Advice to Mandip Malhotra
Back to listEnquiry
- From
- Mandip Malhotra
- Date advice given
- 11 May 2015
- Enquiry type
Following the acceptance of the DCO application, please can you advise what the next steps are.
I understand the council have the opportunity to submit a Local Impact Report, what are the time frames/deadlines for submission of this information?
Are there any further documents being released for Officers to review and comment on as part of the DCO?
Advice given
The M4 Junctions 3 -12 Smart Motorway application is now at the ?pre-examination? stage of the process following its acceptance by the Planning Inspectorate (the Inspectorate) on 27 April 2015.
The applicant ? the Highways Agency (now Highways England) - is statutorily required to serve notice under s56 of Planning Act 2008 that the application has been accepted and will proceed to examination. This notice will also include information advising when and how parties can register to become an ?Interested Party? and participate in the examination. The applicant has not yet served this notice and there is no statutory timeframe within which it must do so. You may wish to contact them directly to enquire when the registration period is scheduled to open.
The next correspondence you will receive from the Inspectorate regarding this application will be your invitation to the preliminary meeting (PM). Amongst other important information, this correspondence will give notice of the appointment of the Examining Authority (ExA) and provide the ExA?s initial assessment of principle issues (IAPI). A draft of the examination timetable will also be provided, upon which you make representations at the PM. The aim of the PM is primarily to discuss how the application should be examined. There will be no scope to discuss the merits of the proposed development. Following the close of the PM the examination will begin and the ExA will, within a week or so, issue its letter setting out the finalised timetable for examination. The deadline for receipt of Local Impact Reports will be set out in this timetable and is usually within six weeks of the PM.
Although London Borough of Hillingdon has been identified as a host authority and therefore is a statutory consultee under s102(1)(c) of PA2008, we would still encourage the Council to make a ?relevant representation? in the advertised period. This representation should provide an outline of any issues that the Council may have regarding the scheme and will usefully inform the ExA?s production of its IAPI.
Please find attached Advice notes one and two for further information regarding the role of local authorities and the production of Local Impact Reports. The Inspectorate has also produced a short video which explains the role of local authorities in the process. It is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un9tFgw3jVs&feature=player_embedded