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Advice to RWE Npower

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Enquiry

From
RWE Npower
Date advice given
2 February 2011
Enquiry type
Email

We intend to carry out a repeat of the Phase 1 consultation, consulting all the parties on the Prescribed Consultee list that was supplied to us with the IPC's scoping opinion on August 2nd.

Before we undertake this exercise, I would be very grateful if you could look at the list and confirm that it is correct.

The list contains 23 Public Gas Transporters. My reason for questioning this, is beacuse initially it was thought that our applicats ion was for a Gas Transporter Pipeline, whereas it as an 'other pipeline' without gas transporter status.

Can you please confirm that all the Public Gas Transporters are prescribed consultees for this application?

Advice given

As per our Advice Note 3 'Scoping Opinion Consultation' (http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Advice-note-3-scoping-opinion.pdf - p.4) 'statutory undertaker' has in the APFP Regs the same meaning as S127 of the Planning Act 2008 and the meaning given by S8 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. Public gas transporters are deemed statutory undertakers for the purposes of the Acquisition of Land Act (p.6 of IPC Advice Note 3) due to the Gas Act 1995 Schedule 4 para 2 (1).

Schedule 1 of the APFP Regs defines relevant as: "'relevant' in relation to a body, shall mean the body which has resonsibility for the lcoation where the proposals may or will be sited or the body which has responsibility for an area which neighbours that location".

P.6 of the IPC's Advice Note 3 further explains how the Commission applies this to the identification of relevant public gas transporters in compiling the list of consultation bodies which it must consult before adopting a Scoping Opinion:

"The licence conditions of public gas transporters do not, in every case, limit operations to a specific geographical area. Taking a cautious approach, the Commission will consult all public gas transporters whose licence covers Great Britain. This is done on the basis that it is not possible to identify which transporter "has responsibility for the location where the proposals may or will be sited" or "has responsibility for an area which neighbours that location". "

In other words, the Commission includes public gas transporters on its list of consultation bodies to consult before adopting a Scoping Opinion for all types of NSIPs.