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Advice to Eric Ollerenshaw MP

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Enquiry

From
Eric Ollerenshaw MP
Date advice given
10 August 2011
Enquiry type
Post

Query regarding the IPC's powers in respect of granting rights of access to private land to conduct surveys (s.53 of the Planning Act 2008), with reference to the proposed Preesall project

Advice given

This letter explains the IPC?s powers in determining requests from developers to access private land to conduct surveys. We have also written directly to landowners who have been in touch with us to ask about this matter.

Rights of entry procedure: s.53 of the Act

The Planning Act 2008 (?the Act?) makes provision for a developer to apply to the IPC for authorisation for a right of entry to gain access onto land in order to carry out surveys and take levels. This is covered in Section 53 (s.53) of the Act. The IPC can only authorise entry onto land if we are satisfied that certain conditions are met. The IPC's Advice Note 5 explains this in more detail.

The IPC needs to be satisfied that a s.53 authorisation request is a last resort and expects a developer to demonstrate that all reasonable efforts have been made to obtain rights of entry to the land prior to making the request to the IPC. This includes the negotiation of the proposed conditions for access (such as times and dates) with the relevant landowners.

s.53 in relation to the proposed Preesall project

In June, the IPC received six requests from Halite for authorisation under s.53 of the Act. These requests related to access to land for the purpose of surveys described by Halite as non-intrusive ecological / archaeological surveys.

However on 3 August, Halite informed us that all six requests seeking authorisation for entry to land under s.53 have been withdrawn. Halite has advised us that it has written to each of the landowners involved confirming this withdrawal. Following this confirmation, we will no longer be determining these requests for authorisation.

Any advice we have provided to Halite or the landowners about our process for dealing with the s.53 requests will be made available on the register of advice on our website.