Guidance

Apply for a screening decision

Updated 19 December 2024

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

Check if you need a screening decision to change uncultivated, semi-natural or rural land under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Regulations.  

If you do, you must ask Natural England if your changes will be likely to have a significant impact on the environment. Applying for a screening decision is the first step of a potential 2-step application process.

A screening decision will either:

• allow your work to go ahead
• require you to apply for consent

Before you start

You must read this guidance before starting the application form. It covers everything you need to do to apply.

You must request all consultation responses before you start completing your application form. If you do not provide copies of your consultation responses with your application, your application will be put on hold whilst these are requested from you.

There have been some instances where a consultant has refused to give a response, for a reason other than not enough information has been provided. If this happens, please explain within the application form that you have been refused a consultation and provide a copy of the refusal.

If you’re not sure, you should contact Natural England for advice.

What form to use

Download and use:

• form EIA1 for a project on uncultivated land or within a semi-natural area (SNA)
• form EIA1a for a rural land restructuring project

Prepare your application

Your application must include:

• a description of the project, including what works are taking place and when
• a description of the project’s location — this must include the environmental sensitivity of the area and any designated features likely to be affected by the project such as a national landscape (previously known as an area of outstanding natural beauty), national parks, scheduled ancient monuments or a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
• a description of the features and landscapes likely to be affected by the project, including a biodiversity assessment, historic environment assessment and, where appropriate, a landscape assessment — refer to any consultation responses you requested and include a copy with your application
• any features of the project that will reduce or avoid its impact on the environment
• a detailed map which shows the project location, areas of proposed works, features present within the project area and areas that will be excluded from works

Your application must also include a description of the likely significant environmental effects of the project. Refer to any consultation responses you requested and include a copy with your application.

If you do not provide copies of your consultation responses, your application will be put on hold while we request these from you.

If you have been refused a consultation response, please indicate this on your application form and provide a copy of the refusal.

You should consider:

• population and human health
• biodiversity, especially species and habitats protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017
• land, soil, water, air and climate
• material assets, cultural heritage and the landscape
• the interaction between these factors

Form EIA1 and form EIA1a have more guidance about what you need to include. You can also contact Natural England for advice.

You can use an agent or consultant to do the assessments and prepare the application on your behalf. If you use an agent you will need to complete and send an agent authorisation form.

Biodiversity assessment

Thinking about your land and the surrounding areas, assess and summarise the effects of the project on the biodiversity of your site. You must include:

• whether land that includes at least one of the habitats or species of principal importance in England is on or near the project area
• what Local Wildlife Sites (LWS) are on or near the project area
• what European protected plant and animal species are on or near the project area
• what species protected under UK law Wildlife and Countryside Act Schedule 1, 5 and 8 are on or near the project area
• if the site is in a protected area, such as an SSSI, Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protected Area (SPA)
• what protected areas are next to or near the site
• the significance of the biodiversity in the area or locality
• your project’s effect on habitats and any protected species
• how you will reduce or avoid any negative effect of the project on biodiversity

To help you assess biodiversity, you can:

• find national biodiversity data and protected areas on the MAGIC website
• get local data on habitats, species and protected areas by consulting your Local Environmental Records Centre (LERC)
• get detailed data about additional biodiversity interests by consulting The Wildlife Trusts, if the LERC consultation response identifies that your project is in or adjacent to a LWS

Use the appropriate consultation response template to consult with your LERC or The Wildlife Trusts.

In some circumstances, the MAGIC website or consultation responses may not identify all biodiversity assets. This could be because the land has not been surveyed before or management of the land has increased the biodiversity of the site.

If you are aware of any biodiversity features that have not been identified, you should:

• tell Natural England in your screening decision application
• consider whether you need further assessment, and if so, take any necessary steps to gain additional information, for example, a biodiversity survey, to understand the potential impact of the project

A biodiversity survey can help Natural England to determine a screening decision by providing the most up to date information about a project site, when this information is not available from other sources.

If you submit a screening application that does not include enough information for Natural England to assess the impacts on biodiversity, your application may be put on hold while we request more information from you. This could include Natural England asking you to commission your own biodiversity survey.

If you do commission a biodiversity survey, it is important to consider the time of year and its appropriateness to the species or habitat being surveyed. For example:

• one survey between May and September to survey grasslands
• 4 to 6 site visits between late March and early July with timing appropriate to species (diunal and nocturnal) for breeding birds
• 3 surveys between mid-September to mid-November for fungi

These timings are a broad guide. The optimum period for surveys varies depending on the habitat type or species under consideration and appropriate weather conditions. You should seek advice from an ecologist about the actual times to undertake a survey.

If you have any specific questions about biodiversity surveys, contact Natural England.

Historic environment and archaeology assessment

Assess and summarise the effects of the project on any areas of historic or archaeological interest on your site.

You must include:

• any designated historic environment features or archaeology within or near the project area such as scheduled ancient monuments, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, and World Heritage Sites
• any other historic environment features or archaeology within or near the project area
• the significance of the historic environment or archaeology
• the project’s effect on the historic environment or archaeology
• how you will reduce or avoid the effect of the project on the historic environment or archaeology

You can get certain national historic environment and archaeology information on the Magic website. It will not cover all local heritage or archaeological assets.

