Advice to David Toke

Enquiry

• From: David Toke
• Date advice given: 25 October 2010
• Enquiry type: Email

Can you tell me what the arrangements are for the issue of licenses under the European protected species requirement (do you issue this?) and also the 1991 water act for cabling crossing rivers (the environment agency has responsibility for this, I understand, but is a license from them still needed?

Advice given

Section 150 of the Planning Act 2008 enables a Development Consent Order (DCO) to be made which removes the need for other consents which are prescribed in the Infrastructure Planning (Miscellaneous Prescribed Provisions) Regulations 2010. The DCO provisions can have the effect of authorising the activity in question. Please refer to numbers 27 - 30 of the Schedule in these regulations that refers to the licences and consents for the Water Resources Act 1991. A licence to authorise activity which might, amongst other things, permit damage or disturbance to European Protected Species is one of the consents/licences listed in the Schedule in number 16.

With section 150 of the Planning Act 2008 in place it is still up to applicants to decide what consents and authorisations are needed for any particular project. Having done so they can still decide to seek consents/licences from the normal regulating body such as Natural England and the Environment Agency. We understand that the Environment Agency may wish to retain responsibility for consents under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (see number 26 of the Schedule).