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Advice to Winckwhorth Sherwood

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Enquiry

From
Winckwhorth Sherwood
Date advice given
16 September 2011
Enquiry type
Phone

What happens following on from the developer's submission of the s56 and s59 certificates. What pre-examination fee should the developer budget for.

Advice given

Section 61 of the Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008) provides that it is for the chair of the IPC to decide whether an application should be handled by a single Commissioner or a Panel. Before coming to a decision, the chair is required to take into account any guidance issued by the Secretary of State, and to consult the Council of the IPC, the chief executive of the IPC, and any other Commissioners the chair thinks appropriate. Paragraphs 18ff of CLG guidance "Planning Act 2008: guidance for the examination of applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects" set out the criteria that the chair of the commission has to have regard to in making the decision whether to appoint a single commissioner or a panel.

The amount of the pre-examination fee depends on whether a single commissioner or a panel of commissioners is appointed. Regulation 6 of the Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010 provide that the Commission must notify the applicant in writing, as soon as reasonably practicable after the appointment of the Examining Authority under s61 PA 2008, of the preexamination fee. Where a single Commissioner is appointed the pre-examination fee is £13,000; where a Panel of three Commissioners is appointed the fee is £30,000 etc. The pre-examination fee must be received by the Commission within the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the notice requesting the payment of the pre-examination fee.