Environmental Law & Planning: Critical Analysis of a Planning Enquiry

(United Kingdom) Environmental Law & Planning: Critical Analysis of a Planning Enquiry (Trump International Gold Links Case). Question: In the last thirty years or so, environmental assessment has emerged as one of the key environmental law mechanisms. The essence of environmental assessment is that information about likely environmental impacts of things such as development projects, and now also plans and programmes, is properly considered before potentially harmful decisions are made. In this sense, it is a preventative tool. But, above all, it is a procedural technique, which means that damaging development can, in theory, still proceed. (Stuart Bell, Donald McGillivray and Ole Pedersen, Environmental Law (8th edn, OUP 2013) 452) Critically discuss the EIA conducted for the Trump International Golf Links in light of this statement. To what extent, and how, does the Trump International Golf Links EIA illustrate (a) the advantages of EIA as a decision making tool for projects with potentially damaging environmental impacts and (b) the disadvantages? Requirements/Guidelines: – Please focus on EIA’s in the UK and how they’ve changed over the years. Additionally, tying into how these changes have effected cases like Trump Case. – No specific structure other than the basic: Introduction, body paragraphs (argument & analysis), and conclusion. – Please ensure that the essay is written as a critical analysis, and not a descriptive essay. Also important to make sure to discuss criticism and analysis of Trump Case, in line with the essay question and quotation at the beginning, ** Attached documents are lecture notes regarding EIA (beginning with ‘Introduction to EIA’; ‘History of EIA’; ‘European Requirement of EIA’; and ‘Application of EIA’)