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Advice to Lorraine Robinson

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Enquiry

From
Lorraine Robinson
Date advice given
23 November 2012
Enquiry type
Email

A letter was received from Ms Robinson asking for clarification on the initial work undertaken by the Highways Agency on the A665 Lobby Group's alternative Junction 20 option, with the following information attached:

A letter from the Highways Agency dated 5 November 2012 The Highways Agency M6 Junction 20 Improvement: Traffic Appraisal July 2012 Two maps extracted from Figure 1 of CBO Transport?s Report.

Advice given

The following advice was provided:

Thank you for your letter received on 15 November 2012 regarding the above proposal with the following information enclosed: A letter from the Highways Agency dated 5 November 2012 The Highways Agency M6 Junction 20 Improvement: Traffic Appraisal July 2012 Two maps extracted from Figure 1 of CBO Transport?s Report.

We have also been copied into an email from Matt Parkinson of the A556 Lobby Group to Anna Pickering of the Highways Agency dated 12 November 2012 and an email response from Anna Pickering to Matt Parkinson dated 13 November 2012.

We therefore note that you have liaised directly with the Highways Agency on this matter and that Matt Parkinson had also copied Cheshire East Council into his correspondence. We will keep all above correspondence on file and it will be made available to the relevant Inspector(s) once the application is submitted.

Your letter raises your concerns that the Highways Agency ?have no intention of properly assessing (the).. alternative? put forward by the A556 Lobby Group and CBO Transport.

Applicants for nationally significant infrastructure projects are under a duty to take account of responses to consultation and publicity in accordance with section 49 of the Planning Act 2008. Section 49(2) states that ?The applicant must, when deciding whether the application that the applicant is actually to make should be in the same terms as the proposed application, have regard to any relevant responses?. A relevant response is a response to the applicant?s statutory consultation which is received by the applicant?s deadline, in response to consultation and publicity undertaken under sections 42, 47 and 48 of the Planning Act 2008.

Applicants must produce a consultation report to submit with their application. This report will include; details of the process undertaken in compliance with sections 42, 47 and 48 (consultation and publicity on their proposal), any relevant responses submitted to the applicant, and the account taken of any relevant responses. Therefore if the A556 Lobby Group?s comments and suggested option was submitted in response to the above consultation and publicity, the Highways Agency is under a duty to take account of this. The Planning Inspectorate advises applicants to also include in their consultation report, details of any non-statutory consultation and publicity undertaken and the account taken of the responses.

In addition to the above, the applicant will produce an Environmental Statement as part of their application. The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (as amended) require the Environmental Statement to include an outline of the main alternatives studied by the applicant and an indication of the main reasons for the applicant?s choice, taking into account the environmental effects.

Once an application is submitted, within 28 days a decision must be made as to whether it can be accepted for examination. An application will only be accepted if it is concluded that (amongst other criteria) the applicant has, in relation to a proposed application that has become the application, complied with Chapter 2 of Part 5 (pre-application procedure) of the Planning Act 2008. In order to make this decision, regard must be had to the applicant?s consultation report, any adequacy of consultation representation received from a local authority consultee and the extent to which the applicant has had regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.

As you are already aware, if the application is accepted for examination, you will have the opportunity to register as an interested party, to participate in the examination.

You have asked for help and advice in your letter and I hope that the above explanation of the process informs you of the applicant?s obligations and the checks which are undertaken once an application is submitted. I have also copied this letter to the Highways Agency and Cheshire East Council for their information.

Where your concerns remain, we advise you to continue to liaise with the Highways Agency and Cheshire East Council and copy the Planning Inspectorate into the correspondence if you wish.