Advice to Julie Milne

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Enquiry

From
Julie Milne
Date advice given
14 June 2011
Enquiry type
Email

Concerned about the large scale development of Wind Farms that are planned for Montgomeryshire, for the following reasons:

  • Transport
  • Economy
  • Tourism
  • Health
  • Nature and ecology
  • Flooding
  • The RAF
  • Homes devalued

This will bring desecration to a very beautiful and up to now unspoilt area. It is cruel to impose all this on people who have had no say in what is happening to them.

Advice given

All the projects that the IPC is aware of in Wales, including wind farm projects, are listed on our website at http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/wales/. As you will see on our website, all of the IPC wind farm projects in Wales are currently at the pre-application stage of the IPC process. At the pre-application stage comments on the proposal should be submitted directly to the developer.

Whilst we are happy to be copied in on any comments you make to the developer, we are unable at the pre-application stage to enter into any discussion or debate about the merits of any aspect of the proposal. This ensures the impartiality of the IPC and protects the interests of all parties involved in the application process. All the advice we give is recorded on our advice log in line with section 51 of the Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008) and this log is published on our website at http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/register-of-advice/. The points raised in your email are matters of merit which the IPC is unable to respond to. However, below is an overview of the process for making an application to the IPC which I trust will be of assistance.

At the pre-application stage, the developer must undertake consultation and publicity and take account of any responses received to this. This means that the developer must consult bodies prescribed in legislation (section 42 of the PA 2008); consult the local community in accordance with their Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) (section 47 of the PA 2008); and publicise the proposed application in local and national newspapers (section 48 of the PA 2008).

To ensure that your views are taken into account, comments on this application should be submitted directly to the developer during pre-application consultation. Contact details for the developers are available on the specific project pages of our website and I would advise you to contact these directly for further information on their pre-application consultation.

Once the pre-application consultation duties have been met, the developer may submit an application to the IPC. Once submitted, the IPC has 28 days to decide whether or not to accept the application to proceed to the examination stage. This decision is made by considering a number of tests set out in legislation, including whether the developer has complied with pre-application procedure.

If the application is accepted for examination, it is the developer's responsibility to publicise the 'acceptance' specifying a deadline of at least 28 days for bodies/individuals to register an interest and make a summary representation on the application to the IPC. To become an 'interested party', you would be required to register directly with the IPC at this stage. Please note that it is not possible to register at the pre-application stage - the registration period opens only after an application is accepted for examination. Once registered, interested parties are kept informed of the examination process and will have the opportunity to submit detailed representations to the IPC and participate in any hearings.

The following IPC Advice Notes will be of use to you:

IPC Advice Note 8.1: Opportunities to be involved IPC Advice Note 8.2: The developer’s consultation IPC Advice Note 8.3: How to register and make a written representation IPC Advice Note 8.4: The preliminary meeting IPC Advice Note 8.5: The examination process

For more detailed information on the application process, please refer to the guidance and advice section of our website.