Supplementary information requests for developer’s Environmental Impact Assessment: EIR release

Information requested

In each of the past five years, how many times has the Scottish Government requested supplementary information for a developer’s Environmental Impact Assessment when determining a planning application?

For 2023 and 2024, please provide the Scottish Government’s reasoning for each of its requests of supplementary information for a developer’s Environmental Impact Assessment, when determining a planning application. 

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

We have one application where supplementary information, as defined in The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 was requested by Scottish Government. This information is available at https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/Document.aspx?id=733525 

This response is based on EIA in relation to planning applications, it does not include matters surrounding appeal cases.

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from this website, then please contact me again and I will send you an electronic copy via email.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.