News

New RYA Planning and Environment Handbook for clubs

The RYA Planning and Environmental Handbook has just been produced to help RYA affiliated clubs and recognised training centres in running their facilities and when they embark on a building or development project of any sort. Clubs and training centres are the backbone of the RYA providing facilities for their members and in so doing they enable young and old to get on the water. Clubs and training centres rely on their water side facilities to operate. Operating in these environments can be tough in terms of negotiating the planning and environmental permissions and consents required for both development of the facilities and the operational aspects. Every development proposal and facility is unique; each agency does things differently, each authority has its own particular policy approach to issues. In other words, this Handbook is the starting not the finishing point and should be used for guidance only.

Structure of the Handbook

The Handbook is divided into two main Sections. The first focuses on facilities development and sets out what permissions and consents you are likely to require when developing facilities and gives advice on how to go about applying for them. Planning permission is likely to be needed in most – but certainly not all – cases. So the Handbook starts with planning permission and then goes on to other consents that may also be required. The guide also provides information about preparing and applying for the various consents. The second section of the Handbook looks at facility operation in terms of environmental management. It identifies the legal duties a facility has and provides suggestions for achieving legal compliance as well as providing good practice where important cost savings can also be made.

» Read more about the handbook

» Section 01 - Facilities Development

» Section02 - Environmental Management