Within EIA scoping is a process that is intended to consider the environmental issues that may be relevant to the proposed development and to focus the developer’s assessment on those that are considered likely to lead to significant effects on the environment. Ultimately it is about identifying the scope (coverage) of the developer’s EIA Report (EIAR), which should present the information needed to enable consultees to appreciate the proposal’s environmental risks and opportunities and to allow the PA to progress its examination of the application and environmental information without the need for (or delay generated by) a supplementary information request.
Scoping is a process that is led by the developer, their EIA consultants and environmental topic specialists (‘competent experts’) contracted to deliver the EIAR. However, the developer and their consultants would be foolish to operate alone when the planning authority, EIA consultation bodies and other parties will have a perspective on the environmental risks and opportunities related to the proposal and are also likely to hold useful environmental information that could aid their assessment. As such, it is common practice for the developer’s EIA consultants to undertake pre-application engagement to gather relevant information from wider parties.
The EIA Regulations recognise this good practice and provide a formal process for it in the form of the opportunity for a developer to make a scoping request to a planning authority, who are then required to produce a scoping opinion. Developers are not mandated to make a scoping request with Regulation 17 of the 2017 EIA Regulations making it clear this is voluntary. However, if they do choose to make such a request it must be accompanied by core information about the proposed development, receiving environment and initial information on significant effects [Regulation 17(2)(a to c)].
The formal duties required of a planning authority to produce a scoping opinion are summarised in the section below. Further details are available in the slides and recording at the bottom of this page and via the links to relevant Scottish Government EIA guidance.
Planning officers are required to produce a scoping opinion, if the developer of an EIA development makes a formal scoping request under Regulation 17(1).
The first activity a planning officer should do is confirm that the developer’s request is valid – that it covers the regulatory minimum and is considered ‘sufficient’ to enable them to develop a scoping opinion. In most cases this check will be able to be completed quickly and conclude the request is valid, so the planning officer can move onto the second formal activity in scoping opinions, which involves consulting the consultation bodies and other public bodies considered relevant (see page one of the diagram below).
Beyond the activities above, the key duty of a planning officer at scoping is to develop the planning authority’s own opinion on the scope and level of detail they expect in the developer’s forthcoming EIA Report. The findings of this activity will be written up as the core of the scoping opinion. The scoping opinion will cover environmental topics to be addressed, data/methodological approaches and any responses from the consultation with public bodies (and ideally their full consultation responses appended).
The final activity for planning officers at scoping is communicating the opinion both to the developer and ensuring it is available on the public record and the council’s website. The Regulations expect a planning authority to complete the above activities within 35 days of receipt of a valid request; however, this can be challenging, so that period can be extended by an agreement in writing with the developer.
The following diagram presents the scoping process.
Where the need for a planning authority to produce a scoping opinion is triggered by a developer request, the following diagram will help planning officers to understand the key steps required. The diagram sets out the practical activities that planning officers needs to complete in developing, writing up and communicating their scoping opinion.
Download the Practical steps for planning officers in making a Scoping Opinion diagram
Understanding the thought process from impact to effect to significant effect
To aid planning officer understanding of the scoping process, which ultimately seeks to focus on significant environmental effects, it is useful to understand how EIA competent experts (who produce the developer’s EIA Report) move from impact to effect to significant effect. The following EIA Explainer Article explores the information needed to make initial judgements on significant effects or effects that may need further consideration through the developer’s assessment to understand whether they are likely to be significant or not. The article discusses why an environmental baseline is needed in EIA before going on to discuss the process of identifying impacts, describing effects and (most importantly for EIA) evaluating the significance of those effects..
The EIA scoping course module was initially delivered as a live learning event for planning authorities. The module has been made freely available to all parties and members of the public with an interest in the assessment.
The EIA scoping module delivered in February 2026 consists of the video below with the related slide deck available for download:
- EIA Scoping: Establishing the basis for an effective and efficient EIA (Download the presentation)
Links to further information on scoping – the slides mention the following documents as EIA resources that include sections with further advice on EIA screening:
In addition, work conducted under the Onshore Wind Sector Deal (between the Scottish Government and industry signed in 2023) led to the launch of Scottish Renewables guidelines in September 2025 on Streamlining EIA for Onshore Wind Farms. The guidelines place considerable focus on scoping practices – across developers, consultants, planning authorities and consultation bodies – and how effective action at this early stage is essential for delivery of proportionate EIA Reports.
Note: This document has no formal status; however, it’s development included input from a range of highly experienced professionals working across EIA from organisations including HES, SEPA, NatureScot, the Scottish Government (DPEA) as well as developers, EIA consultants and environmental topic specialists.
The video recording is available for the above mentioned learning event.