Skip to main content
Find a National Infrastructure Project

Beta This is a beta service - your feedback will help us to improve it

Advice to Siobhan Gill

Back to list

Enquiry

From
Siobhan Gill
Date advice given
23 January 2014
Enquiry type
Email

I have a query relating to the prescribed list of consultees in Schedule 1 of the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009/2264 for NSIPs.

Schedule 1 includes the following health bodies as statutory consultees in Wales: · The National Health Service Commissioning Board and the relevant clinical commissioning group

· The relevant Health Board

· The National Health Service Trusts

The following health bodies in Wales have been identified: · The Local Health Board

· The Health Protection Agency.

It has been suggested that the following bodies should also be included as statutory consultees in Wales: · Public Health Wales

· Wales Health Protection Team

Might you please be able to clarify, with regard to the Welsh NHS system the correct statutory health bodies as envisaged by the Regs?

Advice given

Thank you for your email regarding who to consult on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. As you have referenced, who to consult is based on the prescribed list of consultees Schedule 1 of the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009/2264.

It is the responsibility of each applicant to decide who to consult and we suggest that the Schedule 1 list is a starting point. There may be other bodies who you choose to consult. The Planning Inspectorate is not able to provide a comprehensive list or sign off any list as being appropriate. I would strongly advise that developers fully explain and justify the reasons for not consulting any bodies on the Schedule 1 list within their consultation report which will accompany a developers submission. Likewise, any extra consultees should be recorded.

Having said this, I have spoken with colleagues who carry out scoping and screening consultations and have tried to provide some advice on the points in your email based on the approach the Planning Inspectorate follow. As previously stated, we advise that applicants do not rely on this for their formal consultation.

Clinical Commissioning Groups do not operate in Wales therefore they would not be consulted on projects located in Wales.

For projects where a Regulation 6 notification was received by the Planning Inspectorate pre-April 2013, Public Health Wales and local health boards were consulted by the Planning Inspectorate as a statutory undertaker. For projects where a Regulation 6 notification was received by the Planning post-April 2013 the schedule 1 list identifies the relevant local health board and National Health Service trusts (which the Planning Inspectorate have interpreted as Public Health Wales, Welsh Ambulance Trust and the Velindre NHS Trust).

The Health Protection Agency has now become Public Health England. The Planning Inspectorate have received confirmation from Public Health England that they cover Wales, so we consult with them for both English and Welsh projects

The Wales Health Protection Team are not listed on Schedule 1. The Public Health Wales website indicates that they are part of Public Health Wales who are however consulted. We suggest that you investigate this if you require confirmation. As I mentioned earlier, we suggest that the Schedule 1 list is a starting point for consultation and developers are encouraged to consult more widely than the bodies prescribed.

For information, I have would draw your attention to Advice Note 3, produced by the Planning Inspectorate: http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/advice_note_3_v5.pdf and in particular the annex which opens in a separate document: http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/an3_annex1.pdf