Resource information
These Regulations consolidate with amendments the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 201 and subsequent amending instruments and implement amendments to Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (“the Directive”) which were made by Directive 2014/52/EU. The Regulations impose procedural requirements in relation to the consideration of applications for planning permission under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, development by planning authorities, and restrict the grant of permission by simplified planning zone schemes, enterprise zones and the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992.All development in schedule 1 requires an environmental impact assessment (“EIA”). Development in Column 1 of the table in schedule 2 which is either to be carried out in a sensitive area or satisfies a threshold or criterion in Column 2 of that table (“Schedule 2 development”) requires EIA if it is likely to have significant effects on the environment. Development which requires EIA is referred to in the Regulations as “EIA development”. The Regulations prohibits the grant of planning permission for EIA development unless an EIA is carried out and that the planning authority or the Scottish Ministers have first taken account of the environmental information which is before them (also in relation to the determination of an application for multi-stage consent). They set out what the environmental assessment process comprises and regulation 5 sets out the content of a EIA report. They also set out procedures for determining whether development is EIA development and which events will establish that development is EIA development. They further concern, among other things, “screening opinions”, “screening directions” and an application for planning permission for EIA development or an appeal relating to such an application, without an EIA report.
Implements: Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. (2011-12-13)
Implements: Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. (2014-04-16)
Amended by: Environmental Impact Assessment (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (S.S.I. No. 168 of 2017). (2017-05-25)
