or widening of an existing road of two lanes or less so as to provide four or more lanes, where such new road, or realigned and/or widened section of road would be 10 kilometres or more in a continuous length.

     8.

(a) Inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic which permit the passage of vessels of over 1,350 tonnes;

(b) Trading ports, piers for loading and unloading connected to land and outside ports (excluding ferry piers) which can take vessels of over 1,350 tonnes.

     9. Waste disposal installations for the incineration, chemical treatment (as defined in Annex IIA to Directive 75/442/EEC[21] under heading D9), or landfill of hazardous waste (that is to say, waste to which Directive 91/689/EEC[22] applies).

     10. Waste disposal installations for the incineration or chemical treatment (as defined in Annex IIA to Directive 75/442/EEC under heading D9) of non-hazardous waste with a capacity exceeding 100 tonnes per day.

     11. Groundwater abstraction or artificial groundwater recharge schemes where the annual volume of water abstracted or recharged is equivalent to or exceeds 10 million cubic metres.

     12.

(a) Works for the transfer of water resources, other than piped drinking water, between river basins where the transfer aims at preventing possible shortages of water and where the amount of water transferred exceeds 100 million cubic metres per year;

(b) In all other cases, works for the transfer of water resources, other than piped drinking water, between river basins where the multi-annual average flow of the basin of abstraction exceeds 2,000 million cubic metres per year and where the amount of water transferred exceeds 5% of this flow.

     13. Waste water treatment plants with a capacity exceeding 150,000 population equivalent as defined in Article 2 point (6) of Directive 91/271/EEC[23].

     14. Extraction of petroleum and natural gas for commercial purposes where the amount extracted exceeds 500 tonnes per day in the case of petroleum and 500,000 cubic metres per day in the case of gas.

     15. Dams and other installations designed for the holding back or permanent storage of water, where a new or additional amount of water held back or stored exceeds 10 million cubic metres.

     16. Pipelines for the transport of gas, oil or chemicals with a diameter of more than 800 millimetres and a length of more than 40 kilometres.

     17. Installations for the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs with more than - 

(a) 85,000 places for broilers or 60,000 places for hens;

(b) 3,000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg); or

(c) 900 places for sows.

     18. Industrial plants for - 

(a) the production of pulp from timber or similar fibrous materials;

(b) the production of paper and board with a production capacity exceeding 200 tonnes per day.

     19. Quarries and open-cast mining where the surface of the site exceeds 25 hectares, or peat extraction where the surface of the site exceeds 150 hectares.

     20. Construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV or more and a length of more than 15 kilometres.

     21. Installations for storage of petroleum, petrochemical or chemical products with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes or more.

[14] S.I. 1981/607 (N.I. 15)back

[15] S.R. 1989 No. 290 as amended by S.R. 1993 No. 277; S.R. 1993 No. 462back

[16] O.J. No. L194, 25.7.75, p. 39. Council Directive 75/442/EEC was amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC (O.J. No. L78, 26.3.91, p. 32 and by Commission Decision 94/3/EC (O.J. No. L5, 7.1.94, p. 15)back

[17] O.J. No. L337, 31.12.91, p. 20. Council Directive 91/689/EEC was amended by Council Directive 94/31/EC (O.J. No. L168, 2.7.94, p. 28)back

[18] S.R. 1993 No. 278 as amended by S.R. 1995 No. 356; S.R. 1998 No. 222back

[19] See Command Paper 6614back

[20] See Command Paper 6993back

[21] O.J. No. L194, 25.7.75, p. 39. Council Directive 75/442/EEC was amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC (O.J. No. L78, 26.3.91, p. 32) and by Commission Decision 94/3/EC (O.J. No. L5, 7.1.94, p. 15)back

[22] O.J. No. L337, 31.12.91, p. 20. Council Directive 91/689/EEC was amended by Council Directive 94/31/EC (O.J. No. L168, 2.7.1994, p. 28)back

[23] O.J. No. L135, 30.5.91, p. 40back

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