Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessments are often required for large or complex schemes. The regulations expect appropriate assessment of cultural heritage including tangible assets from the architectural and archaeological heritage, and also intangible heritage reflecting the historic landscape and artistic or sacred associations within it.
At HHD&C we have extensive experience of undertaking proportionate studies to address the needs of EIA, whether it is for a wind turbine or wind farm, an energy from waste plant, a quarry or residential housing for example. The potential impacts on listed buildings, scheduled monuments, designed landscapes, and conservation areas from development within their setting, are all important elements of establishing the sustainability of a proposed development. Our staged approach includes scoping, baseline surveys, GIS analysis, consultation, assessment of heritage significance and potential impacts, so that the significance of effect from the proposed scheme can be apparent, and the process of assessment fully transparent.
Cultural heritage is just one part of many aspects of the environment that an EIA needs to examine, and there are cross-overs between different disciplines which require joint working, such as with Landscape and Visual Impact and visual modelling, so that both chapters in the Environmental Statement can draw on shared analysis in coming to their conclusions. The EIA should be integrated so that a robust environmental statement is submitted. At HHD&C we are accustomed to working with colleagues across different disciplines in a collaborative approach so that the client achieves the high quality report they require.