The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“afforestation” means initial afforestation (which has the same meaning as in paragraph 1(d) of Annex II to the Directive);

“the appropriate Authority” means, in relation to England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, in relation to Wales, the National Assembly for Wales;

“the Commissioners” means the Forestry Commissioners;

“countryside bodies” means—

(a)

where the land is situated in England, the Countryside Agency(1) and the Nature Conservancy Council for England(2),

(b)

where the land is situated in Wales, the Countryside Council for Wales(3); and

(c)

where the land is situated in England or Wales, the Environment Agency(4);

“deforestation” means deforestation for the purposes of conversion to another type of land use (which terms have the same meaning as in paragraph 1(d) of Annex II to the Directive);

“development” means development within the meaning of section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(5);

“the Directive” means Council Directive 85/337/EEC(6) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC(7);

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed in Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“environmental information” means information in the environmental statement and any other information provided in accordance with these Regulations in relation to an application for consent or an appeal under regulation 17 or 21 relating to the likely environmental effects of the project which is the subject of the application or, as the case may be, appeal;

“environmental statement” means a statement—

(a)

that includes such of the information referred to in Part I of Schedule 1 as is reasonably required to assess the environmental effects of the project and which the applicant can, having regard in particular to current knowledge and methods of assessment, reasonably be required to compile, but

(b)

that includes at least the information referred to in Part II of Schedule 1;

“forest quarry works” means operations on land used or to be used for the purposes of forestry, or on land held or occupied with that land, to obtain the materials required for forest road works;

“forest road works” means the formation, alteration or maintenance of private ways on land used or to be used for the purposes of forestry;

“project” means the execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes or other intervention in the natural surroundings or landscape including those involving the extraction of mineral resources;

“proposer” means person who proposes to carry out a project;

“relevant project” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 3 below.

(2) In these regulations, any reference to an enforcement notice shall be construed as including, as the context requires, a reference to a notice of variation under regulation 20(6)(a) or to an enforcement notice as so varied.

(3) Any reference in these Regulations (other than regulation 22) to consent is a reference to the consent of the Commissioners required by regulation 4, and—

(a) (where the context permits) includes consent by the appropriate Authority on an appeal under regulation 17; and

(b) in regulations 4 and 20 to 23 includes (in accordance with regulation 25(9)) consent granted under the Environmental Assessment (Forestry) Regulations 1998(8).

(4) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or Schedule bearing that number in these Regulations.

(1)

See section 1(1) of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (c. 97) as substituted by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43), section 130 and Schedule 8 paragraph 1(2), and the Development Commission (Transfer of Functions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/416), article 3 and Schedule 1 paragraph 1(2).

(2)

See section 128 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43).

(3)

See sections 128 and 130 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

(4)

See section 1(1) of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25).

(5)

1990 c. 8.

(6)

OJ No. L175, 5.7.85, p.40.

(7)

OJ No. L73, 14.3.97, p.5.

(8)

S.I. 1998/1731.