Letter from a Professor Wilkinson raising concerns about the proposed Mid Wales Electricity Connection (NG) and wind farm proposals.

Thank you for your letter received on the 4 October 2012 and apologise for the delay in our response.
We appreciate being kept informed about nationally significant infrastructure projects as it useful for us to monitor emerging issues at the pre-application stage. You may be aware however that the Planning Inspectorate can only accept this letter for information purposes at this stage.
I understand that your letter relates to wind farm proposals in Mid Wales as well as National Grid?s proposed 400kv electric line connection from Powys to Shropshire. The three wind farm proposals at Llanbrynmair, Llandinam and Llaithddu, which you have mentioned in your letter, are not considered under the Planning Act 2008 process (as amended), however National Grid?s proposal is.
National Grid?s proposed 400kV line project is currently at the pre-application stage of the Planning Act 2008 process,and therefore the application has not yet been formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. I have attached Advice Note 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 for more information about the stages of the process. During the pre-application stage, the applicant is your first point of contact until the application is formally submitted. I would therefore encourage you to ensure that National Grid is aware of the contents of your letter. Responding to the applicant?s pre-application consultation is the best approach to influence a proposal, whether you agree or disagree with the proposal or believe it could be improved.
If you wish to make comments to National Grid at this current stage in the process you can telephone the free phone number 0800 0195325 to request a comment form which can be referred to the Freepost address: FREEPOST NATIONAL GRID MID W CONNECTION. You can also contact the applicant by email on: [email protected] .
Once the application has been formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and if it is accepted for examination, you will have the opportunity to register as an interested party and as a result, take part in the examination.
To find out more about the nationally significant infrastructure projects proposed in Wales under the Planning Act 2008 regime, you can visit our website which can be accessed on this web address: www.planningportal.gov.uk/infrastructure.
I have noted that your letter also refers to the other possibilities for the generation of electricity in Wales. You may wish to contact your Local Authority on this matter.
You may find it useful to view the Department for Energy and Climate (DECC) website for National Policy Statements EN-1 (Overarching Energy), EN-3 (Renewable Energy) and EN-5 (Electricity Networks) which sets out the governments objectives for the development of nationally significant energy infrastructure.