Advice to Trowers

Enquiry

• From: Trowers
• Date advice given: 8 March 2011
• Enquiry type: Phone

Would the IPC consult with telecommunications operators as statutory consultees?

Advice given

The only consultation undertaken by the IPC at the pre-application stage is for a scoping opinion when a promoter has requested the Commission adopt one. The list of consultation bodies prescribed by the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 ("the EIA regulations") refers to those bodies listed in column 1 of the table set out at Schedule 1 to the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and (Procedure) Regulations 2009 ("the application regulations") where the circumstances set out in column 2 are satisfied in respect of that body. That schedule includes "relevant statutory undertakers". In line with our published advice note 3, telecommunications operators are not deemed to be statutory undertakers under the definition given at s127 of the Planning Act 2008 ("the Act"), to which the application regulations refer. Promoters are required to consult certain statutory bodies under s42 of the Act. This includes the bodies listed in schedule 1 of the applications regulations and under the same circumstances as under the EIA regulations. As such, telecommunications operators would not be statutory consultees under s42 of the Act. However, the duty under s42 also includes a further duty to consult persons who have an interest in land which may be affected by the proposed development. The categories of persons are set out in s44 of the Act. Thus, if a telecommunications operator was to have an interest in the land, then they would be a consultee for the purposes of s42.