Environmental Impact Assessment

The EU Habitats Directive requires that any plan or project likely to have a significant effect on a European wildlife site must be subject to an Appropriate Assessment (AA). Ecosulis has been involved in developing techniques for this area of assessment for a number of years.

Strictly speaking, AAs must be prepared by a competent authority rather than the developer or their agents. To meet this requirement, we have developed a bespoke approach to assembling "information to inform an appropriate assessment". In our experience, these assessments are typically adopted by a competent authority, thereby speeding up the processing of this regulatory step.

Central to the AA process is the understanding of sites designated criteria and potential pathways for effects. With vast experience in ecological surveys and assessment, Ecosulis is well placed to communicate effectively with Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales and other bodies nominated as competent authorities. Central to this is our understanding that the AA process is quite distinct from the EIA process and that techniques and definitions are not, strictly speaking, transferable.