Advice to Gladys Vellamaa
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- From
- Gladys Vellamaa
- Date advice given
- 14 May 2020
- Enquiry type
The enquirer addressed their concerns on the Applicant's Supplementary Consultation in light of current COVID19 circumstances by providing the Planning Inspectorate and Thurrock Council their consultation response.
Advice given
Thank you for your email expressing concerns about the adequacy of the Applicant’s Pre-application consultation in the current unprecedented public health situation. Please accept our apology for the delay in responding. The Planning Inspectorate does not have power to intervene in an applicant’s pre-application programme. The process for applying for a Development Consent Order (DCO) is set out in the Planning Act 2008. The timing of the application is at the discretion of Highways England, the Applicant. As you have concerns about the Applicant’s pre-application consultation, you should contact the Applicant in the first instance to ensure these issues are addressed. If you have contacted the Applicant but you are not satisfied that the Applicant has, or will, address them, the relevant local authority can take account of your comments. I see you have copied Thurrock Council into your consultation response already. For avoidance of doubt, relevant local authorities can consider comments from members of the public relating to consultation when preparing an ‘Adequacy of Consultation Representation’ (AoCR) submission to the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the Secretary of State) during the Acceptance period. The Planning Inspectorate must consider any AoCRs received from relevant local authorities when deciding whether or not to accept the application, as required under s55(4)(b) of the Planning Act 2008. It is therefore important to ensure the local authorities are informed of your concerns. Further information about Community Consultation is contained within the attached FAQ document.