Mr Owen sent a letter to the IPC regarding the Mid Wales Electricity Connection Project, the issue raised was the impact on health.

The National Grid Mid Wales Connections and SPEN Mid Wales Connections projects are currently at the 'pre-application' stage of our process, as set out in the Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008). During the pre-application stage, there is a duty on the developer to publicise the proposed application and consult with people living in the vicinity of the proposed project, and with other statutory consultees, and have regard to any relevant responses to that publicity and consultation. In order for comments to be taken into account at this stage, comments and responses should be directed to National Grid and SPEN as the developers of the proposed projects.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission's (IPC) is able to provide advice about applying for an order granting development consent, or making a representations about an application or proposed application (under s.51 of the PA2008. We are under s.51 unable to provide advice on the merits of an application or proposed application. This ensures the impartiality of the IPC and protects the interests of all parties involved in the application process. All advice that we give is recorded via an advice log, in line with s.51 of the PA2008. This log is published on our website attachment 1. We are though happy to be copied in on any comments you might wish to make to the developer(s), it is also not appropriate for us to comment on national policy since these are matters for Central Government.
With the above in mind, may I therefore suggest that those queries in your email that specifically relate to these projects are raised directly with the developer(s) of the Mid Wales Connection projects as appropriate. The National Grid project team can be contacted on 0800 019 5325 or by email at [email protected]. There is also a project website;
attachment 2 SPEN project team can be contacted on 0800 988 9174 or by email at: enquiries@spmidwalesconnections. There is also a project website: www.spmidwalesconnections.info
Your local Council(s) also play a role in the process at the pre-application stage and we would encourage you to copy to the Council(s) any comments you send to the developer(s) at the pre-application stage. Further information on this and how you can be involved in the developers? consultation is detailed in IPC Advice Note 8.2, this can be found at: attachment 3.
Once a developer is satisfied that its pre-application consultation, publicity and other relevant duties are complete, they may submit an application to the IPC. The IPC then has 28 days in which to decide whether or not to accept the application. If accepted, the application would then proceed to the examination stage. The IPC's decision is based on whether, amongst other matters, the pre-application consultation and publicity has been adequate. When making a decision on whether the pre-application consultation and publicity has been adequate, the IPC will have regard to:
? National Grid and SPEN?s consultation reports;
? Any comments on the adequacy of consultation submitted by relevant Local Authorities; and
? The extent to which National Grid and SPEN have had regard to the guidance published by the IPC and the Secretary of State under s.50 of the PA2008.
If an application is accepted for examination by the IPC, you are able to become involved in the examination of an application. A suite of advice notes has been published by the IPC providing information on how and when members of the public can become involved in the infrastructure planning process and have their say. In particular, advice note 8.3 provides information on, amongst other matters, how to register as an 'interested party' and make relevant and written representations. This can be found at:
attachment 4.