Environmental Permitting is a system for regulating business activities that may have an impact on the environment including industrial installations and waste management sites.
We are responsible for issuing permits for certain listed activities that operate in the borough as part of the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) regime. These are divided into 3 categories:
- PArt A(1): Large, potentially high polluting activities. These are regulated by the Environment Agency and enquiries about these should be directed to them.
- Part A(2): Medium scale act activities. They are regulated by Local Councils for various aspects of the operations including emissions to land, water and air, energy and raw materials usage, waste minimisation, accident prevention and noise emissions.
- Part B: Smaller and less energy intensive activities. Again regulated by Local Councils but the scope is restricted to emissions to air.
There are currently no Part A(2) activities in Wigan however there are around 90 Part B activities covering a wide range of industry including vehicle resprayers, timber manufacturers and cement batching plant.
Information on all these activities is recorded on a public register held at the address below. This is free for inspection by appointment or a copy can be emailed upon request.
You must have an environmental permit if you operate a regulated activity in England and Wales. Each permit will set out detailed conditions aimed at preventing and controlling pollution.
Applications for a permit must be made on an approved form and must include specified information which will vary depending on the activity. A fee is payable for the application and an annual subsistence charge will also apply.
There is an appeal procedure if you are refused an environmental permit, you object to the conditions imposed or any enforcement action taken by us.
Members of the public can comment on applications and their views are taken into account along with those of statutory consultees when deciding whether or not to issue a permit.
Once a permit is issued we will carry out inspections once or twice a year depending on the risk associated with the activity. We will also investigate all complaints received about permitted sites to ensure conditions are being met.
For further information please contact us and we will work with you to ensure that your business is compliant. You can also visit the following sites for more detailed information:
Environment Agency - Home (External Link)
NetRegs - Environmental Permits (External Link)
defra - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (External Link)
