Case C‑41/24
Waltham Abbey Residents Association
v
An Bord Pleanála and Others
(Request for a preliminary ruling from the High Court (Ireland))
Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 6 March 2025
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Environment – Directive 2011/92/EU – Assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment – Article 2(1) and Article 4(2) – Projects covered by Annex II – Urban development projects – Article 4(4) and (5) – Obligations of the developer and the competent authority when the Member State concerned decides to require the determination provided for in those paragraphs 4 and 5 for those projects – Account taken of observations submitted by a third party, indicating a potential impact of the project concerned on an animal species covered by the strict protection provided for in Article 12 of Directive 92/43/EEC
Environment – Assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Directive 2011/92 – Projects in the classes listed in Annex II made subject to assessment – Screening procedure to determine whether it is necessary to subject such a project to an impact assessment – Objective evidence provided by a third party regarding the potential significant effects of the project on a protected species – Obligation on the competent authority to ask the developer for additional information – Exception – No reasonable scientific doubt as regards the non-existence of significant effects of the project on the environment
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2011/92, as amended by Directive 2014/52, Art. 4(4) to (6), and Annexes II and III; Council Directive 92/43, Art. 12)
(see paragraphs 29-51, operative part)