Environmental permits
Environmental permit information
The council is responsible for regulating the environmental impacts of certain types of industrial process.* There are two separate kinds of pollution control depending on the type and scale of the industrial process.
Public register
The council is required to establish and maintain a register of all industrial processes that have been issued an environmental permit. The register can be viewed by visiting the council offices or by contacting the Environmental Protection Team using the contact details on the right hand side.
- Pollution of air, water and land is regulated for installations known as A2 installations **
- Pollution or air only is regulated for Part B installations***
- The Environment Agency regulates pollution of air, water and land for A1 installations****
View the classification and range of processes and installations requiring a permit .
*As specified in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010
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** Under the Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control.
*** Under Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control.
**** Under Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control.
Apply for a permit
If the industrial processes you carry out are covered by these regulations, you will need to make sure you apply for an environmental permit.
There are conditions attached to the permit you will need to achieve to control and minimise your environmental emissions.
We will need to carry out a site visit to check the equipment and processes of the proposed premises.
Application forms are available by contacting the Environmental Protection Team using the contact details on the right hand side.
Fees and charges
You will need to send us the correct application fee before we process your application.
If we have granted you an environmental permit, please be aware you need to pay an annual subsistence fee.
Fees and charges are set each financial year by Defra and are published on the Defra website .
Timescales
We aim to issue a permit within four months after receipt of a completed application form and payment of the application fee.
Renewal of permits
Permits do not have an expiry date and run from the date of issue until they are varied, surrendered or revoked. In the event of non compliance with the permit conditions or non payment of the subsistence fee the council may consider revoking the environmental permit.
Inspections
Regular inspections will be undertaken by authorised officers of the environmental protection team to check and ensure full compliance with the permit. These inspections may be undertaken without prior notice.
Appeals and complaints
If you have concerns about how your application is handled, the first point of contact will be the case officer dealing with your application. If you are still not satisfied you can lodge a complaint with their line manager.
Operators have the right of appeal against the conditions attached to their environmental permit. Supplementary notes attached to any issued permit will explain the grounds for appealing and how to appeal.
Other considerations
The following matters are not directly taken into account when considering applications, but you are strongly encouraged to ensure that you have taken account of these issues before applying for a licence (this list is not intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive):
- Will you need, and do you have, planning permission for the use of the site? You are strongly advised to contact planning to have this confirmed in writing before you apply for a permit.
- How will you dispose of waste? Business owners have a legal duty to safely manage, store and dispose of any waste generated as a result of their business. You will need to engage a commercial waste contractor to dispose of any waste generated by your business.
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, require responsible persons of all non domestic premises to undertake and implement a fire safety risk assessment of their premises. For more information on this you can contact the fire service.
Oxfordshire County Council
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- The health and safety of your staff and visitors to your site. You can obtain more information on this from the Health and Safety Executive website
Health and Safety Executive
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Further information
If you want more information on the policy and procedures for how the council issue environmental permits, the Secretary of State has published a -General Guidance Manual on Policy and Procedures for A2 and Part B Installations. This is available from the archive Defra website .
Contact us
If you have any queries you can contact Environmental Health using the contact details on the right hand side.
Last reviewed: 03 - 04 - 2013