Warren Farm Sustainable Urban Extension – Chelmsford City Council Purpose of the project: The purpose of this project is to obtain an outline planning permission for a residential-led mixed-use development at Warren Farm, which is located on the western edge of Chelmsford. The proposed development consists of up to 880 new homes, primary school with…
Reducing Environmental Impacts When Coordinating Environmental Impacts Assessments (EIA) The current pandemic has pushed us all to better utilise online and digital technology. Our experiences over the past 18 months have shown us that previously accepted ways of working can be changed and improved through better utilisation of online and digital technology. In addition, even…
New planning rules will shortly come into force to widen the scope of permitted development rights in Conservation Areas. Under current legislation, vacant ‘Class E’ premises can be converted to residential use without the need for a formal planning application. Such proposals however need to go through the less formal ‘Prior Approval’ process,…
The effective management and coordination of what can be a multifaceted consultant team is key to the successful preparation and delivery of an Environmental Statement (ES). Depending on the nature of the project, such teams can be large in number, have a wide range of skills and knowledge and varying degrees of experience of EIA…
Introduction Some EIA practitioners can fall into a familiar cycle of describing baseline conditions, assessing adverse impacts, evaluating significance, identifying mitigation measures and then presenting the residual impacts of a scheme after mitigation. To a degree this ‘cycle’ may be encouraged by the common mitigation hierarchy now fully embedded in EIA practice and recognised in…
Introduction A hybrid planning application is one that seeks outline permission for one part and full permission for another part of the same site. Although their acceptance is entirely at the discretion of the local planning authority, they can be popular with developers who are seeking to secure a planning permission that both establishes the…