Advice to Mariette Castellino
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- From
- Mariette Castellino
- Date advice given
- 7 February 2018
- Enquiry type
I understand you are interested in the adequacy of the consultation.
So I should like to make it clear that I had thought all this consultation was over and re-inventing the airport was no longer an issue. I was surprised and horrified when friends told me there was yet another consultation by Riveroak - because they still want to have an airport with night flights over our home.
I have seen absolutely NO information about how many night flights they plan. Nor have I seen anything that gives me information about exactly how any of their plans will impact on my health. I also do not know how their plans will affect the tourism industry in Ramsgate, nor the educational achievements of the children of Ramsgate.
During a previous consultation I attended, I received a glossy brochure that didn't appear to have any substantive information. I saw models and photographs and lots of staff. But there was no definitive information about the number of flights, whether day time or at night, etc. I had no way to tell staff that I was opposed to the plan - or, indeed, that I supported it. It seemed to be a show ... and one without audience participation.
Advice given
The FAQ document below sets out that the correct, tiered process for commenting on an applicant's Pre-application consultation, if an application is yet to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, is to first contact the Applicant directly with your concerns regarding the consultation. If you do not receive a satisfactory response, you may wish to forward your concerns to the relevant local authority, to take into consideration as part of their 'Adequacy of Consultation Representation' that the Inspectorate will request once an application has been submitted.
I note that you copied in both the Applicant and relevant local authority - Thanet Borough Council (TBC) - when you emailed your concerns to the Planning Inspectorate. Therefore, you may wish to confirm your concerns with TBC if you do not receive a satisfactory response from the Applicant.
Only once have you forwarded your concerns to both the above parties, and still remain unsatisfied, may you contact the Secretary of State, through the Planning Inspectorate. The Planning Inspectorate can consider your concerns regarding Pre-application consultation in addition to the statutory Acceptance tests when making the decision about whether or not to accept the application under section 55 of the Planning Act 2008.