Part B Activities

This regime is known as Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC). Premises permitted under this regime are known as Part B installations and the processes that they carry out are permitted Part B activities.

Permitted activities

Permitted activities are those industrial technologies that have a potential to cause pollution and a list can be found in ‘Schedule 1, Part 2 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.’ Other activities, such as those that use and emit solvents or operate waste incineration plant, may be subject to the requirements of other schedules of the Regulations.

Part B activities have less pollution potential than Part A1 and A2 activities. They include such processes as vehicle respraying, furniture manufacture, unloading of petrol at petrol stations and dry cleaning establishments.

The Local Authority Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC) system deals only with emissions to air. Part B activities are regulated by local authorities who will inspect the installation to ensure that it is complying with the conditions of the environmental permit.

Anyone operating an activity that falls into the Part B category described above must submit an application, with the appropriate fee, to us. We must then determine the permit in accordance with government guidance. If you wish to find out which activities require a permit, these can be found in Schedule 1, Part 2 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and Schedules 13, 14 and 18 which transpose the requirements of the Industrial Emissions Directive into UK law.

The costs incurred in obtaining and retaining an environmental permit are not straightforward. If you would like further information regarding fees and charges please contact Environmental Safety and Health.

LAPPC (Part B) Fees

LA-IPPC (Part A2) Fees

These change according to, for example, legislative changes and inflation. There are charges for:

applications for permits
retaining a permit (these are called subsistence fees)
making major changes to the facility (these are called substantial changes).

Only a person who has control over the operation of a regulated facility may obtain or hold an Environmental Permit. This person is the “operator”. A permit application may be made by an agent on behalf of the operator.

Certain industrial activities qualify for Simplified Permits and hence pay a reduced fee. The activities include some of those which fall under the following headings :

Bulk use of cement,
Manufacture of heavy clay goods and refractory goods,
Coal coke and petroleum coal activities,
Exfoliation of vermiculite and expansion of perlite
Quarry processes, road stone coating processes,
Mobile crushing and screening,
China and ball clay processes,
Mineral drying and cooling and
Manufacture of timber and wood based products.

If you are intending to operate one of these activities it is recommended that you contact Environmental Protection to discuss the matter before submitting an application.

Applications forms for A2 processes are available from the Environmental Safety and Health team. Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with us prior to submitting an application.

Please note that for Dry Cleaning Establishments, Petrol Stations, or Vehicle Respraying use the forms that are available on the specific webpages.

Application Evaluation Process

Pre- application discussions between operators and regulators can help in improving the quality of the formal permit application and are therefore encouraged.

The permit application must be made on the form provided, it must include all the information required by the form and it must be accompanied by the relevant fee.

If the application is correctly made & includes the relevant fee it will be “duly made” which means it has been accepted by us.

The permit application will not be duly made if for instance;

It has not been submitted on the correct form,
It does not adequately address a key point in the application,
The relevant fee does not accompany the permit application.

We aim to decide whether an application has been duly made within 10 working days of receipt.

How long will my application take to process?

We aim to determine an application for Part B installations except dry cleaners within 4 months of the application being duly made.

This time period of 4 months does not include any time taken for the request for additional information.

The time frame for dry cleaners and small waste oil burners is 3 months. We will confirm that we have received your application. Please contact us if you have any queries using the details below.

Can I start to operate a permitted process without a permit being issued? (i.e. will tacit consent apply)

No. It is illegal to operate a permitted process without a permit being issued.

No new installation or substantial change to an existing installation may be operated without a permit or variation. It is an offence under EP regulation 38(1)(a) to operate a regulated facility without a permit and to the extent authorised by that permit.

In the event that new categories of activity are subsequently added by future amendments to the EP Regulations, those amendment Regulations will include deadlines by which applications must be made for new and existing installations.

The charging scheme for fees specifies a higher than normal fee for applications made where an operator has been operating a listed activity unlawfully without a permit.

Your Right of Appeal

Any person aggrieved by a refusal to be granted a permit or by any condition to which a permit is subject may appeal to the Planning Inspectorate who may give such directions regarding the permit or its conditions as it thinks proper.

Making a complaint

If you feel we have failed to provide you with good service or are concerned about the progress of your application, please contact us and we will endeavour to resolve any concerns you may have. We also have a formal complaints procedure.