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Advice to Office for Nuclear Regulation

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Enquiry

From
Office for Nuclear Regulation
Date advice given
2 December 2019
Enquiry type
Email

Dear sir/madam, I have been approached by the Emergency Planner for Suffolk County Council, Andy Osman, about ONR’s response to the Consultation regarding the DCO application for EA1N & EA2 offshore windfarms. ONR has a role as a statutory consultee under the Planning Act 2008 via the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 and the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 (as amended) - Reg. 3 states the persons prescribed for the purposes of section 42(a) of the Planning Act (duty to consult) are those listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 1 to these Regulations, who must be consulted in the circumstances specified in relation to each such person in column 2 of that table. Column 1 of schedule 1 includes ONR as a consultee for [column 2] ‘all proposed applications likely to affect matters relevant to the ONR's purposes within the meaning of Part 3 of the Energy Act 2013’. I have not been able to confirm whether ONR has been formally consulted regarding this application but we would wish to be, due to the proximity of the offshore cables which appear to come onshore at Thorpeness, just outside the DEPZ for Sizewell B and within the ONR 8km Outer Consultation Zone. You may find the information included on our webpage useful http://www.onr.org.uk/land-use-planning.htm. If a request for ONR consultation has been sent, I would be grateful if you could inform me to whom the request was sent. Best regards and many thanks.

Advice given

Dear Nicola, Pre-application consultation is undertaken by the Applicant rather than the Planning Inspectorate (the Inspectorate). The documents provided by the Applicant indicate that it had consulted the ONR. The ONR should directly contact the Applicant to confirm contact details and information in regards to how it has been consulted. If you continue to have concerns about how the ONR has been consulted, after you have contacted the Applicant, then please write to the Inspectorate again. The decision to accept the application was made on the 22 November 2019. The decision was published on the project webpage, here: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/Eastern/East-Anglia-ONE-North-Offshore-Windfarm/ The following documents have also been published on the project webpage: • The application documents; • Any Adequacy of Consultation Representations submitted by relevant local authorities; • The Planning Inspectorate’s Acceptance Checklist. In order to make comments about the merits of the Proposed Development to an appointed Examining Authority, you will need to register as an Interested Party by making a Relevant Representation at the appropriate time. You have until the 27 January 2020 to register as an Interested Party and can do so on the project website now: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/eastern/east-anglia-one-north-offshore-windfarm/?ipcsection=relreps For more information about how and when you can have your say, please see our Advice Note 8.2: How to register to participate in an Examination: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/advice-notes/ If you wish to have your say on East Anglia TWO and East Anglia ONE North you must register for each application separately. If you wish to contact the Inspectorate about East Anglia TWO, please email EastAngliaTWO@planninginspectorate.gov.uk Kind regards