Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay
Ymholiad
Mr Powell on behalf of Afan Valley Angling Club made several queries in a submission prior to the Preliminary Meeting on 10 June 2014. The full submission is published.
Cyngor a roddwyd
Thank you for your submission. It will be published along with other submissions that the Planning Inspectorate have received in relation to the Preliminary Meeting and will be put before the Examining Authority.
Your submission deals with very similar issues of those stated in the letter by Mr Phil Jones, representing Pontardawe and Swansea Angling Society Ltd. Please see the following documents: attachment 1 and attachment 2;ipcadvice=e2178b9d33.
The advice given to Mr Jones is relevant in this case and I therefore reiterate the main points to you here:
The preliminary meeting is held to discuss the running of the examination and not to discuss specific issues of merit which will need to be covered subsequently in writing and if relevant at hearings. At the Preliminary Meeting the Examining Authority (ExA) therefore is likely to adopt a listening rather than inquisitorial role.
An overall point would be that the 'Principal Issues' are a snapshot in time. They are written very early on in the pre-examination period. The issues identified could be argued to be applicable under a number of headings (as have been identified in your submission). They are not an exhaustive list of issues but are a vehicle to communicate to all interested parties issues which the ExA have identified to date. The examination is able to evolve and cover any issues that the ExA deem appropriate, as such the principal issues will not be revised. The ExA can probe any issue raised in the application documents and other examination documents and representations submitted.
I note your comments on the draft timetable in relation the topics identified for hearings. The reasons for identifying issues is to enable all interested parties to have some indication of when they may wish to attend hearings. This is a reflection of feedback that the Planning Inspectorate has received in previous examinations and is deemed good practice. This is not exhaustive and of course is subject to change as representations are received. At this stage, the hearings topics are provided as guidance.
Further information will be provided in the hearing notifications and again in agendas which will be published prior to the hearings. It should be noted that the Planning Act 2008 is based upon a process to follow written representations supplemented by oral hearings and therefore hearings are not required on all topics.
You queried if the applicant can submit new information during the examination for example in respect of its environmental impact assessment. There is some provision within the legislation for an applicant to submit supplementary information relating to the environmental statement during the examination period. Supplementary information may also be requested by the ExA. I would refer you to the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2010 (as amended). In practice, this enables proposals for, for example, mitigation or monitoring measures, to be agreed between parties during the course of examination. If relevant, the ExA will be able to advise on how this may be achieved within the bounds of the legislation as the examination progresses.