Environmental Permits and Licences
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- Summary of permit
- Eligibility criteria
- What the law says
- Application process
- How long will it take you to process my application?
- How to apply
- Can I appeal if my application is refused?
- Complaints about operators of regulated facilities
You must have an environmental permit if you operate a regulated facility in England or Wales.
A regulated facility includes:
- installations or mobile plants carrying out listed activities
- waste operations
- waste mobile plant
- mining waste operations
Listed activities include:
- energy - burning fuel, gasification, liquification and refining activities
- metals - manufacturing and processing metals
- minerals - manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass
- chemicals - manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or explosives, storing chemicals in bulk
- waste - incinerating waste, operating landfills, recovering waste
- solvents - using solvents
- other - manufacturing paper, pulp and board, treating timber products, coating, treating textiles and printing, manufacturing new tyres, intensive pig and poultry farming
Listed activities are divided into three categories: Part A(1), Part A(2) and Part B.
Part A permits control activities with a range of environmental impacts, including:
- emissions to air, land and water
- energy efficiency
- waste reduction
- raw materials consumption
- noise, vibration and heat
- accident prevention
Part B permits control activities which cause emissions to air.
The permit your business requires depends on the specific processes involved and resulting emissions.
Permits are available from the Environment Agency or your local authority (the regulator) depending upon the category your business falls within:
- Part A(1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the Environment Agency
- Part A(2) and Part B installations or mobile plants are regulated by the local authority, except waste operations carried out at Part B installations which are regulated by the Environment Agency
- waste operations or waste mobile plant carried on other than at an installation, or by Part A or Part B mobile plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency
- mining waste operations are regulated by the Environment Agency
Applications must be made on the form provided by the regulator, or online and must include specified information which will vary depending on the operation.
A fee may be payable.
If further information is required the applicant will be notified by the regulator and they must provide this information or the application will be deemed to be withdrawn.
The application must be from the operator of the regulated facility.
For waste operations no licence will be granted unless any required planning permission had first been granted.
The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Act was introduced in 1999 to comply with EU Directive's controlling emissions to air from certain industrial processes. The IPPC Act superseded Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), under which controls upon certain industrial activities could be introduced.
The regulator will pay regard to the protection of the environment taken as a whole by, in particular, preventing or, where that is not practicable, reducing emissions into the air, water and land.
The regulator may inform the public of the application and must consider any representations.
The application must be from the operator of the regulated facility and the regulator must be satisfied that they must operate the facility in accordance with the environmental permit.
How long will it take you to process my application?
It is in the public interest that we process your application before it can be granted and we aim to do this within 90 days. If you have not heard from us within this period, please contact us. You can do this online if you applied through the UK Welcomes service or use the contact details on this page.
- Apply for a B Environmental Permit
- Apply for an A2 Environmental Permit
- Tell us about a change to your existing circumstances
- Annual subsistence charge
Can I appeal if my application is refused?
Please contact us in the first instance. Any applicant who is refused a licence or wants to object to a condition on the licence can appeal to their local magistrates' court within 21 days of receiving notice of the decision.
Complaints about operators of regulated facilities
If you wish to complain that an operator is causing a nuisance, or if you believe that there has been a breach of permit conditions, please contact us. If you are in the UK, you can also contact Consumer Direct who will give you advice. From outside the UK please contact the UK European Consumer Centre.
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