Advice to Friends of the Earth

Enquiry

• From: Friends of the Earth
• Date advice given: 28 March 2011
• Enquiry type: Email

I have just signed up to your newsletter via your website. But really I am mainly interested in all the projects you have listed in the South East region. How do I ensure that I get to hear when the developers put in the applications and get notified of the relevant stages/dates for public involvement? Thank you Brenda Pollack

Advice given

Dear Ms Pollack

Thank you for your enquiry. we appreciate that your interest with major infrastructure projects is in the south east region. However at present, our newsletter doesn't provide updates about specific areas, it's more for general news.

We are however currently developing an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication used to publish frequently updated works) so that users can subscribe to receive updates on:

Summary of projects (new projects being added or withdrawn) Summary of projects for specific regions Updates on specific projects including when they reach key stages

At present in order to keep up to date please regularly check the News and Projects sections on our website where the projects have been split into regions.

Most of the proposals are currently at the "pre-application" stage of the process, where the onus is on the developer to consult widely with statutory consultees and the local community. Developers are required to give notices in the press and in the vicinity of the projects detailing the time and locations of where consultation events are held.

Once an application is submitted to the IPC an appointed Commissioner has 28 days to decide whether or not to accept it for IPC examination. If the application progresses further to pre-examination stage, people who wish to do so will be able to register as an interested party to put their case to the IPC about the application. Again, there would be notices in the press and the vicinity of the project and on our website that an application has been accepted for examination, along with details on how and when to register as an interested party. Please note, you can only register as an interested party once an application has been accepted for examination.

Once you have registered as an interested party, you will be sent the notifications about each stage of the process including the dates of the preliminary meeting and the timetable for examination. Further advice on this can be found in Advice Note 8 which you can access at the following link; http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/our-guidance-and-advice/.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further clarification.

Your sincerely

Bartosz Bartkowiak Case Officer Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) Temple Quay House Temple Quay Bristol BS1 6PN

Switchboard 0303 444 4342 Bartosz.Bartkowiak@infrastructure.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.independent.gov.uk/infrastructure

The IPC gives advice about applying for an order granting development consent or making representations about an application (or a proposed application). The IPC takes care to ensure that the advice we provide is accurate. This communication does not however constitute legal advice upon which you can rely and you should note that IPC lawyers are not covered by the compulsory professional indemnity insurance scheme. You should obtain your own legal advice and professional advice as required.

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