Dear Louise, Thank you for your quick and informative response. There has already been a public consultation undertaken by Oikos at the Paddocks Community Centre on Canvey Island, where strong public concerns were expressed at that time. There are several of us taking an interest, who have not seen a “Statement of Community Consultation” reflecting the unique circumstances of Canvey Island. The Island’s population of approximately 40,000 is accommodated in the high-density development within the residential and commercial areas. Historically residential provision has been undertaken on a piecemeal basis and not strategically planned, leading to incremental development in and around the COMAH sites on Canvey Island, some within consultation distances all within the hazard range. Canvey Islanders, blissfully unaware of the risk and ramification of an industrial accident such as a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) or (Unconfined Vapour Cloud Explosions) residual or otherwise, emanating from the Major Hazardous Sites. The Community are being asked to trust that CPBC’s Cabinet Members and not the Hazardous Substance Authority, have the relevant expertise required to secure the communities safety and that all appropriate emergency planning logistics are in place. Canvey islanders are perhaps not fully aware of the challenges presented that come from living below sea level. Although the risk is reduced by sea defences those defences are in constant need of maintenance and improving in line with global warming. The flooding of a defended area, be it via a breach or overtopping, is described as having a catastrophic outcome. The issue of surface water flooding is however more apparent, with the urgent need to improve the control and removal of surface water due to inadequate and poorly maintained drainage infrastructure. The complicated management and the lack of pumping capacity against tidal influence is an additional problem. It is not unreasonable to suggest that our local authority has not expressed fully their overall knowledge of local issues. It has been reasoned that this is because of the need, not to create an unduly atmosphere of fear of pending disasters, or the subsequent devaluation of property. It needs to be recognised that by registering as an Interested Party, taking part in representation, highlighting such points of concern, would put individuals in line for criticism from the very members of the community, that the Local Authority have failed to protect. Having said that, there are community members that wish to register as an interested party so that the community’s concerns are expressed. Can I therefore request, that we be informed immediately the Planning Inspectorate accepts this proposal to hugely increase the storage capacity of hazardous materials, so that application for registration can be made well in time for the deadline. Louise thanks once again for your assistance, your further thoughts and guidance is very much appreciated. Yours Sincerely, John Webb

Dear Mr Webb Thank you for your email. The applicant’s Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) will form part of their Pre-Application statutory consultation activities as per s47 of the Planning Act 2008, and has not yet been made public. We advise that you contact the Applicant directly for updates on their public consultation activities, as well as to inform them of your concerns for the proposed development as outlined below. If the application is submitted and accepted for Examination we advise that you include these concerns in your representation to register as an Interested Party with as much detail as possible, so that they can form part of the Examining Authority’s Examination of the proposed development. The Planning Inspectorate’s role during the Pre-Application stage is primarily to act in an advisory capacity to the Applicant in preparing their application documents for submission. When the application is submitted, the Planning Inspectorate will review all documents provided as part of the application to ensure that the Applicant has sufficiently fulfilled their statutory requirements, including their consultation activities with the public. The Planning Inspectorate is not able to contact individual parties as per your request below, however by registering for email updates via the project webpage you will be notified straightaway once the application for the Oikos Port Development project has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, when a decision is made on whether to accept the application for Examination, and when the registration for Interested Parties is open. Yours sincerely Louise Evans