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Advice to Helen Barr

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Enquiry

From
Helen Barr
Date advice given
10 January 2024
Enquiry type
Email

I live in [REDACTED] where Europe's largest Solar Farm Proposal (Botley West Solar Farm 1,350 MWp has just launched its statutory NSIP consultation. I have read the booklet that was delivered to households in the area. And I have consulted the documents placed in local public libraries and materials on the Botley West Website. I see from the PINS website that you have rules that govern the accessibility of documents to the general public: their reading level, HTML formatting and navigational tools. Do these guidlelines apply also to developers when they produce materials for public consultation? Might you have a template for guidance to developers when they submit materials? Or are there existing models or modelling of NSIP consultation documents written in plain English to which you can direct me.

Advice given

The Planning Inspectorate’s Advice Note 6 sets out best practice in terms of application document presentation (including matters of accessibility), however this relates to the presentation of Development Consent Order (DCO) application documents rather than a developer's pre-application consultation material. Developers are often referred to Planning Inspectorate’s Advice Notes and other published best practice during the pre-application stage, however ultimately the Planning Inspectorate cannot be prescriptive in terms of how developers administer their pre-application activities, including consultation exercises. If you have comments about the accessibility of the Developer's pre-application consultation documents, or any other matters regarding the adequacy of the Developer's pre-application consultation, at this stage you should direct them to the Developer in the first instance. The contact details we hold are as follows: Email: info@botleywest.co.uk Telephone: 0808 175 3085 If you have already contacted the Developer with your comments and you are not satisfied that the Developer has, or will, take account of them, then you may wish to submit your comments to the relevant local authority. The Planning Inspectorate will request the relevant local authorities’ views on the adequacy of the Developer’s consultation when the application is submitted, and local authorities can consider the concerns of the local community as part of their adequacy of consultation representation.