It is a legal requirement under The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 for certain industrial and commercial operations to obtain an environmental permit to operate.
If your premises operates one of the following services and or activities without a permit, it's likely you'll need to apply for one before you carry out that activity at your premises. If not, you could be prosecuted.
- Petrol stations
- Production and processing of metals
- Energy industry
- Animal feed compounding
- Handling of bulk cement
- Cremation of human remains
- Roadstone coating
- Mobile crushing and screening of stone, concrete etc
- Manufacture or treatment of timber or wood based products
- Using solvents - such as car respraying, dry cleaners, coating wood or metal
- Manufacturing paper, pulp and board, making coatings, treating textiles and printing as well as intensive pig and poultry farming
- Car manufacturing plants
- Surface coating and treatment
- Vehicle refinishers
If you're unsure, get in touch with us using the contact information below, and we can advise.
Different permits have different conditions in place to protect the environment. Some environmental permits are issued by the our Public Protection team, and some are issued by the Environment Agency.
There are 3 classes of Environmental Permit:
Part B Permits
Considered to be the permits for lesser polluting organisations, these industries are regulated only for emissions to air. Industries such as cement batching plants, coating material manufacture, animal feed manufacture, dry cleaning and vehicle refinishers fall into this category.
Part A2 Permits
Regulated by the Local Authority and are considered to pose a medium risk to human health and the environment. Part A2 premises also regulate emissions to air, land and water and other environmental considerations as necessary.
Some examples of sites that would need a Part A2 permit include glass factories and sites that use large amounts of solvent.
Part A1 Permits
Part A1 Permits are regulated by the Environment Agency and cover industries that are considered to be the most polluting.
For more information on Part A1 permits and their requirements, contact the Enivronment Agency.
Small waste incineration plants
If a business incinerates or co-incinerates both hazardous and non-hazardous waste it requires an environmental permit.
Applications to obtain a permit for a new process or an existing process can be made through the Public Protection team.
There are fees associated with applying, processing and operating an industrial business under an environmental permit.
Contact us using the below contact details for advice on this and application details.
The application process for Part B and Part A2 permits takes 90 days.
Tacit consent
Tacit consent does not normally apply as it is in the interest of human health and the environment that we process your application before it can be granted.
If you have not heard from us within 90 days, get in touch with us using the contact information below.
Applicants who are refused an environmental permit may submit an appeal.
Download environmental permit appeal form
Appeals must be submitted in relation to a regulator initiated variation, a suspension notice or an enforcement notice. This should be no later than 2 months from the date of the variation or notice, and in any other case not later than 6 months from the date of the decision.