The Levelling up and Regeneration Act was brought into force on 26th October 2023. Its aim was to speed up the planning system, cut bureaucracy, and encourage local authorities to put in place plans to enable the building of new homes. The Act was originally created as a cornerstone for long term plans of the Sunak Conservative Government to increase housing, produce more local infrastructure (GP surgeries, schools, and transport links), and enhance the environment to create neighbourhoods where people wanted to live and work. The Act was promised in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto which aimed to reduce the imbalances, primarily economic, between areas and social groups in the United Kingdom.
Environmental Outcomes Reports (EORs) were introduced as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, as an alternative to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), and Sustainability Appraisal (SAs). All three originated from the EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive and the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Strategic Environmental Assessment or SEA) Directive.
The intention for the introduction of EORs was to create a more effective tool for managing the effects of development on the natural environment, supporting better, faster and greener delivery of the infrastructure and development needed in England. It was also to engage the community more in the development process and hold developers accountable to ensure positive environmental outcomes through their proposed developments.
Main differences between EIA and EOR
| | EIA / SEA / SA | EORs |
Implementation | EU Directives | Levelling Up and Regeneration Act and the Environment Act 2021 |
Process | Screening, scoping, preparing EIA Report, making an application and consultation, decision making, post decision | Baseline assessment, impact identification, mitigation planning, monitoring and reporting, evaluation (Considerations – stakeholder engagement, legal and regulatory compliance, data quality) |
Length | May take up to 2 years to complete | Target of completion in 7-9 months |
Focus | Assesses potential environmental effects of a proposed project Looks at the detailed impact on individual environmental impacts Analyses the potential impacts on various environmental aspects (air quality, water quality, and biodiversity) | Assesses how a project will impact pre-defined environmental outcomes Looks for the final environmental goals Assesses how a project will contribute to specific environment goals set out by the Government |
Complexity | More detailed and complex – requiring extensive data and analysis | Designed to be simpler and more focused on achieving high-level environmental outcome |
Feedback on EORs
Following a series of responses from environmental, legal, and financial experts and institutions, the implementation of EOR has been on pause since March 2023. The main feedback included:
| Positive feedback | Negative feedback |
- Focus on achieving desired environmental outcomes, rather than just documenting potential impacts
- Streamlining assessments process
- Potential for improved decision making and better reporting on alternatives and how they are considered
- Focus on digital reform
- Consolidation of many sets of Regulations
- Better alignment between spatial strategy and the project scale
| - Potential for less rigorous assessment and reduced environmental protection
- Concerns about data quality and monitoring – sufficient monitoring mechanisms to enforce mitigation measures
- Lack of clarity on cumulative impacts, particularly on multiple projects / cross-border developments
- Limited public engagement
- Improved definition of “environmental outcomes” required – clear and measurable indicators needed
- Complexity in implementation
|
Overall, while EORs present an opportunity to improve environmental assessment processes, careful implementation is crucial to address concerns about the potential weakening of environmental protections and ensure robust monitoring and public engagement mechanisms are in place.
The Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC) at the IES is a community of experts working to understand and advocate for good implementation of environmental policy.
New “Roadmap” for EOR
There have been significant delays as the initial promise to review and respond to the consultations on EORs was originally made by the Sunak Conservative Government in January 2024, prior to the General Election in July 2024, which resulted in a change in government.
In December 2024, the new Labour Government published a working paper on development and nature recovery. The working paper proposes the establishment of a ‘Nature Restoration Fund’ from developer contributions to deliver strategic nature recovery improvements across the country, with responsibility for addressing or offsetting the environmental impacts of development shifting from the developer to the state. This does not affect developer’s Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements. The aim is to free up and accelerate development while ensuring better environmental outcomes.
In the working paper on development and nature recovery it is confirmed that there are plans to push ahead with the previous Government’s campaign to reform the EU-derived environmental assessment process through the implementation of new EORs and a more “strategic approach” to development. It was confirmed by the Treasury that the Government will publish “a roadmap for the delivery of these new environment outcomes reports in the coming months”.
A potential version of the “Roadmap” (or framework) for EOR, as suggested by the Office for Environmental Protection in a review of Environmental Assessment regimes in England document and the Government’s response, could include the following:
A potential Roadmap for EOR
| Project initiation | Define the scope
Legal and policy review
Establish project team |
| Base data collection | Identify environmental indicators
Data gathering
Data quality checks |
| Impact Assessment | Potential impact identification
Impact significance evaluation
Cumulative impact assessment |
| Mitigation and enhancement strategy development | Develop mitigation measures
Enhancement opportunities
Cost-benefit analysis |
| Indicator selection | Most likely using either:- Strategic and project level indicators
- Selection from the 66 indicators set out in in the DEFRA Outcome Indicator Framework
|
| Monitoring plan development | Establish monitoring parameters
Monitoring methodology
Report framework |
| Reporting and review (stakeholder engagement) | Draft EOR
Stakeholder consultation
Report finalisation |
| Ongoing evaluation | Monitoring, analysing data and reporting on short-, medium- and long-term impacts of EOR to provide adaptive management to site and development |
| (Considerations) | Transparency and clarity
Data quality
Adaptive management |
Other suggestions of the framework have been laid out in articles by planning and environmental assessment experts; including Charles Russel Speechlys and Turley.
Impacts on the industry
Though the “roadmap” / framework of EORs is to be released in the coming months, EIA experts, developers, Local Planning Authorities and specialist experts (such as those in biodiversity, waste, water / air quality) will need to prepare for its implementation. Impacts that can be considered include increased transparency and accountability, focus on positive outcomes, improved decision making, enhanced stakeholder engagement, potential cost implications, innovation and adaptation. There will also need to be preparation for the potential complexity involved, and administrative burden, as well as potential competitive disadvantages to smaller companies – who may struggle to adapt to the changes in comparison to larger companies.
Overall, Environmental Outcomes Reports are pushing industries to move towards a more proactive and outcomes-focused approach to environmental management, promoting sustainable practices and greater transparency in their operations.
The IES Environmental Impact Assessment Community is a community of EIA practitioners that provides thought-leadership and support on EIA and the transition to EORs.
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Image credit: © Eddie Cloud | Adobe Stock
