Environmental Permits

Permitted activities

The Environmental Health Service regulates and enforces provisions of the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Act 1999, and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 in relation to designated industrial installations throughout the district in order to improve the environment and people's health.

You must have an environmental permit if you operate a regulated facility in England or Wales.

A regulated facility includes:

• installations or mobile plants carrying out listed activities
• waste operations
• waste mobile plant
• mining waste operations

Listed activities include:

• energy - burning fuel, gasification, liquefaction and refining activities
• metals - manufacturing and processing metals
• minerals - manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass
• chemicals - manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or explosives, storing chemicals in bulk
• waste - incinerating waste, operating landfills, recovering waste
• solvents - using solvents
• other - manufacturing paper, pulp and board, treating timber products, coating, treating textiles and printing, manufacturing new tyres, intensive pig and poultry farming

There are three categories of installations

• Part A1 - enforced by the Environment Agency
• Part A2 - enforced by the local authority
• Part B - enforced by the local authority.

Part A permits control activities with a range of environmental impacts, including:

• emissions to air, land and water
• energy efficiency
• waste reduction
• raw materials consumption
• noise, vibration and heat
• accident prevention

Part B permits control activities which cause emissions to air.

The permit your business requires depends on the specific processes involved and resulting emissions.

Permits are issued by the Environment Agency or Bradford Council (the regulator) depending upon the category your business falls within:

• Part A(1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the Environment Agency
• Part A(2) and Part B installations or mobile plants are regulated by Bradford Council, except where waste operations are carried out at Part B installations, in which case the installation is regulated by the Environment Agency
• Waste operations or waste mobile plant carried on other than at an installation, or by Part A or Part B mobile plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency
• Mining waste operations are regulated by the Environment Agency

If you have any queries about permitted activities, please contact Bradford Council.

Fees and charges for Environmental Permits

There are various fees and charges in relation to pollution prevention and control permits:

• An operator must pay the relevant application fee to obtain a permit for a prescribed activity
• A fee may be payable if there are substantial changes to permit
• Operators must pay an annual subsistence fee

Am I eligible to apply?

Applications must be made on the form provided by us or online and must include specified information which will vary depending on the operation.

If further information is required the applicant will be notified by us and they must provide this information or the application will be deemed to be withdrawn.

The application must be from the operator of the regulated facility.

For waste operations no permit will be granted unless any required planning permission had first been granted.

Summary of the regulations

• Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2016
• Pollution Prevention & Control Act 1999

How we evaluate your application

The application must be provided on the form provided by Bradford Council and must include the relevant fee.

The application should give all the information required to make a determination (duly made). To that end pre-application discussions with us are recommended.

Where an application does not contain all the required information we may have to request additional information delaying determination.

Applications that are not duly made will normally be returned along with any fee.

We will normally determine the application within 4 months of receipt (3 months for dry cleaners).

We will pay due regard to the protection of the environment taken as a whole by, in particular, preventing or, where that is not practicable, reducing emissions into the air water and land.

We may inform the public of the application and must consider any representations that are received. 

The application must be from the operator of the regulated facility and we must be satisfied that they will operate the facility in accordance with the environmental permit.

It is in the public interest that we must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable period, please contact us.

Will tacit consent apply?

No. It is in the public interest that we must process your application before it can be granted. 

How we will notify you

You will be notified in writing of any decisions relating to your application as soon as reasonably practicable.

Timescales

Applications will normally be determined within 4 months of receipt.

How do I get a Permit?

The following information provides guidance on which form should be completed for application, transfer, variation and surrender of permits:

Part A2 Installations

• Application for an Environmental Permit Part A2 - Use this form if you wish to make an application for a Part A2 permit
• Part A2 Surrender - Use this form if you already have a Part A2 permit and have ceased to operate it, or intend to cease to operate your installation and wish to surrender the permit. You may apply to surrender the whole or part of your permit.
• Part A2 Transfer - Use this form if you already have a Part A2 permit and wish to transfer the permit in whole or in part to another person (‘the proposed transferee’). You may apply to transfer the whole or part of your permit. Both the operator and the proposed transferee must jointly apply to have the permit transferred.
• Part A2 Variation - Use this form if you already have a Part A2 permit and wish to vary the permit conditions or wish to make a change to your installation.

Part B Installations

• Application for an Environmental Permit Part B - Use this form if you require an application for a Part B permit (please note this not to be used for dry cleaners, vehicle re-sprayers, petrol stations, minerals processes, and timber processes – there are separate application forms for these types of installations).
• Part B Surrender - Use this form if you already have a Part B permit and have ceased to operate, or intend to cease to operate your installation and wish to surrender the permit. You may apply to surrender the whole or part of your permit.
• Part B Transfer - Use this form if you already have a Part B permit and wish to transfer the permit in whole or in part to another person (‘the proposed transferee’). You may apply to transfer the whole or part of your permit. Both the operator and the proposed transferee must jointly apply to have the permit transferred.
• Part B Variation - Use this form if you already have a Part B permit and wish to vary the permit conditions or wish to make a change to your installation.

To request an application form, please contact us at eh.admin@bradford.gov.uk or telephone us on 01274 434666.

Public Register

Our role is to write a permit that contains a number of conditions that control the way the process operates and to set emission standards or pollution levels. We inspect these processes routinely, more frequently when we suspect problems may be happening. Breaching the conditions that we set may lead to enforcement action and can lead to prosecution. 

Appeals

Please contact Bradford Council in the first instance.

An applicant who is refused an environmental permit may appeal to the Secretary of State. Appeals must be lodged no later than six months from the date of the decision.

If an application to vary, transfer or surrender an environmental permit has been refused or if the applicant objects to conditions imposed on the environmental permit they may also appeal to the Secretary of State.

Any appeals lodged in relation to a regulator initiated variation, a suspension notice or an enforcement notice, must be no later than two months from the date of the variation or notice and in any other case not later than six months from the date of the decision.

Permits will normally be reviewed every four or five years with a view to upgrading them in line with technological developments. However, where new information becomes available about harmful effects of a pollutant or complaints about the process are received by the local authority, the permit may be reviewed earlier.

How do I make a complaint about a Permitted Process?

You should contact us on 01274 434666.