Preparation for Brexit

In preparation for Brexit the government has published statutory instruments in relation to environmental assessments and the planning regime. Before these statutory instruments are formally laid in Parliament, they have to go through a sifting process. These instruments make no substantive changes of policy, but when the UK leaves the European Union (EU) these instruments will ensure the continued smooth operation of the following regimes relating to the environment and the planning system:

• Environmental Impact Assessment – which aims to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account at the development consent stage of the planning process
• Strategic Environmental Assessment – which aims to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account at the strategic plan-making stage of the planning process
• Hazardous Substances Regulations – these ensure that the objectives of preventing major accidents, and limiting the consequences of such accidents, are taken into account in land-use planning

These instruments also make a small number of amendments to other planning legislation, for example where there are references to obligations in EU law which are redundant or no longer appropriate.

The amendments in these instruments will ensure that these regimes will continue to operate as they did before the date we leave the EU will not be retrospective, and so there will be no need to re-examine any decisions made before our EU exit purely as a result of these changes.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/continuity-of-planning-environmental-requirements-when-the-uk-leaves-the-european-union