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Advice to Stephen Kirkwood

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Enquiry

From
Stephen Kirkwood
Date advice given
18 March 2011
Enquiry type
Email

Than you for your prompt reply. The process seems fairly complicated with so many stages! I am the tenant of land that is involved as part of a proposal that is at the pre-application stage and due to be submitted to the IPC within the next couple of months.This was first consulted about as a pre scoping excercise and submitted to the IPC for scoping in Autumn .The public consultation is now nearly over. Can you tell me who should have consulted with me and how?

Advice given

Re: Consultation

In regards to your email on the18th March 2011.

I think it is important to set out the distinction between the consultation that the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is required to carry out in relation to an applicant's request for a scoping opinion ('The IPC's Scoping Opinion Consultation') and the consultation that the applicant is required to carry out at the pre-application stage ('The Applicant's Pre-application Consultation').

The IPC's Scoping Opinion Consultation -

Where the applicant asks the IPC for a scoping opinion, the IPC is required to consult the consultation bodies which means: a body prescribed under section 42(a) of the Act; (b) each local authority which is within section 43 of the Act; and, if the land is in Greater London, the Greater London Authority. There is no requirement for the IPC to consult landowners, lessees, tenants or occupiers prior to adopting a scoping opinion. For further information on the IPC scoping opinion consultation process, see IPC Advice Note 3 (as attached in the previous email).

The Applicant's Pre-application Consultation -

Prior to submitting an application to the IPC, the applicant is required to carry out consultation with, amongst others, landowners, lessees, tenants or occupiers of the land. When carrying out this consultation, the applicant is required to provide at least 28 days for such persons to respond to this consultation. Communities and Local Government (CLG) Guidance on Pre-Application Consultation’ and IPC Guidance on Pre-Application Stages (please see attached) provides further details of the applicant's duty to consult at the pre-application stage.

If an application is subsequently submitted to the IPC, the applicant must provide, amongst other items, a consultation report demonstrating what pre-application consultation has been carried out; any relevant responses; and the account taken of responses. The Commissioner appointed to the case must decide if the pre-application consultation has been adequate, taking into account, amongst other matters, any adequacy of consultation representation received from the relevant local authority or local authorities.

If you consider that the applicant has not consulted with you at the pre-application stage, or that the consultation carried out has not been adequate, I would advise you to direct these concerns directly to the applicant and the relevant local authority(ies).

I trust the above answers your queries however please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further advice on this or any other matter.