Public Registers
You can access the following Public Register information online
The Environment Agency licenses industry, business and individuals to carry out certain activities that have the potential to pollute the environment. When we receive an application for such a licence, we make that application and other relevant information available to the public. We do this before we make the decision of whether to issue the licence, or what conditions we will attach to it.
After any licence is issued, further information is also made available on the Registers. This can typically include monitoring information, details of any breaches of the terms of the licence, any enforcement actions that we have carried out and any applications to vary the terms of the licence.
Any member of the public has the right to access information about how we are carrying out our responsibilities. This right of access provides the opportunity to participate in the decision making process. In the words of the UNECE 'Aarhus' Convention:
"Improved access to information and public participation in decision-making to enhance the quality and the implementation of decisions, contribute to public awareness of environmental issues, give the public opportunity to express its concerns and enable public authorities to take due account of such concerns."
Public registers also cover some of the other aspects of our responsibilities and are useful sources of environmental information.
How can I access the information?
The public registers are held in our local offices. You can inspect the public registers at our offices between the hours of 9:30am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday (except on Bank Holidays). You can use the online search to get the contact details of your local Area office. Just enter your postcode or nearest town.
Before you visit, you should first contact our National Customer Contact Centre (NCCC) and ask to speak to the External Relations Team for the relevant local office. We can then make sure that the information you want is available, let you know of any local arrangements and tell you the locations of any specific registers.
If you do not wish to visit the register, we may be able to provide copies of information for you. However, we may have to charge you (solely to recover costs). This will depend upon the nature of the enquiry. We will warn you in advance of any costs involved.
Before contacting your local office, you can use a postcode, town or company name to search some of the public registers we have made available on-line. This will return names, addresses, and licence numbers that may help you with your enquiry.
