ACP Consultants · Planning & Development
Planning and development assessments connect a proposal with its wider environmental and community effects. Explore ACP's environmental impact assessment and health impact assessment services, and understand how they relate to specialist evidence.
Find your starting point
Start with the proposal, location and planning authority's requirements. Wider impact assessment should bring relevant evidence together, with a clear scope and consistent design assumptions.
Explore the EIA process, including screening, scoping and environmental statement preparation where required. Establish the relevant technical studies and how their findings relate.
Explore environmental impact assessmentConsider how development may influence health and wellbeing. Identify affected communities, relevant effects and opportunities to improve the proposal.
Explore health impact assessmentA practical selection guide
| Project question | Assessment focus | Useful information |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) | Likely significant environmental effects | Check whether the proposal falls within the applicable EIA requirements; screening may be needed |
| Health Impact Assessment (HIA) | Potential effects on health and wellbeing | Check local policy, validation requirements and the development's characteristics |
| Supporting technical studies | Evidence on specific topics | Agree which ecology, pollution, land or climate studies the proposal needs |
A development may require individual technical reports even when EIA is not required. HIA and EIA are not interchangeable, and neither is automatically required for every application.
From evidence to design
Assessments need to use compatible site boundaries, layouts, operating assumptions and development phases. Resolve contradictions between reports before submission. Where design changes respond to an assessment, make the change visible in the drawings and supporting explanation.
Set out the proposal, planning stage and decisions to be informed.
Agree the assessment scope, specialist inputs and common assumptions.
Check that the evidence, mitigation and submitted design agree.
Connected evidence
These articles explain related planning topics. Transport Planning, Flood Risk and Drainage are not currently offered as ACP commercial services.
Before you commission
No. The need for EIA depends on the applicable regulations and the characteristics and likely effects of the development. Screening helps determine whether EIA is required where relevant.
No. HIA considers health and wellbeing effects and may draw on specialist evidence. The underlying technical assessments still need an appropriate scope and methodology.
Share the planning authority's request, site information and proposal. The team can discuss which established ACP service is relevant and what needs to be clarified before work is commissioned.
Further reading for England: Planning practice guidance: Environmental Impact Assessment. Requirements elsewhere in the UK may differ. Confirm the applicable requirements for your site.
Your next step
Include the project description, site boundary, planning stage, authority correspondence and the list of specialists already involved.
You do not need a finished scope to start the discussion. Explain the decision you need to make and share the information you have.
