SEPA: Streamlining complex environmental regulation
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The challenge
SEPA manages public consultation on industrial permit applications using Citizen Space. As Scotland's environmental regulator, they have a dual responsibility: ensuring robust technical scrutiny of complex industrial applications whilst providing meaningful opportunities for public participation in decisions affecting local environments and communities.
The scale of this work is significant. SEPA processes dozens of permit applications simultaneously across diverse sectors including Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permits for major industrial installations, Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) licenses for activities affecting the water environment, and Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations (EASR) for various industrial emissions and waste activities.
Applications range widely: multi-tier egg production facilities, timber treatment plants, hydrogen production installations, undersea cable manufacturing, power stations, fish farms across Scotland's coastline and sea lochs, and industrial emissions facilities. Every application requires consultation with both technical stakeholders (environmental experts, neighbouring industrial operators) and local communities concerned about potential impacts on their health and environment.
The approach
SEPA uses Citizen Space to manage their comprehensive permit consultation programme, delivering consistency and accessibility across all permit types and industrial sectors.
The platform provides structural consistency that proves valuable for stakeholders who engage regularly with SEPA consultations. Whether reviewing a fish farm license application, a power station permit variation, or an egg production facility proposal, environmental consultancies, community councils, and non-governmental organisations encounter the same look, feel, and navigation. This familiarity allows them to focus on substantive issues rather than navigating unfamiliar processes.
SEPA has configured Citizen Space to create a comprehensive consultation hub where all permit consultations (open, closed, and forthcoming) are grouped in one accessible location. Stakeholders can see at a glance what consultations are active, what's coming up, and access responses to previous consultations. This transparency is particularly important in environmental regulation, where communities want to understand not just individual decisions but patterns of industrial development in their region.
The platform handles the administrative complexity of running dozens of simultaneous consultations with varying timeframes. SEPA's team can set up new consultations quickly using templates, ensuring consistency whilst customising content for specific permit types. Automated reminders and deadline management help maintain the consultation programme across Scotland's diverse industrial landscape.
The results
Citizen Space enables SEPA to maintain a consistently high standard of public engagement whilst managing significant consultation volumes across Scotland's diverse industrial sectors.
SEPA runs a sophisticated consultation programme handling dozens of concurrent consultations across multiple permit types. Recent months have seen the platform manage PPC permits for installations ranging from power stations to egg farms, CAR licenses for fish farming operations across Scotland's coastline and sea lochs, EASR authorisations for industrial emissions and waste management activities, and major strategic consultations on river basin management and flood risk planning.
Each consultation maintains the same high standard of presentation and accessibility, regardless of technical complexity or industrial sector. This consistency has proven particularly valuable for regular stakeholders including environmental consultancies, community councils, and non-governmental organisations who engage with multiple SEPA consultations. They know what to expect, where to find information, and how to submit responses, allowing them to focus on substantive issues.
Delib is a govtech leader specialising in consultation and engagement, trusted by over 600 government organisations worldwide, including major planning projects. Since 2004, we've been building secure, accessible digital platforms to make participation simpler, fairer, and more inclusive. Our flagship product, Citizen Space, was built in collaboration with the UK government and has supported more than 11 million responses across over 110,000 democratic activities.