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Advice to John Eady

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Enquiry

From
John Eady
Date advice given
11 April 2014
Enquiry type
Email

Mr Eady requested to be allowed to register an an interested party. As the deadline for submitting relevant representations had expired, he was informed that this was not possible. He asked for elaboration on why he could not be registered.

Advice given

Thank you for your email received Wednesday 9 April 2014 in respect of your wish to register to become an ?interested party? in regards to the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (?NDR?) application.

Registering persons who wish to become ?interested parties? in relation to the examination of nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) is set out by legislation, namely the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) (PA 2008) and associated regulations. As such, the regulations for registration have to be followed as required by law and it is not a matter that can just be processed by the Planning Inspectorate through the receipt of an email or telephone request to that effect.

In compliance with the PA 2008, a registration period for becoming an ?interested party? for this application ran from 14 February 2014 until the 23 March 2014 (a period of at least 28 days as set by the applicant). The registration period would have been advertised by the applicant at the proposed site for the project and through a range of media. The Planning Inspectorate also provided notification of the registration deadline of 23 March 2014 on the relevant project page of the National Infrastructure portal. To have become an ?interested party?, a representation should have been submitted on a fully completed Planning Inspectorate Registration and Relevant Representation form and received by the Planning Inspectorate within the registration period. This form was available at the Norwich NDR project page of the National Infrastructure portal during the registration period and a postal version of the form was also obtainable on request. The form included sections for your personal information, your representation about the application and several questions relating to how you would have intended to participate in the examination.

The term ?interested party? in relation to this process has a legally defined status. As the Department for Communities and Local Government?s (DCLG) document ?Planning Act 2008: Guidance for the examination of applications for development consent?, explains, the statutory definition of an ?interested party? is significant because:

?[?] interested parties are given important entitlements before, during and after the examination process. These include the right to be invited to a preliminary meeting; the right to require, and be heard at, an open-floor hearing; the right to be heard at an issue-specific hearing, if one is held; the right to be notified of when the Examining Authority has completed its examination; and the right to be notified of the reasons for the decision. [Paragraph 16]?

DCLG guidance further adds:

?A ?relevant representation? is defined in section 102(4) of the Planning Act. A representation will only be ?relevant? if it is in accordance with regulation 4 of the Infrastructure Planning (Interested Parties) Regulations 2010, and is received by the Secretary of State by the deadline specified in the application acceptance notice given by the applicant. A representation is not relevant to the extent (but only to the extent) that it contains material about compensation for compulsory acquisition of land or an interest in or right over land; material about the merits of policy set out in a national policy statement; or material that is vexatious or frivolous. [Paragraph 21]?

Following the close of the registration period, we are no longer able to register persons as ?interested parties? for the purposes of this application. The fact that you have been unable to register your interest in time is not in any way meant to suggest that you are not interested in this application. We are not able to extend the deadline and have no statutory powers that would enable us to do so. However, we will keep your request on file and make your name available to the Examining Authority who is able to exercise discretion to consider views and evidence from those who did not register a relevant representation on time. However, this does not mean that you would be regarded as an ?interested party? for the purposes of the examination.

The Planning Inspectorate has published a series of advice notes that are intended to inform developers, consultees, the public and others about a range of process matters in relation to the PA 2008 process. In relation to your enquiry, you may find Advice Note 8.3 ?How to register and become an interested party for an application?, of interest: http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/advice-notes/

Moreover, DCLG?s guidance is also available on the National Infrastructure pages of the planning portal website: http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/guidance/

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.