Advice to Lancashire County Council
Back to listEnquiry
- From
- Lancashire County Council
- Date advice given
- 22 February 2011
- Enquiry type
- Phone
Will there be a public inquiry into Halite Energy Group's proposed underground gas storage facility at Preesall Saltfield?
Advice given
If an application is accepted for examination by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), a Preliminary Meeting will always be held at the pre-examination stage. This will be chaired by the Examining Authority, i.e. Single Commissioner or Panel of three or more Commissioners, appointed to examine the application. The proposed dates for any hearings that are to take place as part of the examination will be discussed at the Preliminary Meeting. As mentioned, the first Preliminary Meeting held by the Commission was recorded and is available to view through our website at http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/2011/01/ipc-holds-its-first-preliminary-meeting/. The timetable for the examination stage is confirmed at or soon after the Preliminary Meeting, including for example timings for the receipt of written representations, the local authority?s local impact report and the timetable for hearings. Interested parties will receive details of the timetable directly from the IPC.
The examination of applications is based mainly upon the application documents and the written representations of interested parties. If the Commissioner(s) decides that additional hearings will be held at any time during the examination, interested parties will be given at least 21 days notice of the date and details.
There are three different types of hearings that may be held:
Issue specific hearings (Section 91 of the Planning Act 2008): these hearings are held if the Commissioner(s) considers they are necessary to ensure adequate examination of an issue or that an interested party has a fair chance to put forward their case.
Compulsory acquisition hearings (Section 92 of the Planning Act 2008): these give people, who are affected by a request from a developer to authorise the compulsory acquisition of land or property interests, the opportunity to put their case. Only affected persons and the applicant may speak at a compulsory acquisition hearing.
Open floor hearings (Section 93 of the Planning Act 2008): these can be requested by anyone who has registered and made a relevant representation or by other interested parties. If requested by at least one interested party before the deadline, the Commissioner(s) must cause an open-floor hearing to be held. At the hearing, anyone who is an interested party can give their views on the application. However, the Commissioner(s) will manage proceedings and may set a time limit for contributions. Where several people or organisations wish to express the same view, they may be encouraged to identify a representative who can speak on their behalf. The Commissioner(s) will not wish to hear the same point repeated by different parties.
Regulation 4 of the Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010 makes provision for the Commission to charge a fee in respect of venue costs where the applicant does not provide a venue for a hearing. This provision applies to the preliminary meeting, issue-specific hearings, compulsory acquisition hearings, open-floor hearings, any other meeting or hearing, and site visits.