Appropriate Assessment (AA)
About Appropriate Assessment
Appropriate Assessment (AA) is a powerful tool to control the environmental impact of a development. It tests whether a proposed development is likely to have a significant negative impact on any ‘European Sites’, i.e.:
- Special Protection Area – a European designation which protects birds
- Special Area of Conservation – a European designation which protects important wildlife habitats
- Ramsar Site – a European designation which protects wetlands of global importance
Appropriate Assessment will only affect a development if it is seen to have a significant adverse impact on the conservation objectives of a European Site (AA does not apply to other designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The planning authority must take a view as to whether the impact is acceptable in the context of the UK Habitats Regulations before determining any planning application.
If your proposed development is close to a European Site you need to consider whether Appropriate Assessment will be required as early as possible in the development process. This will ensure you you have sufficient time to scope the work required, gather data and prepare and submit your report along with the planning application. Timely programming of this work will minimise the risk of delay to your project that could result from later demand for additional information.
The AA processThe first stage of the process is a 'Test of Likely Significant Effect' (ToLSE). If this suggests that the plan or project could have significant negative impact on European sites, the planning authority will conduct an Appropriate Assessment prior to any application for development consent.
How The Landmark Practice can helpOur environmental planning team helps development teams to make the request for a ToLSE and with scoping the Appropriate Assessment study. We offer services to gather and interpret the required information to enable Appropriate Assessment of a project or plan, including:
- Consultation with the appropriate competent and statutory authorities
- Desk studies to draw together existing data on habitats, species, plans and projects
- Creation of cost effective, commercially realistic and innovative mitigation schemes, where necessary
- Agreement of monitoring protocols where necessary
Our environmental planners will be happy to discuss the services that we can provide, so please contact us for more details.