Environmental permitting regulations
You must have an environmental permit if you operate a regulated facility and do an activity that could pollute the air, water or land.
Under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, local authorities must regulate certain types of industrial processes and activities. This is to reduce any pollution they may cause, as well as manage any emissions that could affect the air quality.
Listed activities
A permit is required if you carry out the following listed activities:
Energy
- burning fuel
- gasification
- liquefaction and refining activities
Metals
- manufacturing and processing metals
Minerals
- manufacturing lime, cement, ceramics or glass
- quarrying
- mobile crushing and screening
Chemicals
- manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals or explosives
- storing chemicals in bulk
Waste
- incinerating waste
- operating landfills
- recovering waste
Solvents
- using solvents
- coating of metals and plastics
- re-spraying road vehicles
- dry cleaning
Other
- manufacturing paper, pulp and board
- treating timber products
- coating, treating textiles and printing
- manufacturing new tyres
- intensive pig and poultry farming
More detailed descriptions of all listed activities can be found in Schedule 1 of the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016.
Public register
Local authorities are required by the Environmental Permitting Regulations to keep a public register that provides details on the installations and processes which are regulated by the local authority.
You can view the online public register documents maintained by North Yorkshire Council:
- public register for the Craven area (xlsx / 15 KB)
- public register for the Hambleton area (xlsx / 15 KB)
- public register for the Harrogate area (xlsx / 16 KB)
- public register for the Richmondshire area (xlsx / 20 KB)
- public register for the Ryedale area (xlsx / 13 KB)
- public register for the Scarborough area (xlsx / 14 KB)
- public register for the Selby area (xlsx / 13 KB)
A more detailed public register can be viewed at our offices across North Yorkshire. For more information and to arrange to view this register in your local office please contact our scientific services team.
A2 permits
- Severfield (UK) Ltd, Dalton (pdf / 891 KB)
- York Handmade Brick Company Ltd, Alne (pdf / 339 KB)
- Legrand Electric Limited, Scarborough (pdf / 3 MB)
- Plasmor Ltd, Goole (pdf / 5 MB)
- Saint-Gobain Glass Ltd, Goole (pdf / 11 MB)
Environmental permits
Permits are issued by the Environmental Agency or your local authority depending on the category your business falls within as outlined below:
Part A installation permits
- part A (1) installations or mobile plants are regulated by the Environment Agency
- part A (2) installations are regulated by us
These permits control emissions to air, water and land as well as other environmental issues such as waste reduction and energy efficiency.
Part B installations or mobile plant
Part B installations or mobile plants are regulated by us, except waste operations which are regulated by the Environment Agency.
These permits control emissions to air only.
Small waste incineration plant
Those with a technical unit with a processing capacity less than or equal to 10 tonnes per day for hazardous waste, or three tonnes per hour for non-hazardous waste are regulated by us (Schedule 13A).
These permits control emissions to air and water.
Solvent emission activities
These type of activities are regulated by us.
Permit conditions
Permits have conditions that protect the environment and reduce pollution from the regulated activity.
These conditions are written with reference to process guidance notes (PGN) or sector guidance notes (SGN). Each guidance note provides details of the best available techniques to use to avoid pollution. These guidance notes have been developed by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), local government, operators and trade organisations involved with the processes. The standards achieve a balance between protecting the environment and the cost of doing this.
How to apply for an environmental permit
You will need to contact our scientific services team to discuss potential applications so that we can provide you with the relevant application form and any advice.
Fees and charges
When applying for a permit there is an application fee and annual subsistence charge. These fees and charges are set by DEFRA.