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Advice to Mark Smith

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Enquiry

From
Mark Smith
Date advice given
20 March 2012
Enquiry type
Phone

Clarification requested on the IPC scoping opinion process and how to have your say in the pre-application stage.

Advice given

There are Regulations that set out who the IPC consults once they have received a scoping request from a developer (Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009). Bournemouth Tourism Board would not have been one of those bodies, however you noted that following discussion with Bournemouth Borough Council, some of your concerns were covered in their letter of 19th October.

As the project is currently at the Pre-application Stage it has not been formally made to the IPC. Until an application is formally made to us, the project promoter is your first point of contact for any comments you have on the proposal. It is therefore encouraging to hear that you are due to meet with Eneco next week to discuss some of these matters and as with other cases at this stage in the process, we would encourage you to raise your concerns directly with the developer so that they can take them into account in preparing their scheme.

Should you send comments to Eneco as part of their statutory consultation periods, the Planning Act 2008 (PA2008) states that Eneco has a duty to have regard to any such responses (section 49 PA2008) and as part of their Consultation Report (a document that must be submitted with an application) must show how account has been taken of any responses (section 37(7) PA2008) or explain why no action has been taken.

This meeting may also provide you with an opportunity to clarify with Eneco when their formal consultation periods are and for you to raise your concerns regarding the production of visualisations. Furthermore, you mentioned that you have an on-going dialogue with the Council. The Council may be undertaking some work that will feed into the preparation of a Local Impact Report; the intension of which is to provide the Examining Authority with a written report giving details of the likely impact of the proposed development on the authority/authorities' area.