The Environmental Protection Act 1990 introduced a regime of controlling industries which emit significant levels of pollution to all environmental media (air, land and water). This was replaced by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, under which the Environmental Permitting Regulations have been issued.
Under the environmental permitting regime, the regulation of prescribed industrial and waste activities is broken down into three systems, based mainly on the level of pollution potentially caused by the activity. These systems are:
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Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control which covers Part A1 installations and is regulated by the Environment Agency
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Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, which covers Part A2 installations and is regulated by local authorities
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Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control, which covers Part B installations and is regulated by local authorities
We are responsible for permitting and inspecting all Part A2 and Part B installations within the city boundary. Part A2 installations are regulated for emissions to all environmental media (land, air and water), as well as noise and energy efficiency. Part B installations are regulated just for emissions to air.
Any person carrying out a Part A2 or Part B activity must submit an application, with a fee, to the local authority for an environmental permit. Application forms can be downloaded from the downloads section below. Applications may be subject to public consultation, depending on the potential environmental impact of the proposed activities. Consultations on current applications and can be downloaded below alongside existing Part B permits that have been issued in the city:
We will issue a permit in accordance with government guidance. The operator of the permitted installation must comply with the conditions of the permit and they will be subject to inspection to ensure this is the case.
The Pollution Control team is responsible for permitting approximately 30 installations within the city. These range from petrol stations, vehicle body shops and cement plants to road stone coating plants and even the crematoria. A list of current environmental permits is available via the download section below.
Much of the information regarding existing installations is kept on a public register held at City Hall. The register includes copies of all applications for permits, permits issued, details of any monitoring and any legal action that has been taken against site operators, along with other information required by the regulations.
Further information can be obtained from the council’s Pollution Control team. Additional guidance can also be found on the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affair’s website.