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The Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC) (SEA Directive) has been a lurking legal presence in EU and UK environmental law. Now, just over a decade since its implementation, the impacts of the SEA Directive are beginning to be felt throughout the UK, and more broadly throughout the European Union as a whole. These developments have been driven both by the expansive interpretation of the Directive''s scope by the Court of Justice of the European Union and by a slow learning process about how this new type of regulation should be legally interpreted and applied. This edited collection is the first volume to reflect comprehensively on the emerging legal identity of SEA in the EU and UK. With contributions addressing the impact of the SEA Directive on the fields of town and country planning and European environmental law, the book is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the Directive, from its history and scope, to its impact on governmental policy and its implications in practice. The volume both reflects on key cases such as Case C-567/10 Inter-Environnement Bruxelles and HS2 , and looks forward, as it considers and projects future legal implications of the SEA Directive. Written by a blend of distinguished academics and leading practitioners, it provides an in-depth critique and rounded appreciation of both the immediate practical effects of SEA and its wider impact on European and UK environmental law.>
About the author
Gregory Jones KC is a member of Francis Taylor Building. His practice covers all aspects of town & country planning (including major house building), motor sports and other sports development, major infra-structure projects (DCO consents), compulsory purchase, environmental, climate change, parliamentary, EU law and public procurement, as well as administrative law, including judicial review and statutory challenges, education, and local government, where he has appeared in some of the leading cases in these fields.
Gregory is a LA(RTPI), FRGS and Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying, and also practises in Northern Ireland and Ireland. He is a member of the Panel of KCs approved to act for Welsh Government and also separately appointed to the Panel of KCs approved to act for the Northern Ireland Government. Having worked at the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union, Gregory is an acknowledged expert in EU-derived law, especially in respect of the EIA, SEA, Water, Waste and Habitats Regulations. Gregory maintains rights of audience before the EU courts.
Gregory is consistently ranked as leading silk in planning and environmental law both in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, and is a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn and Inner Temple. He was appointed by the Irish Government to chair the 2015/16 expert review of An Bord Pleanála (Ireland’s national independent planning body). He is an elected Alderman of the City of London and served as Sheriff (2024/25), and is Chancellor of the Diocese of Manchester.
Gregory is the editor and contributor of several books published by Hart and Bloomsbury Professional.
Dr Eloise Scotford is Senior Lecturer in Law at The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. Dr Scotford actively researches in the areas of comparative environmental law, climate change law and governance, waste regulation, air quality control, and the intersection between environmental problems and broader legal frameworks. Dr Scotford is an Associate Member of Landmark Chambers, a visiting lecturer in environmental law at Bocconi University in Milan, a member of the Avosetta Group of EU environmental law experts, and Analysis Editor of the Journal of Environmental Law.
Summary
The Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC) (SEA Directive) has been a lurking legal presence in EU and UK environmental law. Now, just over a decade since its implementation, the impacts of the SEA Directive are beginning to be felt throughout the UK, and more broadly throughout the European Union as a whole. These developments have been driven both by the expansive interpretation of the Directive’s scope by the Court of Justice of the European Union and by a slow learning process about how this new type of regulation should be legally interpreted and applied. This edited collection is the first volume to reflect comprehensively on the emerging legal identity of SEA in the EU and UK. With contributions addressing the impact of the SEA Directive on the fields of town and country planning and European environmental law, the book is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the Directive, from its history and scope, to its impact on governmental policy and its implications in practice. The volume both reflects on key cases such as Case C-567/10 Inter-Environnement Bruxelles and HS2, and looks forward, as it considers and projects future legal implications of the SEA Directive. Written by a blend of distinguished academics and leading practitioners, it provides an in-depth critique and rounded appreciation of both the immediate practical effects of SEA and its wider impact on European and UK environmental law.
