The Queen, on the application of: Diane Barker v London Borough of Bromley.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 62003CJ0290
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2006:286
• Docket Number: C-290/03
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling
• Date: 04 May 2006

Case C-290/03

The Queen, on the application of Diane Barker

v

London Borough of Bromley

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the House of Lords)

(Directive 85/337/EEC – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Crystal Palace development project – Projects falling within Annex II to Directive 85/337 – Grant of consent comprising more than one stage)

Summary of the Judgment

1. Environment – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Directive 85/337

(Council Directive 85/337, Art. 1(2))

2. Environment – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Directive 85/337

(Council Directive 85/337, Arts 1(2), 2(1), and 4(2))

1. Article 1(2) of Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment defines ‘development consent’ for the purposes of the directive as the decision of the competent authority or authorities which entitles the developer to proceed with the project.

That term, which is a Community concept, refers to the decision which allows the developer to commence the works for carrying out his project.

(see paras 39-41, 45, operative part 1)

2. According to Article 2(1) of Directive 85/337 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment, as referred to in Article 4 of the directive read in conjunction with Annexes I and II thereto, must be made subject to an assessment with regard to their effects before development consent is given.

Where national law provides for a consent procedure comprising more than one stage, one involving a principal decision and the other involving an implementing decision which cannot extend beyond the parameters set by the principal decision, the effects which a project may have on the environment must, as a rule, be identified and assessed at the time of the procedure relating to the principal decision. If those effects are not, however, identifiable until the time of the procedure relating to the implementing decision, the assessment is to be carried out in the course of that procedure.

It follows that Articles 2(1) and 4(2) of Directive 85/337, which impose the obligation on the Member States to carry out environmental impact assessments, are to be interpreted as requiring such an assessment to be carried out if, in the case of grant of consent comprising more than one stage, it becomes apparent, in the course of the second stage, that the project is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue inter alia of its nature, size or location.

(see paras 43, 47, 49, operative part 2)

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (First Chamber)

4 May 2006 (*)

(Directive 85/337/EEC – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Crystal Palace development project – Projects falling within Annex II to Directive 85/337 – Grant of consent comprising more than one stage)

In Case C-290/03,

REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the House of Lords (United Kingdom), made by order of 30 June 2003, received at the Court on 3 July 2003, in the proceedings

The Queen, on the application of:

Diane Barker,

v

London Borough of Bromley,

intervener:

First Secretary of State,

THE COURT (First Chamber),

composed of P. Jann (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, K. Schiemann, N. Colneric, E. Juhász and E. Levits, Judges,

Advocate General: P. Léger,

Registrar: L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 22 June 2005,

after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

– Ms Barker, by R. McCracken QC and G. Jones and J. Pereira, Barristers, instructed by R.M. Buxton, Solicitor,

– the London Borough of Bromley, by T. Straker QC and J. Strachan, Barrister, instructed by Sharpe Pritchard, Solicitors,

– the United Kingdom Government, by K. Manji, acting as Agent, D. Elvin QC and J. Maurici, Barrister,

– the French Government, by G. de Bergues and D. Petrausch, acting as Agents,

– the Commission of the European Communities, by F. Simonetti and X. Lewis, acting as Agents,

having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,

gives the following

Judgment

1 This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Articles 1(2), 2(1) and 4(2) of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ 1985 L 175, p. 40).

2 The reference was made in the course of proceedings between Ms Barker and the London Borough of Bromley (‘Bromley LBC’), the competent planning authority, concerning the grant of planning permission to develop a leisure complex in Crystal Palace Park, London, without an environmental impact assessment having been carried out.

Legal context

Community legislation

3 According to the fifth recital in the preamble thereto, Directive 85/337 is intended to establish general principles for the assessment of environmental effects with a view to supplementing and coordinating development consent procedures governing public and private projects which are likely to have an effect on the environment.

4 For this purpose, Article 1(2) of Directive 85/337 defines ‘development consent’ as ‘the decision of the competent authority or authorities which entitles the developer to proceed with the project’.

5 Article 2(1) of the directive states:

‘Member States shall adopt all measures necessary to ensure that, before consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue inter alia of their nature, size or location are made subject to an assessment with regard to their effects.

These projects are defined in Article 4.’

6 Article 4 of the directive provides:

‘1. Subject to Article 2(3), projects of the classes listed in Annex I shall be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10.

2. Projects of the classes listed in Annex II shall be made subject to an assessment, in accordance with Articles 5 to 10, where Member States consider that their characteristics so require.

To this end Member States may inter alia specify certain types of projects as being subject to an assessment or may establish the criteria and/or thresholds necessary to determine which of the projects of the classes listed in...