Environmental permits
Licence summary
You must obtain a permit under the Environmental Permitting
Regulations 2007 if you operate or wish operate a facility for the
activities which fall under the regulations.
An application must also be made to carry out variations to and
existing permitted activity or to surrender a permit.
Facilities include:
- Installations or mobile plants carrying out listed
activities
- Waste operations
- Waste mobile plant
- Mining waste operations
Activities include:
- Energy - burning fuel, gasification, liquification and refining
activities
- Metals - manufacturing and processing metals
- Minerals - manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass
- Chemicals - manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or
explosives, storing chemicals in bulk
- Waste - incinerating waste, operating landfills, recovering
waste
- Solvents - using solvents - including delivery and sale of
petrol , dry cleaners, vehicle refinishers etc.
- Other - manufacturing paper, pulp and board, treating timber
products, coating, treating textiles and printing, manufacturing
new tyres, intensive pig and poultry farming
The permit required depends on the specific processes involved
and resulting emissions.
Activities are divided into three categories: Part A(1), Part
A(2) and Part B.
Part A permits control activities with a range of environmental
impacts, including:
- Emissions to air, land and water
- Energy efficiency
- Waste reduction
- Raw materials consumption
- Noise, vibration and heat
- Accident prevention
Part B permits control activities which only cause emissions to
air.
Applications should be made to the Environment Agency or the
local authority (the regulator) depending upon the category the
activity falls within:
- Part A(1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the
Environment Agency
- Waste operations or waste mobile plant carried on other than at
an installation, or by Part A or Part B mobile plants, are
regulated by the Environment Agency
- Mining waste operations are regulated by the Environment
Agency
- Part A(2) and Part B installations or mobile plants are
regulated by the local authority, except waste operations carried
out at Part B installations which are regulated by the Environment
Agency.
Eligibility criteria
- Applications must be made on the form provided by the regulator
or Defra whether on online or not, and must include all relevant
and specified information for the activity.
- A fee may be payable.
- An application will also be required vary or surrender a
Permit.
- If further information is required the applicant will be
notified that the application is not ‘duly made’ under the
regulations and it must be resubmitted with the appropriate
information.
- The application must be from the operator i.e. the person in
control of the regulated facility.
- For waste operations no licence will be granted unless any
required planning permission had first been granted.
Regulation summary
The Environmental
Permitting Regulations 2007 and its amendments cover this type
of permit.
Application process evaluation
The regulator will pay regard to:
- The protection of the environment taken as a whole by, in
particular, preventing or, where that is not practicable, reducing
emissions into the air, water and land and
- The Secretary of States guidance for that activity
- The application will be a public document ( except items that
are accepted as confidential under the Regulations ) and the
Regulator must consider any representations.
- The regulator must be satisfied that that the applicant
operator is capable of operating the facility in accordance with
the environmental permit.
Will tacit consent apply?
No. It is in the public interest that the authority must process
your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard
from the local authority within a reasonable period, please contact
it. You can do this online if you applied through the UK Welcomes
service or use the contact details below.
Apply for a licence
Telephone or email us for an application form. You should
be able to apply for the following licences online:
Failed application redress
Please contact us (Environmental Health) in the first
instance.
An applicant who is refused an environmental permit may appeal
to the appropriate authority. In England the appropriate authority
is the Secretary of State and in Wales are the Welsh Ministers.
Appeals must be lodged no later than six months from the date of
the decision.
Licence holder redress
Please contact us (Environmental Health) in the first
instance.
If an application to vary, transfer or surrender an
environmental permit has been refused or if the applicant objects
to conditions imposed on the environmental permit they may appeal
to the appropriate authority.
Appeals must be lodged in relation to a regulator initiated
variation, a suspension notice or an enforcement notice, not later
than two months from the date of the variation or notice and in any
other case not later than six months from the date of the
decision.
Consumer complaint
We would always advise that in the event of a complaint the
first contact is made with the trader by you - preferably in the
form a letter (with proof of delivery). If that has not worked, if
you are located in the UK, Consumer Direct will give
you advice. From outside the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre.
Other redress
Compensation maybe payable in relation to conditions affecting
certain interests in land.
Trade associations