Regulation 77 - conservation of habitats and species regulations

Regulation 75 of the conservation of habitats and species regulations 2017 (opens new window) places a condition on any permission granted by the General Permitted Development Order (GDPO). This may be any granted permission that is likely to have a significant effect on a European Site (such as the Arun Valley).

No development granted under the GPDO cannot lawfully proceed under regulation 77, if:

• The development granted will consume water (other than that granted under Part 1 and 2 of Schedule 2).

This includes all development that has received prior approval consent under the GPDO but has not been completed.

What you must submit

You must submit enough information for an assessment to take place. This should include a full water neutrality strategy for developments that will take water for the Arun Valley European site.

If a strategy proposes mitigation to ensure water neutrality, this will need to be secured within a legal agreement. The regulations do not otherwise allow for conditional approval.

There is no statutory application form to be completed. But there is a requirement in the regulations to pay £30 at the time of application.

Chichester District Council will then inform Natural England of the application. Natural England will be given a period of time to make comments. Chichester District Council will take any comments into account. If a development does not adversely affect a site, then it may be approved.

Submit a Regulation 77 application

To submit a Regulation 77 application, email dcplanning@chichester.gov.uk. In the email you must include the following documents:

• Details of the development to be carried out. Please include a scaled location plan and floor plans as a minimum. Also include where relevant the proposed water neutrality strategy.
• Include a response from the nature conservation body (Natural England), if you have one.
• Confirmation of payment of the £30 fee. Please pay for your Regulation 77 application online.

After you apply

For an order to be granted under regulation 77, the submitted water neutrality statement must be assessed. This means it will need to go through Appropriate Assessment.

In determining a regulation 77 application, the Habitat Regulations do not provide a means for applying conditions to secure the implementation of a water neutrality strategy.

The implementation of a strategy will be key. This should provide the necessary certainty that the development will be water neutral. we will require:

• a unilateral undertaking to commit the relevant parties to implementing the strategy,
• retaining it in perpetuity,
• appropriate monitoring and maintenance, and
• providing us with the evidence of its full implementation.