Environment
Environmental permits
If your business undertakes one or more processes that have the potential to harm either human health or the environment, you will are likely to need an environmental permit.
There are 4 categories of environmental permits.
Part A1
Part A1 permits are required for certain large industrial activities. They have the potential to cause a range of negative impacts. A permit will typically address air, land, water, noise, energy and waste.
These installations are regulated by the Environment Agency.
Defra provides guidance regarding these activities at A1 installations: environmental permits – GOV.UK
Part A2
Part A2 permits are required for certain industrial activities which are considered to have a lesser risk than Part A1 activities. These too have the potential to cause a range of negative impacts, and permits will therefore also address air, land, water, noise, energy and waste.
These are regulated by the Local Authority.
Defra provides a list of activities that require an A2 Permit at Local authority environmental permits (England and Wales) – GOV.UK
Part B
Part B permits are required if your business has the potential to cause emissions to air. This is the most common category of permitted activity found in Epping Forest District, and includes Petrol Filling Stations, Dry Cleaners, Crematoria, Cement Batchers, Concrete Crushers, Vehicle Resprayers and Printers. There are many other activities that will require a Part B permit.
These activities are regulated by the Local Authority.
Defra provide information regarding the various processes covered by this part of the regulation at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-air-pollution-prevention-and-control-lappc-process-guidance-notes
Schedule 13A
Schedule 13A permits are required for Small Waste Incineration Plants (SWIPs)
Who regulates your SWIP depends on its processing capacity:
- The Local Authority regulates where the processing capacity of less than 10 tonnes per day of hazardous waste and less than 3 tonnes per hour of non-hazardous waste.
- The Environment Agency regulates other SWIPs
Defra provides guidance on waste incineration at Environmental permitting guidance: waste incineration – GOV.UK
Pre-application advice
We strongly recommend that you get advice before you apply.
Contact our Air Quality officer for pre-application advice at
Apply for a permit
Apply for a Part A2, Part B or Schedule 13A permit.
- Apply online via the GOV.uk website
- Email environmentalhealth@eppingforestdc.gov.uk for an application form
We will consider your application and use government guidance to decide whether to issue or refuse the permit. The application process can take up to 4 months and you are not able to commence operating until a valid permit is in place.
If a permit is issued, it will include conditions to control and reduce pollution, which you will need to comply with.
You do not need to renew your permit each year, but you will need to pay an annual charge. The amount of the annual charge is set by central government and is calculated depending on the activity and your compliance with permit conditions.
Inspections
We will undertake inspections in order to measure compliance with your permit conditions. A risk assessment will be undertaken at each inspection, and this assessment determines the annual fee payable as well as inspection frequency. Installations that are operated well will benefit from a lower annual charge and less frequent inspections.
Public register
A2 permits
Contact Us
Environmental permits are issued by Air Quality Officers in the Environmental Health team.
You can contact the team at: