UK agency and legislative context - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 82

representations to the LPA for at least 20 days after the publication of the notice, but
within 21 days of the LPA's receipt of the planning application.
H. After the EIS has been publicly available for at least 21 days, the developer submits
to the LPA the planning application, copies 3 of the EIS, and certification that the required
public notices have been published and posted. The LPA must then send copies of the
EIS to the statutory consultees, inviting written comments within a specified time (at least
two weeks from receipt of the EIS), forward another copy to the SoS and place the EIS
on the planning register. It must also decide whether any additional information about the
project is needed before a decision can be made, and, if so, obtain it from the developer.
The clock does not stop in this case: a decision must still be taken within the appropriate
time.
3.4.6 Planning decision
I. Before making a decision about the planning application, the LPA must collect written
representations from the public within three weeks of the receipt of the planning
application, and from the statutory consultees at least two weeks from their receipt of the
EIS. It must wait at least three weeks after receiving the planning application before
making a decision. In contrast to normal planning applications, which must be decided
within eight weeks, those accompanied by an EIS must be decided within 16 weeks. If
the LPA has not made a decision after 16 weeks, the applicant can appeal to the SoS for a
decision. The LPA cannot consider a planning application invalid because the
accompanying EIS is felt to be inadequate: it can only ask for further information within
the 16-week period.
In making its decision, the LPA must consider the EIS and any comments from the
public and statutory consultees, as well as other material considerations. The
environmental information is only part of the information that the LPA considers, along
with other material considerations. The decision is essentially still a political one, but it
comes with the assurance that the project's environmental implications are understood.
The LPA may grant or refuse permission, with or without conditions. Further to the
changes resulting from the amended Directive the LPA must, in addition to the normal
requirements to notify the applicant, notify the SoS and publish a notice in the local
press, giving the decision, the main reasons on which the decision was based, together
with a description of the main mitigation measures.
J. If an LPA refuses planning permission, the developer may appeal to the SoS, as for
a normal planning application. The SoS may request further information before making a
decision.
3.5 Other EIA regulations
This section summarizes the procedures of the other EIA regulations under which a large
number of EISs have been prepared to date. We discuss the regulations in approximate
descending order of frequency of application to date:
1. Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999
2. Highways (AEE) Regulations 1999