Environmental Performance Statement (EPS)
Environmental Impact Assessment  (EIA)

What is an Environmental Performance Statement ?

An Environmental  Performance Statement (EPS) is a written statement that accompanies a planning application. It provides detailed information on a range of environmental conditions and indicates how these will be affected by the proposed development. Applicants of proposed  developments over a certain size will be expected to also fill out the sustainable buildings sections of the EPS to ensure that their proposals incorporate sustainable design measures as far as possible.

There are now becoming standard documents accompanying planning applications.

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On larger planning applications it will be necessary to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Environmental Impact Assessment under the Town and Planning (EIA) Regulations 1999

What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the possible impact—positive or negative—that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects.

The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the ensuing environmental impacts to decide whether to proceed with the project. The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.”

After an EIA, the precautionary and polluter pays principles may be applied to prevent, limit, or require strict liability or insurance coverage to a project, based on its likely harms. Environmental impact assessments are sometimes controversial.

The term 'environmental impact assessment' (EIA) describes a procedure that must be followed for certain types of project before they can be given 'development consent'. The procedure is a means of drawing together, in a systematic way, an assessment of a project's likely significant environmental effects. This helps to ensure that the importance of the predicted effects, and the scope for reducing them, are properly understood by the public and the relevant competent authority before it makes its decision.

Environmental impact assessment enables environmental factors to be given due weight, along with economic or social factors, when planning applications are being considered. It helps to promote a sustainable pattern of physical development and land and property use in cities, towns and the countryside. If properly carried out, it benefits all those involved in the planning process.

From the developer's point of view, the preparation of an environmental statement in parallel with project design provides a useful framework within which environmental considerations and design development can interact. Environmental analysis may indicate ways in which the project can be modified to avoid possible adverse effects, for example through considering more environmentally friendly alternatives. Taking these steps is likely to make the formal planning approval stages run more smoothly.

For the planning authority and other public bodies with environmental responsibilities, environmental impact assessment provides a basis for better decision making. More 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 make swifter decisions. While the responsibility for compiling the environmental statement rests with the developer, it is expected that the developer will consult those with relevant information, and the Regulations specifically require that public authorities which have information in their possession which is relevant to the preparation of the environmental statement should make it available to the developer.

The general public's interest in a major project is often expressed as concern about the possibility of unknown or unforeseen effects. By providing a full analysis of a project's effects, an environmental statement can help to allay fears created by lack of information. At the same time, early engagement with the public when plans are still fluid can enable developers to make adjustments which will help to secure a smoother passage for the proposed development and result in a better environmental outcome. The environmental statement can also help to inform the public on the substantive issues which the local planning authority will have to consider in reaching a decision. It is a requirement of the Regulations that the environmental statement must include a description of the project and its likely effects together with a summary in non-technical language. One of the aims of a good environmental statement should be to enable readers to understand for themselves how its conclusions have been reached, and to form their own judgments on the significance of the environmental issues raised by the project.

Environmental impact assessment can therefore be helpful to all those concerned with major projects. The following paragraphs describe the procedures for deciding whether EIA is necessary in a particular case and, where it is, for carrying out the assessment. The procedure is intended to make the most of the potential benefits of EIA, while keeping the process as simple and flexible as possible, and avoiding any duplication of existing planning procedures.

For more information visit http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/environmentalimpactassessment

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