Consultation on modernising environmental permitting for industry

The Corry Review highlighted that the complexity of environmental legislation and associated guidance makes it challenging for customers to know what standards they are expected to meet and recommended that Defra should rapidly review and rewrite its existing catalogue of compliance guidance to ensure it is fit for purpose, removing any duplication, ambiguity and inconsistency.  

This assessment is accurate for the industrial emissions elements of the EPRs, which are overcomplex in places due to their piecemeal development through multiple EU directives and domestic amendments. Simplification is required to make them easier to navigate for industry and the public.  

Defra’s existing suite of guidance is also quite old and we are aware of examples of outdated guidance which have impacted permitting timelines. We will update this guidance as part of improvements to the whole permitting framework for industry. We will also make other technical changes to simplify, streamline, and remove duplicative regulation. This will improve transparency and trust in the framework and support better engagement with the regulations and guidance.