Advice to Michael Rolt
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- From
- Michael Rolt
- Date advice given
- 27 January 2011
- Enquiry type
Q1) The IPCs website is clear as to what the National Policy Statements are in England but what are these in Wales?
Q2) To what extent does a "Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project" in Wales have to take on board the various European Directives applicable to habitats, wetlands, birds and landscapes?
Q3) Many of the requirements under these directives have effectively been delegated to Local Planning Authorities through their local plan preparation. How would the IPC deal with such matters particularly when they are confronted with a particular application which would not normally deal with the cumulative impact of that and other applications in the same area?
Advice given
A1) NPSs apply to NSIPs in England and Wales. Once designated, the IPC (who would then be taking the decision on NSIP applications in Wales) must have regard to policies in the NPSs. LDPs and other Welsh national planning policy and guidance may also be taken into account as relevant and important matters before a decision is made on an application. NPSs reflect existing planning policy in England and Wales.
A2) As a public authority the IPC has a duty to have regard to the Habitats Directive when making a decision on an NSIP which might affect any sites or species protected under the Directive.
A3) You may be interested to know that in accordance with Section 121 of the Planning Act, before making a Development Consent Order (DCO) the IPC must send a draft of the DCO to the Secretary of State. If the Secretary of State thinks that certain provisions in the DCO might contravene Community law the IPC may be directed to make changes to the DCO. It should be noted however that in relation to any requirements to carry out an appropriate assessment of plans in accordance with Habitats Directive, this is the responsibility of DECC etc who are the plan makers.
With regard to the cumulative impacts. If an Environmental Statement is required for an NSIP this must as a minimum conform to the requirements set out at Schedule 4 to the EIA Regs. This includes the requirement that the ES provides:
'a description of the likely significant effects of the development on the environment, which should cover the direct effects any indirect, secondary, cumulative, short and long-term, permanent and temporary, positive and negative effects of the development resulting from:
a) the existence of the development; b) the use of natural resources; c) emission of pollutants, the creation of nuisances and the elimination of waste,
and the description by the applicant of the forecasting methods used to assess the effects on the environment.'
When requested the Commission advises Applicants that 'cumulative' impacts should be addressed within the ES as follows:
The ES should describe the baseline situation and the proposed development within the context of the site and any other proposals in the vicinity. Other major development in the area should be identified beyond the proposal itself including all the associated development. The Commission recommends that this should be identified through consultation with the local planning authorities on the basis of major developments that are:
built and operational; under construction; permitted application(s), but not yet implemented; submitted application(s) not yet determined; projects on the Commission’s Programme of Projects; identified in the relevant Development Plan (and emerging Development Plans - with appropriate weight being given as they move closer to adoption) recognising that much information on any relevant proposals will be limited; and sites identified in other policy documents, as development reasonably likely to come forward.
Details should be provided in the ES, including the types of development, location and key aspects that may affect the EIA and have been taken into account as part of the assessment.
If you visit our website and navigate to Scoping and Screening Documents (http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/scoping-and-screening-documents/)
We recommend you review the IPC Scoping Opinion for Rookery South Energy from Waste Generating Station, where attention is drawn to section 3.3 - 3.8 and 3.44 covering the cumulative assessment specifically to this application, which will perhaps assist you further.