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Advice to No Moor Pylons

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Enquiry

From
No Moor Pylons
Date advice given
4 March 2011
Enquiry type
Email

Mr Paul Hipwell, of No Moor Pylons, asked us to clarify advice that we had given in the past. When the IPC and No Moor Pylons met in October 2010, we discussed who had to be consulted by the IPC on the adequacy of the consultation process. The response from the IPC was only Local Authorities. The quote from our meeting back in October was

"The IPC is bound by the terms of the Act. Local Authorities are the specified consultees on consultation adequacy at acceptance stage."

Tessa Munt MP asked a question in Parliament.

"to ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to amend Section 43 of the Planning Act 2008 to make parish councils statutory consultees for the purposes of section 42(b) of that Act."

Bob Neill (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government) replied "The Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations (SI 2009 No. 2264) already make relevant parish councils statutory consultees for the purposes of section 42 of the Planning Act 2008. There is therefore no need to make amendment to section 43 of that Act."

Mr Hipwell felt that the advice we gave was in conflict with this response.

Advice given

There is no inconsistency between the answer that Mr Neill gave Ms Munt and the advice we gave at our meeting in October.

Parish or community councils are not local authorities for the purposes of S43 of the 2008 Act. They are not consulted under S42(b) or (c), and therefore are not ?local authority consultees? as described in S55(4), who can submit adequacy of consultation representations for the purposes of S55. They are Statutory Consultees because they are consulted under S42(a); but that does not make them specified consultees on consultation adequacy at acceptance stage.

Ms Munt asked the ?Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to amend Section 43 of the Planning Act 2008 to make parish councils statutory consultees for the purposes of section 42(b) of that Act.? If they were, they could submit adequacy of consultation representations. Whether or not there is a need to bring this about is clearly a matter of political judgement that we cannot comment on.