Register of advice

The list below is a record of advice the Planning Inspectorate has provided in respect of the Planning Act 2008 process.

There is a statutory duty under section 51 of the Planning Act 2008 to record the advice that is given in relation to an application or a potential application and to make this publicly available. Advice we have provided is recorded below together with the name of the person or organisation who asked for the advice and the project it relates to. The privacy of any other personal information will be protected in accordance with our Information Charter which you should view before sending information to the Planning Inspectorate.

Note that after a project page has been created for a particular application, any advice provided that relates to it will also be published under the ‘s51 advice’ tab on the relevant project page.

Advice given between between 1 October 2009 and 14 April 2015 has been archived. View the archived advice.

Enquiry received via email

The Sizewell C Project View all advice for this project

06 May 2020
Robert Daniell

Enquiry

Dear Planning Inspectorate, BEIS Ministers and EDF We will all be measured and remembered by how we behave in the current Coronavirus crisis. I urge you not to accept EDF’s application to construct two new nuclear reactors at Sizewell. I am deeply dismayed that EDF has proceeded with submitting this application whilst the country is dealing with coronavirus restrictions, and consider the timing to be totally inappropriate and, simply, wrong. Additionally, despite 4 rounds of public consultations, EDF has not provided enough information or adequately consulted people about a number of issues: The Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation and Natural England have expressed concerns to you about the DCO, including that agreement on a number of issues had not yet been reached, that they did not have access to sufficient levels of information, and that necessary documents were late or not provided. The serious threat to RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve and other protected sites. The company has provided no assurances that Minsmere and Sizewell Marsh SSSI will be protected from any potential harm as a result of Sizewell C. The amount of information about environmental impacts has been woeful. The way in which EDF plans to deliver 10m tonnes of material without a jetty, significant use of rail, or an adequate road route that will protect local communities. Suffolk Councils dispute EDF's claim to have chosen the best road route. Community Impacts: No study has been provided despite despite EDF promising this “at a later stage of consultation” Health Impacts: no study has been provided despite despite EDF promising this “at a later stage of consultation” Worker numbers and accommodation: Before coronavirus there were reports that EDF has underestimated the workers it needs at Hinkley Point. This suggests more will be needed at Sizewell C too. EDF’s communications about worker numbers at Sizewell have been very misleading and it is uncertain where everyone would live. At Stage 4 consultations the two villages most affected by the Sizewell Link Road, a major part of this consultation, were not visited with EDF’s touring exhibition. Yours sincerely, Sent from my iPad

Advice given

Dear Mr Daniell, Thank you for your email of the 28 April 2020. The process for applying for a Development Consent Order (DCO) is set out in the Planning Act 2008. The timing of the application is at the discretion of the Applicant. The project page of the National Infrastructure Planning website will be updated when the application is received and when the decision on whether or not to accept the application for Examination is made. attachment 1;ipcadvice=f89bb4795f It is important to note that when an Applicant submits an application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate that there then follows a period of up to 28 days for the Planning Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to decide whether or not the application meets the standards required to be accepted for Examination. The standards are set out in Section 55 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) and Regulations 5 and 6 of the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009. I note you have concerns about the Applicant’s pre-application consultation, you should contact the Applicant in the first instance to enable them to address the issues. If you have contacted the Applicant but you are not satisfied that the Applicant has, or will, take account of your comments you can make your comments to the relevant local authority. The local authority can consider them as part of their Adequacy of Consultation Representation submission to the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the Secretary of State) at the Acceptance stage of the process. All parties are encouraged to sign up for Email Updates using the button on the project page or via the link below: attachment 2;email= Email Updates will enable parties to observe what’s happening on the application after it has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. Should the application be accepted for Examination, it is important to note that if parties then wish to participate in the Examination they would need to register as an Interested Party at the appropriate time during the Pre-examination stage. If parties have signed up for the Email Updates they will receive a prompt when the registration period opens (the Relevant Representation period). For further information about registering as an Interested Party please see ‘Advice Note 8.2: How to register to participate in an Examination’. attachment 3 The Advice Note explains that if the Planning Inspectorate decides to accept an application for Examination, it will then be the Applicant’s duty to advertise the Relevant Representation period and provide details about how to register to become an Interested Party. The Applicant has indicated that it will extend this registration period beyond the statutory minimum of thirty days, if the application is accepted, to allow all parties more time to review the application documents and register their interest before the start of the six month Examination stage. The Planning Inspectorate is mindful of the need to ensure both openness and fairness throughout all stages of the DCO process and will continue to highlight this in discussions with the Applicant. Finally, with regard to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, please refer to the Planning Inspectorate’s published guidance which will be updated as the situation develops. attachment 4 I hope you find the above information helpful. Kind regards, Liam


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