About environmental permits

Businesses that affect the environment by causing air pollution through release of smoke, dust, or solvent fumes, or by creating water or land contamination, require environmental permits. This is a requirement of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (As Amended)

The permit sets out limits on the pollution your business can make at your premises and from any mobile plant and what you need to do to prevent and control pollution.

Check if you need an environmental permit on GOV.UK.

Some of the most common businesses in our area requiring an environmental permit include:

• Petrol stations
• Waste oil and recovered oil burners
• Crushing and screening of concrete, bricks and tiles
• Roadstone coating processes
• Loading, unloading and use of bulk cement (for example, a batching plant)
• Using solvents (for example, for surface cleaning, or vehicle respraying)

Environmental permit categories

Split into three categories, two different regulators regulate the environmental permitting regime:

Part A1

The Environment Agency regulates the most polluting of the three industrial categories for multi-media emissions, such as land, air, water and other environmental considerations.

Part A2 and Part B

Local Authorities regulate the comparatively less polluting Part A2 activities for multi-media emissions and the lesser polluting Part B activities for emissions to air only.

There are currently no Part A2 activities in Eden.

View the list of Part B operating installations in Eden. There are currently 39 Part B processes.

Apply for an environmental permit

Go to Environmental Permits on GOV.UK for more details on environmental permits and to check whether you need a permit.

To apply for a Part B permit, you need to provide us with details about your pollution control equipment, methods and working practices, together with the correct fee.

Download the Part B Application form (PDF: 210Kb /13 pages).

Environmental permit application fee

Central Government sets fees. They change every year and vary from one type of business to another. They also vary depending on your environmental performance, calculated using a risk assessment based on the outcome of inspection.

Charging scheme for Part A processes and small waste incinerators on GOV.UK.

Charging scheme for Part B processes on GOV.UK.

How we deal with your application

Legislation governs the whole process of getting a permit, set out by the Government. For more guidance on the environmental permitting process, and an overview of what you can expect from us, there is an environmental permitting general guidance manual on GOV.UK.

Once we have received your 'duly made' application, we will ensure that you take all appropriate pollution prevention methods through the best available techniques, and you cause no significant pollution. We may need to advertise your application to the wider community, to allow local residents to comment. We may need to consult other agencies - Environment Agency, Primary Care Trust or water undertaker. What we have to do depends largely on the nature of your business. We must consider any comments made in relation to your application.

Although much of the content of any permit is set down in Government guidance, you have the opportunity to comment on permit conditions. We want to work with businesses to ensure that permits reflect real working practices and only impose essential pollution controls.

Applications out for consultation

See list of current environmental permit applications consultations.

Timescales for your application

Once your application is 'duly made’, the legislation gives us four months to process your application (except for dry cleaners and small waste oil burners, for which we are allowed three months).

If you have made an application for a permit, you can contact us at any time during the application process.

Complaints and appeals

If we refuse your application, we will clearly inform you of the reasons for this. If we approve your application with conditions, you were able to comment on conditions at the time of writing the permit. If after the process you still do not agree with what the permit imposes on your business, or you are not clear of the reason for refusal, please contact us.

If you want to challenge this decision, please contact us by writing to the address below.

You also have the legal right to appeal against a decision to the Planning Inspectorate within six months of the decision for a failed application, or appeal against a condition.

What do businesses have to do once they have an environmental permit?

You must comply with any conditions attached to a permit. To make sure you are complying, we will regularly inspect your business. Failure to comply may lead to enforcement action. You have to pay an annual subsistence fee to keep your permit, laid down by Central Government.

What do businesses do if they want to make a change to their process/permit?

You must tell us if you intend to extend or change your operation. A change in operation means 'a change in the nature and functioning, or an extension of the installation which may have consequences for the environment'. It could entail either technical alterations or modifications in operational or management practices, including changes to raw materials or fuels used and to the installation throughput. You should tell us at least 14 days before making the change and, depending on the change, you may need to complete the Part B Variation form (PDF: 286Kb / 10 pages).

If you have any doubt over whether a particular change is substantial, please contact the Environmental Protection Team for advice.

Complaints from the public or from other businesses

The public and other businesses may complain to us about pollution from a business, or they may inform us about polluting activities. Environmental Protection Officers will investigate and, if permit conditions are being broken, we may take enforcement action.

Public register and list of prescribed installations

We keep a Public Register of all businesses within Eden with an environmental permit. The Register includes details of each application, permit, monitoring data and any notices served.

You can view this information on request.