Get involved in the preliminary meeting

Contents

About the preliminary meeting

In the months after the registration period closes, the Examining Authority will hold a preliminary meeting.

Several weeks before this meeting, a letter called the rule 6 letter is sent to everyone who registered to have their say. This is to let everyone know when and where the meeting will be held. It will also include a draft timetable for the examination of the application and how the Examining Authority will examine the application.

Attending the preliminary meeting

To be involved in the preliminary meeting, you must either:

• be registered to have your say, and have an interested party reference number
• have a statutory right to be involved

After the registration period has closed, you will be invited to a preliminary meeting. This is to talk about how the application will be examined. You can choose not to attend this meeting and will still be invited to submit more information when the examination starts.

You cannot give your views about the proposed development at this meeting.

You can talk about:

• anything that may affect your ability to attend hearings or meet deadlines, for example other local events happening at the same time or issues with travel or working patterns
• if there are any suitable local places to hold the hearings
• if there are any groups of people who need a different approach to be able to take part in the process
• any other matters relating to the draft examination timetable

What happens next

The Planning Inspectorate will publish the meeting notes and a live stream recording on the project section of this website a week after the preliminary meeting.

A letter called the rule 8 letter is sent to everyone who registered, as well as anyone with a statutory right. This will have details of the examination including the finalised timetable with all deadlines for submitting more information.

Next Have your say during the examination of the application

Part of Have your say about a national infrastructure project

1. 1 Taking part at the pre-application stage

   Pre-application is the first stage of the process. This is where the applicant must consult with people and organisations. The applicant must provide information about how you can submit your comments to them. It is important to get involved at this stage as you can influence the application before the applicant sends it to the Planning Inspectorate.

   1. Taking part before the application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

2. 2 Registering to have your say about a national infrastructure project

   To get involved after the application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, you must register to have your say at the pre-examination stage. Pre-examination is where we prepare for an examination. We will identify an inspector or a panel of inspectors called the Examining Authority and make a plan for the examination stage. Registration is open for at least 30 days. The pre-examination stage takes about 3 months.

   1. How to register to have your say about a national infrastructure project.

3. 3 Get involved in the preliminary meeting

   In the months after the registration period closes, the Examining Authority will hold a preliminary meeting. This meeting is to discuss the main issues the Examining Authority will be examining, and the timetable for the examination stage.

   1. What you can do at the preliminary meeting.

4. 4 Have your say during the examination of the application

   At this stage the Examining Authority asks questions about the proposed development. The applicant and anyone who has registered to have their say can make comments by the deadlines in the examination timetable. Anyone can attend hearings that may take place during this stage. The examination can take up to 6 months.

   1. Submitting comments during the examination stage.

5. 5 What you can do after the decision has been made

   Once a decision is made by the relevant Secretary of State, there is a 6 week period where people can challenge the decision in the High Court. This is called a judicial review.

   1. What happens after a decision has been made?