Advice to Giles de Bertodano
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- From
- Giles de Bertodano
- Date advice given
- 24 April 2018
- Enquiry type
Query regarding the pre-application consultation
Advice given
Thank you for your letter of 10 April 2018 raising concerns regarding the pre-application consultation process for the proposed East Anglia ONE North and East Anglia TWO projects.
As the projects have not yet been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (the Inspectorate), the Inspectorate has no formal powers to intervene on consultees behalf. I would therefore encourage you to again contact the developer directly to make your concerns heard as the Applicant has a statutory duty to take your views into account. However, if you feel that your comments are not being taken into account and you need further information, I would advise you to write to your local authority and set out why you think the Applicant is failing to conduct is consultation properly. Your comments will be taken into account when the local authority sends the Inspectorate its comments on whether the Applicant has fulfilled its consultation duties. The local authority’s comments on the Applicant’s consultation will be taken into account when the Acceptance Inspector makes his/ her decision whether to accept the application for examination.
Should the application for the Development Consent Order (DCO) be accepted by the Planning Inspectorate for examination, the Applicant has a duty to notify the local community and provide information on how to register as an Interested Party for the purpose of the process. The Applicant has scheduled further statutory consultation in June 2018 as per their Statement of Community Consultation, and as part of the DCO process, the Applicant is required to have a regard to all consultation responses which should be later provided in the Consultation Report as part of the DCO application. During the statutory consultation period, the Applicant has said it intends to provide more detailed information on the proposed projects.
The process under the PA 2008 has been designed to allow members of the public and statutory stakeholders to participate in examination of all DCO applications. During the examination of an application the Examining Authority (ExA) has a duty to take into account all matters assessed by the Applicant in the Environmental Statement and may ask additional questions as required.
Please be assured that anyone interested in the proposed developments, their potential impacts and any planning matters can be fully engaged in the examination process.
More information is provided in the Planning Inspectorate’s Advice notes Advice Note 8: Overview of the nationally significant infrastructure planning process for members of the public and others, and at the current pre-application stage we would recommend especially Advice note 8.1. Responding to the developer’s pre-application consultation and Advice Note 8.2. How to register to participate in an Examination.
By submitting a Relevant Representation during the pre-examination stage, the Parish Councils will be in a position to highlight particular planning matters such as effects on the road infrastructure that you have mentioned in your email.
A copy of your correspondence has been placed on our records and will also be presented to the Inspector at acceptance together with the application documents and local authorities’ comments on the Applicant’s consultation.