You must therefore request a consultation response from:

• your local authority archaeological adviser for heritage or archaeological assets
• the National Park Authority, National Landscapes Association or the Broads Authority if the project is in one of those areas
• Historic England if there is a scheduled ancient monument, registered park and garden, listed building, World Heritage Site or registered battlefield on or within 500m of the project land

If your consultation response from the local authority archaeological adviser identifies non-designated historic parks and gardens, you may be advised to request an additional consultation response from The Garden Trust. Use the appropriate form to request a consultation response and include a copy of the response with your application. If you have been refused a consultation response, please indicate this on your application form and provide a copy of the refusal.

Landscape assessment

Assess and summarise the effects of the project on landscape.

You’ll need to take the following actions, some of which may, depending on the location of your project, require you to make a consultation with an appropriate body or organisation to complete.

First, you’ll need to establish whether the project area is within or adjacent to a protected landscape. Use the Magic website and refer to the consultation response from the LERC.

If the project area is not within or adjacent to a national park, national landscape or the Broads, identify the project area’s landscape character, using information from the National Character Area (NCA) profiles and the local landscape assessment (available from the local authority website).

If the project area is within or adjacent to a protected landscape:

• identify the special qualities and landscape character for the protected landscape, using information from the protected landscape management plan (including the protected landscape assessment) in addition to the NCA profiles (this will require a consultation as set out below)
• identify whether any of the special qualities and landscape character of the protected landscape are within the project area, using information from the protected landscape management plan (including the protected landscape assessment) in addition to the NCA profiles (this will require a consultation as set out below)

For all landscape assessments, regardless of project area proximity to a protected landscape:

• identify the potential effects of the project on the key landscape features, and if the project area is within or adjacent to a protected landscape, its special qualities, taking account of any consultation responses you have requested
• include a 1:25,000 scale map of the area (including public footpaths and publicly accessible land) of where the project area is potentially visible from.
• consider and explain how you will reduce or avoid the effects of the project on the landscape character, amenity and views, taking account of any consultation responses you have requested

You can get landscape advice and information from your local council. Local Landscape Character Assessments are free and available on local authority websites.

You will need to request a consultation response for projects within a protected landscape. Consult either the:

• National Parks Authority
• National Landscapes Association
• The Broads

You will also need to request a consultation response for open access and common land. Consult:

• the Open Spaces Society if the project is on open access or common land
• the Foundation for Common Land if the project is on common land

If the project area is within common land, check whether you need section 38 common consent.

Use the appropriate form to request a consultation response and include a copy of the response with your application.

Submit your application for a screening decision

Send your completed application and supporting documents to Natural England.

Supporting documents include:

• copies of consultation responses you requested for archaeological and heritage, biodiversity, or landscape, common land and access features within or near your project area; this includes null responses or where a response has been refused
• a map of the project area
• an agent authorisation form if you use an agent or consultant
• farm records to show evidence of cultivation activity, if you are applying for projects on uncultivated land or semi-natural areas (form EIA1)

Natural England will reject your request for a screening decision if you do not provide the information in the ‘Prepare your application’ section of this guidance. This is a legal requirement of your application.

Natural England may request further information or consultation from you if your application does not have enough information about the project to make a screening decision. This may include but is not limited to:

• a request for clarification or further details about specific aspects of the project
• copies of consultation responses if you did not provide these when you made your screening decision application
• specific surveys from you to confirm the status of any biodiversity assets present on your land, if this information was not identified in your LERC consultation

Natural England may:

• inspect your land to assess your application
• get in touch to check the information directly with you or your agent if you use one

Result of a screening decision

Natural England will decide whether your proposal is likely to have a significant effect on the environment. We will try to reach a decision within 35 days from receipt of a valid application.

If there is insufficient information to determine whether a project will have a significant effect on the environment, Natural England may seek more information from you, as set out in previous sections of this guidance.

In such cases, we will try to reach a decision within 35 days from receipt of the additional information requested. It may take longer for Natural England to determine a screening application. Natural England will write to you if this is the case.

The screening decision will either:

• tell you that you can carry out the work that you proposed
• move you to the second step of the application process to apply for a consent decision to carry out the work, as it’s likely to have an environmentally significant effect on the land

The screening decision is valid for 3 years from the decision date.

You will have to re-assess whether the project requires a screening decision if you do not begin work within 3 years.

You may need to reapply for a screening decision, even if the original decision was that the land did not need one.

Before you start work

Before you start work, you must:

• get any other required permissions and changes to land management agreements approved
• make sure your proposal follows the requirements of your other agri-environment scheme agreements, such as Countryside Stewardship, or Sustainable Farming Incentive
• get required permissions from other agencies, such as the Environment Agency if you propose spraying a herbicide within 1m of a watercourse or the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State if your works restrict public access on a common (such as putting up a new fence)

Appeal against a screening decision

If you want to appeal against a screening decision, you must do so in writing within 3 months of Natural England’s decision and:

• describe the decision
• state the grounds of appeal

Details of the appeals procedure will be in the screening decision letter.

Send your appeal to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by email: eia-appeals@defra.gov.uk.

You can also send your appeal by post:

Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) Appeals Team 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Second floor, Seacole Building

2 Marsham Street

SW1P 4DF

Contact Natural England 

For more advice contact: 

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Agriculture) Unit 
Natural England
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH  

Email eia.england@naturalengland.org.uk
Freephone 0800 028 2140