The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Amendment of Schedule 2

24.—(1) Schedule 2 (thresholds for identification of projects likely to have significant effects on the environment) is amended as follows.

(2) In the heading, for “Thresholds for identification” substitute “Descriptions”.

(3) In paragraph 1—

(a) before the definitions of “National Park” and “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”, insert—

““low-risk area” has the meaning given in regulation 3B(7);”;

(b) in the definition of “National Park” and “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”, for “of the next definition” substitute “in the definition of “sensitive area””;

(c) after the definition of “National Park” and “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” insert—

““Ramsar Convention” has the meaning given in section 37A(4) and (5) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(1);”;

(d) in the definition of “sensitive area”—

(i) omit paragraph (b);

(ii) for paragraph (h), substitute—

“(h) a European site within the meaning of regulation 8 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010(2);”;

(iii) after paragraph (h), insert—

“(i) any land in Great Britain designated under paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Ramsar Convention for inclusion in the list of wetlands of international importance referred to in that Article;

(j) land declared to be a national nature reserve under section 35(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(3);

(k) any land which is a nature reserve within the meaning given in section 15 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949(4).”;

(e) omit the definition of “specified threshold”.

(4) After paragraph 1, insert—

“Descriptions of projects in England likely to have significant effects on the environment

1A.— (1) For the purposes of regulation 3(3), a project in England of a type, description and size specified in columns 1, 2 and 3 of each entry in the Table below, is to be treated as being likely to have, or not to have, significant effects on the environment in accordance with column 4 of the appropriate entry.

(2) This paragraph applies subject to paragraph 3 of this Schedule.

Table

Row	Column 1 Type of project	Column 2 Description of land covered, or proposed to be covered, by the project	Column 3 Size of area of land covered, or proposed to be covered, by the project	Column 4 Likelihood of the project having significant effects on the environment
1	Afforestation	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area which is a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty	2 hectares or less	Unlikely to have significant effects
2	Afforestation	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area which is a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty	More than 2 hectares	Likely to have significant effects
3	Afforestation	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area which is not a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty	Area of any size	Likely to have significant effects
4	Afforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	2 hectares or less	Unlikely to have significant effects
5	Afforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	More than 2, but no more than 5, hectares	Unlikely to have significant effects, unless written notification is given by the appropriate forestry body pursuant to regulation 3A
6	Afforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area and the area is a low-risk area	More than 5, but no more than 50, hectares	Unlikely to have significant effects, unless written notification is given by the appropriate forestry body pursuant to regulation 3B
7	Afforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area and the area is a low-risk area	More than 50 hectares	Likely to have significant effects
8	Afforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area and the area is not a low-risk area	More than 5 hectares	Likely to have significant effects
9	Deforestation	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area which is a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty	0.5 hectares or less	Unlikely to have significant effects
10	Deforestation	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area which is a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty	More than 0.5 hectares	Likely to have significant effects
11	Deforestation	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area which is not a National Park or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty	Area of any size	Likely to have significant effects
12	Deforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	1 hectare or less	Unlikely to have significant effects
13	Deforestation	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	More than 1 hectare	Likely to have significant effects
14	Forest road works	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area	Area of any size	Likely to have significant effects
15	Forest road works	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	1 hectare or less	Unlikely to have significant effects
16	Forest road works	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	More than 1 hectare	Likely to have significant effects
17	Forest quarry works	The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area	Area of any size	Likely to have significant effects
18	Forest quarry works	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	1 hectare or less	Unlikely to have significant effects
19	Forest quarry works	No part of the land is in a sensitive area	More than 1 hectare	Likely to have significant effects.”

(5) In paragraph 2—

(a) in the heading, after “Thresholds”, insert “for identification of projects in Wales likely to have significant effects on the environment”; and

(b) in sub-paragraph (1), after “any project”, insert “in Wales”.

(6) In paragraph 3, for sub-paragraph (1), substitute—

“(1) Where the project under consideration is an extending project—

(a) the areas specified in Column 3 of the Table in paragraph 1A, and

(b) the thresholds specified in Columns 2 and 3 of the Table in paragraph 2,

shall not apply, and the threshold or areas applicable for that project for the purposes of regulation 3(3) shall be instead such balance (if any), in hectares, of the area specified in Column 3 or, as the case may be, Columns 2 and 3, in those Tables opposite the entry in Column 1 for that type of project as remains after deduction of the accumulated material past project area.”.

(1)

1981 c. 69. Section 37A was inserted by section 77 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37).

(2)

Regulation 8 was amended by S.I. 2012/1927.

(3)

Section 35(1) was amended by paragraph 85 of Part 1 of Schedule 11 to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

(4)

Section 15 was substituted by paragraph 12 of Part 1 of Schedule 11 to the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.