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What is a significant effect?
12. The initial task for planning authorities is to establish whether a plan will have a significant effect on a European site or sites. Determining what is a significant effect should not be a lengthy process. As a guide, any element of a plan which has the potential to affect the interests of the site should initially be considered significant and an appropriate assessment undertaken. This position is based on a ECJ case in 2004 (C-127/02, Waddenzee, Netherlands). See footnote.
13. Where there is a possible link to a European site but no significant effect is considered likely and an appropriate assessment is judged not to be required, it is recommended that a record of this decision and the reasoning behind it is made, in case of challenge. It is useful to use the terminology of the first part of Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive to show the correct test has been applied.
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