Advice to Worth Matravers Parish Council
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- From
- Worth Matravers Parish Council
- Date advice given
- 21 March 2014
- Enquiry type
Concerns about the Inspectorate's future consideration of the Visual Impact information provided to date by developers for the Navitus Bay Wind Park development
Advice given
The Navitus Bay Offshore Wind Park application is yet to be formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and is currently at the 'pre-application' stage of the process for making decisions on nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) under the Planning Act 2008 (the PA2008) regime. The developer currently anticipates that the application will be submitted in Quarter 1 2014. On submission, the Planning Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, makes the decision about whether or not to accept an application for examination. The Secretary of State has 28 days from the date of submission to decide whether the application meets the required standards to proceed to examination. This will include an assessment of whether the applicant has complied with all the relevant pre-application procedures including having regard to consultation responses. Until this decision is made, your point of contact in relation to the proposed scheme should be the developer - Navitus Bay Development Limited - on the following details: info@navitusbay.com or 01926671592.
The requirements that must be satisfied in order for an application to be accepted for examination are set out in s55 of the PA 2008. s55(4) of the PA 2008 states that in making its decision about whether or not to accept an application the Secretary of State must have regard to (amongst other things) any adequacy of consultation representation received from a local authority consultee. For this reason, once an application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, we invite the host and neighboring local authorities to submit a representation about whether the applicant has complied with its duties under sections 42, 47 and 48 of the PA 2008
If the application is accepted for Examination, the PA2008 establishes the opportunity for individuals, organisations and other groups to register as ?interested parties? by completing a registration form and submitting a 'Relevant Representation'. Relevant Representation forms can be completed online, and will be available on the project webpages of the Planning Portal, here: attachment 1. It is also possible to call the Inspectorate?s customer service desk on 0303 444 5000 to request a paper copy of the registration form. The developer will advertise when and how long the period for registration will be open; which must be a minimum of 28 days.
Relevant Representations should include whether an individual, organisation or other group supports or opposes a scheme and highlight any issues that they may wish to make further detailed representations on later in the Examination process. All Relevant Representations will be read by the appointed Examining Authority, and in conjunction with its reading of the application documents, will help to inform its 'Initial Assessment of Principal Issues'. If you choose to register to become an interested party, you can include your concerns over visual impact in your Relevant Representation. By registering as an interested party with the Inspectorate, you will be kept informed of the Examination by either email or post and be invited to engage in the process further by making written representations (and oral representations at any hearings) over the course of a statutory 6 month Examination period.