Advice to South Derbyshire District

Enquiry

• From: South Derbyshire District
• Date advice given: 4 November 2011
• Enquiry type: Phone

A planning officer from South Derbyshire District Council contacted the IPC by telephone (with a follow up enquiry by email) asking whether a proposed application currently under discussion between the Council and a developer meets the requirements of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project under the Planning Act 2008, and the potential consultation process that would be involved if the application should proceed under the IPC's pre-application stage.

Our response was by email.

Advice given

Thank you for your email and telephone enquiry to the IPC today.

Unfortunately, I cannot confirm the points in your enquiry. It is for the developer to define their project as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). As an impartial decision making body we are only able to direct you to the relevant parts of the legislation. s.14 (l) of the Planning Act 2008 states that the construction or alteration of a rail freight interchange can be an NSIP. S.26 sets the threshold criteria for Rail Freight Interchanges that are NSIPs in terms of physical size and volume of freight handled among other criteria.You may wish to seek your own legal advice and come to your own views using s.26 about whether the project you are referring to is in fact a NSIP or seek confirmation directly from the developer.

If the project is a NSIP which requires development consent under the Act, the developer must notify the IPC of the proposed application under s.46. This has to be done on or before commencing formal pre-application consultation and the IPC must be sent the same information as proposed to be used for the purposes of consulting statutory bodies and other prescribed consultees under s.42 of the PA2008. Our statutory guidance on pre-application procedures can be found at this link http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/091201_Statutory-guidance-note-one-v2.5-final.pdf and I also refer you to Chapter 2, pre-application procedure in the Act, s.41-50.

Following any notification, there are two separate formal stages of consultation: one under s.42 with statutory consultees, local authorities, landowners and others with an interest in the land (please see our guidance on pre-application above) and a second under s.47 with the local community in accordance with the Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC). There is also a stage of publicity under s.48 and Regulation 4 of The Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedures) Regulations 2009, when a notice about the proposed application is published.

Should the land be in the District Council’s area, the authority would be a ‘host’ authority and would automatically be a statutory consultee with which the developer of the application would have a duty to consult under s.42; or identified as a neighbouring authority in which the proposed development is located. The definition of a local authority and which ones are required to be consulted is set down in s.43 of the Act. For information about the role of statutory consultees, I refer you to CLG Guidance on pre-application consultation link http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/guidancepreapplication.pdf.

I hope this information has been of some help. If you require further information, please contact the IPC helpline.