Cornwall Environmental Consultants Limited
Environmental Impact Assessment
Under EC legislation certain development projects which potentially have a significant impact on the environment require an EIA. The range of projects for which an EIA is necessary has expanded since the implementation of the amending EC Directive (97/11/EEC) in 1999.
Cornwall Environmental Consultants Ltd undertakes:
- EIA scoping studies.
- Full ecological impact assessment.
- Design of ecological impact mitigation measures.
- Landscape and visual impact assessment.
- Landscape and visual impact mitigation measures.
Example projects:
- Project: construction of a high-pressure gas pipeline from
Maudlin to Indian Queens in east Cornwall.
Client: Mouchel Consulting Ltd, consultants to Transco
Ecological assessment of a prepared high pressure gas pipeline providing the main ecological input for the Environment Statement. Baseline ecological conditions assessed by an initial desk study and an extended Phase I habitat survey which included habitat assessment for badgers, otters, dormice, water voles, bats, reptiles and amphibians, birds and invertebrates. Impacts of the proposed project on habitats and species of conservation importance were assessed and mitigation measures designed with the aim of removing, reducing or compensating for these impacts.
- Project: A30 Bodmin to Indian Queens road improvements
Client: RPS Consultants, consultants to the Highways Agency
Ecological input to the selection of a preferred route. This included Phase 1 habitat surveys of potential scheme options and species surveys of breeding bird, bat, otter, water vole, butterfly and herpetofauna. The aims of these surveys were to provide descriptions of the habitats and species along the proposed routes and to assess their conservation importance. RPS Consultants advised the Highways Agency on the potential impacts and mitigation of the alternative options and the route with least impact on designated nature conservation resources was recommended.
- Project: Truro to Devoran electricity line
Client: Western Power Distribution
Ecological, landscape and visual assessment of the proposed route for the installation of a 33kV electricity line in mid-Cornwall. The ecological assessment comprised a desk study and an extended Phase I habitat survey of the route, which included a botanical and faunal survey. Potential impacts of the line on habitats and species were assessed and recommendations for mitigation provided. The landscape and visual assessment comprised a desk study and visual assessment to determine the degree of visual impact created by the line. The landscape context, character and quality within which the route is located was evaluated and the magnitude of the impact of the line and the sensitivity of the receptors described.
- Project: energy from waste plant, mid-Cornwall
Client: Ecoscope Applied Ecologists, consultants to Cornwall Environmental Services (CES)
Extended habitat and species surveys of sites proposed for the location of an energy from waste plant. Sensitive habitats situated within a two-kilometre radius of each proposed site were also surveyed. The data from these surveys provided the ecological baseline for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
