With events held in Norwich, Cambridge and Milton Keynes in conjunction with Planning Lawyers Howes Percival and with Forsters in London, the breakfast seminars were attended by more than 80 clients keen to find out how to safeguard their existing projects under the current EIA regime and to learn about the key changes that will come into force on 16th May 2017.
James Alflatt, Planning Partner and Head of EIA at Bidwells (pictured) said: “We were delighted with the high numbers attending our seminars and the positive feedback we received. With the impending changes which we believe will be more onerous, costly and time-consuming, we have been keen to advise developers where possible to take action now to ensure their current projects can fall under the current regime.
“Although it is yet to come into force, we understand that the new Town and Country Planning (EIA) Regulations 2017 include amendments to timescales, the content of EIA reports, increased focus on greater mitigation and monitoring, as well as an emphasis on ensuring EIA reports are prepared by competent specialists and assessed by local authorities with sufficient expertise – all of which are important considerations for developers going forward.
“It was pleasing that the sessions were very well received by those attending – with over 90% finding the content ‘essential’ or ‘very useful’ to their business.”
Bidwells is an IEMA EIA Quality Mark accredited firm with a qualified team of practitioners available to look at individual cases and advise on the best strategy and options regarding EIA and the forthcoming regulations.
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