Environmental permit for construction

[edit] Introduction and reform

An environmental permit is required under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 for a range of specified activities. Applicants must apply either to the Environment Agency (EA) or the relevant local authority, depending on the activity. It can take up to 13 weeks to determine the application, and charges are imposed for both the determination and ongoing regulation of the permit.

Some activities, such as those relating to waste, will not be permitted unless an appropriate planning permission is in place. For other activities it is at the discretion of the applicant as to whether to apply for a permit before or after applying for planning permission. A permit can be revoked if the relevant authority decides the operator is no longer suitable or adequately complying with the permit conditions.

On 8 April 2025 the UK and Welsh Governments launched an eight-week consultation on reforming environmental permitting for England and Wales to speed up the work of regulators and the industries they support, as part of the UK Labour Government’s Regulatory Action Plan. The reforms relating to the process for exemptions aim to empower regulators, such as the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales to be able to:

• Take speedy action, simplifying processes such as for bringing suitable land back into beneficial use for new housing or infrastructure, strongly supporting regional growth.
• Permit exemptions for certain flood risk activities: which could make it easier to install survey equipment for monitoring river flow and water quality.
• Have greater flexibility around the use of scaffolding in or alongside rivers: supporting the UK Government’s key mission of growing the economy for communities across the country.
• Change exemptions abused by rogue waste operators: the proposals could enable regulators to clamp down on illegal activity that blights communities and causes environmental harm.
• Apply stringent safeguards: the proposals look to ensure effective controls apply where there is a high risk of environmental harm and to keep the regulatory system open and accountable.

See also articles Environmental permit reforms, UK environmental regulations reform 2025, The Planning and Infrastructure bill and reactions to it and No time to waste, back reforms and get Britain building warns Deputy PM.

[edit] When is a permit currently required?

A permit may be required if an activity could:

• Pollute the air, water or land.
• Increase the risk of flooding.
• Affect drainage of the land.

A permit is required for the operation of:

• An industrial facility, manufacturing plant, landfill site, and so on.
• A site that recycles, stores, treats and/or disposes of waste.
• A site which manages mine and/or quarry waste.
• A small waste incineration plant where waste of certain types and quantities are burned.
• Mobile plant, such as plant used to clean contaminated ground.
• Direct or indirect release of organic solvents into the air.
• Release of polluting liquids to either surface water or groundwater.

In addition, a permit will be required for activities which involve:

• Working with radioactive substances.
• Working in, under, over or near a main river.
• Working on or near a flood or coastal defence.
• Working in the flood plain of a main river.

[edit] Applications

The activity and its pollution risk will determine who the permit application should be made to.

The EA will check for permit compliance and the competency of the operator. Sometimes an operator may wish to transfer a permit to another party, but the EA can reject this application if they consider them insufficiently competent.

The EA can check the operation by carrying out:

• A desk-based assessment of compliance.
• Site inspection (either planned or unannounced).
• Sampling of permitted water discharge.

Inspections or assessments can take place if there has been:

• A local or on-site pollution incident.
• Demonstrable risk of a pollution incident occurring.
• A flood incident.
• Depositing of illegal waste.
• A complaint about the activity.
• Unauthorised works.

[edit] Enforcement

Action that can be taken by the EA if they suspect illegal non-compliance with the permit can include:

• Providing advice.
• Changing the conditions of the permit.
• Serving an enforcement or remediation notice.
• Serving a suspension notice.
• Prosecution.

NB High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Environmental Statement, Glossary, abbreviations and references, published by the Department for Transport in 2022, states: ‘Many activities that can cause pollution are prohibited unless authorised by a permit. When either the Environment Agency or a local authority gives someone an environmental permit, they are allowing that person to carry out an activity under certain conditions. A business may need to apply to the Environment Agency for an environmental permit if it uses, recycles, treats, stores or disposes of waste or mining waste.’

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Condition survey.
• Contaminated land.
• Ecological impact assessment.
• Environment Agency.
• Environmental impact assessment EIA.
• Environmental permit reforms.
• Environmental statement.
• Flood and Water Management Act.
• Ground investigation.
• Permit.
• Planning permission.
• Site waste management plan.
• The Planning and Infrastructure bill and reactions to it.