13.01 · Practice Domain

The Environment and Planning Act & Regulation of the Physical Environment

When the application of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act and the associated regulatory system governing activities in the physical environment is decisive for a project, location or legal position, the legal framework must be incorporated at an early stage of decision-making. You receive an environmental and planning-law approach focused on the regulatory framework, permissions, interests, evidence and legal certainty as to the rules, powers and decisions governing an activity or site.

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Legal-strategic perspective

The Environment and Planning Act & Regulation of the Physical Environment focuses on the application of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act and the associated regulatory system governing activities in the physical environment. The legislation concerned is specifically the Netherlands' Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet), rather than the environmental law of another jurisdiction. Decision-making under environmental and planning law rarely follows from one rule or one permit alone; location, planning scope, studies, public interests, the ownership position and implementation conditions are continually interconnected. The system and instruments of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act, Environmental vision (omgevingsvisie) and Programmes under the Environment and Planning Act are therefore considered from the outset within the applicable framework of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act and related legislation. Van Leeuwen Law Firm identifies which permissions and studies are necessary, which administrative bodies have authority and where decisions may be legally vulnerable.

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10 key subthemes

These ten themes are the substantive anchors for legal analysis, governance, decision-making, execution and assurance.

  1. 01The system and instruments of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act
  2. 02Environmental vision (omgevingsvisie)
  3. 03Programmes under the Environment and Planning Act
  4. 04Environmental plan (omgevingsplan)
  5. 05National rules applicable to activities
  6. 06Competent authority and allocation of powers
  7. 07Public participation and decision-making
  8. 08Statutory duties of care
  9. 09Digital publication and the DSO environment portal
  10. 10Transitional law and existing rights
Strategic depth

From substantive anchors to governable choices

The four blocks below connect the ten page-specific subthemes with materiality, decision-making, governance, execution and the evidential position your organisation may later need to defend.

01

The statutory system, vision and programmes

The system and instruments of the Dutch Environment and Planning ActEnvironmental vision (omgevingsvisie)Programmes under the Environment and Planning Act

Within The Environment and Planning Act & Regulation of the Physical Environment, The system and instruments of the Dutch Environment and Planning Act, Environmental vision (omgevingsvisie) and Programmes under the Environment and Planning Act are interconnected with the legal framework governing the physical environment and the decision-making that enables, limits or prevents an initiative. Van Leeuwen Law Firm assesses the applicable regulatory framework, the necessary studies and permissions, the position of interested parties, the quality of the reasons given and the interaction between public-law and private-law instruments. Procedural stages are identified at an early point, so that participation, representations, objections, appeals, enforcement proceedings or applications for interim relief do not arise only once opportunities for decision-making have been lost. The approach aims at legally sustainable development or, where necessary, effective protection against a decision or enforcement measure.

02

The environmental plan, national rules and competent authority

Environmental plan (omgevingsplan)National rules applicable to activitiesCompetent authority and allocation of powers

Within The Environment and Planning Act & Regulation of the Physical Environment, Environmental plan (omgevingsplan), National rules applicable to activities and Competent authority and allocation of powers are interconnected with the legal framework governing the physical environment and the decision-making that enables, limits or prevents an initiative. Van Leeuwen Law Firm assesses the applicable regulatory framework, the necessary studies and permissions, the position of interested parties, the quality of the reasons given and the interaction between public-law and private-law instruments. Procedural stages are identified at an early point, so that participation, representations, objections, appeals, enforcement proceedings or applications for interim relief do not arise only once opportunities for decision-making have been lost. The approach aims at legally sustainable development or, where necessary, effective protection against a decision or enforcement measure.

03

Participation and duties of care

Public participation and decision-makingStatutory duties of care

Within The Environment and Planning Act & Regulation of the Physical Environment, Public participation and decision-making and Statutory duties of care are interconnected with the legal framework governing the physical environment and the decision-making that enables, limits or prevents an initiative. Van Leeuwen Law Firm assesses the applicable regulatory framework, the necessary studies and permissions, the position of interested parties, the quality of the reasons given and the interaction between public-law and private-law instruments. Procedural stages are identified at an early point, so that participation, representations, objections, appeals, enforcement proceedings or applications for interim relief do not arise only once opportunities for decision-making have been lost. The approach aims at legally sustainable development or, where necessary, effective protection against a decision or enforcement measure.

04

DSO, transitional law and legal certainty

Digital publication and the DSO environment portalTransitional law and existing rights

Within The Environment and Planning Act & Regulation of the Physical Environment, Digital publication and the DSO environment portal and Transitional law and existing rights are interconnected with the legal framework governing the physical environment and the decision-making that enables, limits or prevents an initiative. Van Leeuwen Law Firm assesses the applicable regulatory framework, the necessary studies and permissions, the position of interested parties, the quality of the reasons given and the interaction between public-law and private-law instruments. Procedural stages are identified at an early point, so that participation, representations, objections, appeals, enforcement proceedings or applications for interim relief do not arise only once opportunities for decision-making have been lost. The approach aims at legally sustainable development or, where necessary, effective protection against a decision or enforcement measure.

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