Planning and Development Act 2024
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Request for scoping opinion | ||
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233. (1) A person intending to apply for permission for a relevant development in respect of which an environmental impact assessment is required in accordance with section 225 may, before making an application for permission, request the competent authority to which such an application for permission requires to be made under Part 4 to give him or her a written opinion (in this section referred to as a “scoping opinion”) on the scope and the level of detail of the information that should be included in an environmental impact assessment report to be submitted with the application for permission. | ||
(2) A request under subsection (1) shall contain information on the specific characteristics of the relevant development concerned, including its location and technical capacity and its likely impact on the environment. | ||
(3) An applicant for permission for a relevant development on whom a notice has been served by a competent authority under subsection (10) or (14) of section 229 requiring the applicant to submit an environmental impact assessment report may, before submitting the environmental impact assessment report, request the competent authority concerned to give a written opinion (in this section also referred to as a “scoping opinion”) on the scope and the level of detail of the information that should be included in the environmental impact assessment report. | ||
(4) In considering a request for a scoping opinion, the competent authority— | ||
(a) shall take into account— | ||
(i) in the case of a request made under subsection (1), the information provided, in accordance with subsection (2), by the person who made the request, or | ||
(ii) in the case of a request made under subsection (3), the information provided to the competent authority for the purposes of carrying out a screening for environmental impact assessment under section 229 and the conclusions of the screening for environmental impact assessment, | ||
(b) shall consult with such persons as may be prescribed by the Minister, and | ||
(c) may take into consideration any other information or documentation available to the competent authority that the competent authority considers relevant. | ||
(5) (a) The competent authority shall give a scoping opinion to a person who made a request under subsection (1) as soon as is practicable and, at the latest, before the making of an application for permission for the relevant development concerned. | ||
(b) The competent authority shall give a scoping opinion to a person who made a request under subsection (3) as soon as is practicable and, at the latest, before the submission of the environmental impact assessment report to the competent authority. | ||
(6) The failure of the competent authority to comply with paragraph (a) of subsection (5) shall not affect the entitlement of the person who made the request under subsection (1) to make an application for permission for the relevant development concerned. | ||
(7) Where a scoping opinion has been provided under this section, the environmental impact assessment report shall— | ||
(a) be consistent with that opinion with regard to content and the manner of its preparation, and | ||
(b) include such information as may reasonably be required to enable the competent authority to reach a reasoned conclusion on the significant effects on the environment of the relevant development. | ||
(8) The giving of a scoping opinion under this section shall not operate to prevent the competent authority from performing any function under this Act to require the person to whom the opinion was given to submit further information to the competent authority in relation to the application for permission for the relevant development concerned. |