Nameless You'd imagine that once the ownership is sorted this will be dealt with pretty quickly. It can't be a complex EIA, the new use wouldn't be much different to the existing one so you'd think it would be more about how any landscape work is done to avoid disturbing habitat or water supplies.
The club have been told they need to submit an Annex 2 EIA which is less complex than an Annex 1 EIA but still needs to deal with the following 7 matters -
Description of the project Description of actual project and site description
Break the project down into its key components, i.e. construction, operations, decommissioning
For each component list all of the sources of environmental disturbance
For each component all the inputs and outputs must be listed, e.g., air pollution, noise, hydrology
Alternatives that have been considered Examine alternatives that have been considered
Example: in a biomass power station, will the fuel be sourced locally or nationally?
Description of the environment List of all aspects of the environment that may be affected by the development
Example: populations, fauna, flora, air, soil, water, humans, landscape, cultural heritage
This section is best carried out with the help of local experts, e.g. the RSPB in the UK
Description of the significant effects on the environment The word significant is crucial here as the definition can vary
'Significant' must be defined
The most frequent method used here is use of the Leopold matrix
The matrix is a tool used in the systematic examination of potential interactions
Example: in a windfarm development a significant impact may be collisions with birds
Mitigation This is where EIA is most useful
Once section 4 is complete, it is obvious where impacts are greatest
Using this information ways to avoid negative impacts should be developed
Best working with the developer with this section as they know the project best
Using the windfarm example again construction could be out of bird nesting seasons
Non-technical summary (EIS) The EIA is in the public domain and be used in the decision making process
It is important that the information is available to the public
This section is a summary that does not include jargon or complicated diagrams
It should be understood by the informed lay-person
Lack of know-how/technical difficulties This section is to advise any areas of weakness in knowledge
It can be used to focus areas of future research
Some developers see the EIA as a starting block for poor environmental management