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Advice to Frances Stevenson

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Enquiry

From
Frances Stevenson
Date advice given
11 November 2024
Enquiry type
Email

From: Frances Stevenson Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2024 11:47 AM To: Botley West Solar Farm Subject: Request for clarification Dear Sir/Madam Request for Section 51 advice clarifying duration of pre-examination There appears to be some confusion regarding the expected duration of the pre-examination stage of the NSIP DCO application process. The guidance on the NSIP process under the heading ‘Pre-examination’ at https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/ states: ‘Although there is no statutory timescale for this stage of the process, it usually takes approximately three months from the Applicant’s formal notification and publicity of an accepted application.’ Similarly the guidance under the heading ‘Project stage’ on your webpage for Botley West Solar Farm at https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010147 states: ‘The pre-examination stage usually takes about 3 months.’ However the guidance dated 30 April 2024 at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/planning-act-2008-pre-examination-stage-for-nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects states: ‘There is no fixed statutory period for the pre-examination stage specified in the Planning Act, which allows for some flexibility in approach in response to the scale and nature of a specific project. However, the expectation in this guidance is that the relevant representations period should be a maximum of 8 weeks, within an overall maximum period for pre-examination of 5 months (3 months in the case of fast-track applications).’ Please would you clarify the guidance on the pre-examination stage of DCO applications including the expected application for Botley West Solar Farm? Would it be correct to assume that given the extraordinary scale and nature of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm, the Planning Inspectorate will allocate the commensurate time and opportunity for the relevant representations period and the overall pre-examination period, i.e. 8 weeks and 5 months respectively? Regards Frances Stevenson

Advice given

Good Afternoon, Thankyou for your email. The Relevant Representation period is set by the Applicant following the commencement of the Pre-Examination period. This period will be obliged to adhere to the Planning Act 2008 minimum requirements. In regards to the Pre-Examination period, the new guidance does advise of expectations for maximum timescales and to date the pre-examination stage usually takes about three months. However there are currently no statutory timeframes for this stage. We can advise that it is the Examining Authority who, once appointed, will determine the length of time for the Pre-Examination stage, following on from submission of the application. Subsequently, as the application has not been submitted for acceptance, the Planning Inspectorate cannot yet advise on timescales for this stage of the project. However, once these timescales have been determined, the project webpage will be updated with any relevant information. If you have not already done so, you can register for email updates here: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010147/get-updates/start. You will then receive a notification when any updates are published. Thank you