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Advice given between between 1 October 2009 and 14 April 2015 has been archived.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.
North Wales Connection
Enquiry
I note the following section from EN-1
“The Planning Act 2008 aims to create a holistic planning regime so that the cumulative effect of different elements of the same project can be considered together. The Government therefore envisages that wherever possible, applications for new generating stations and related infrastructure should be contained in a single application … or in separate applications submitted in tandem which have been prepared in an integrated way.”
Please could you explain the logic behind the power station and the connection being considered as two separate projects. Please can you confirm that you will consider "the cumulative effect of different elements", ie both the power station and the connection, when addressing just part of the overall project ie just the connection.
I note from your meeting minutes that National Grid are sharing draft copies of the DCO and related documents with various consultees. Please could you pressure them to share these with the public. We have a lot of preparation to do if we are to be able to scrutinise them effectively, especially due to the flawed "consultation" process.
I understand that National Grid have made numerous changes to their proposals since they last consulted the public. They consider the changes to not be material. Can you assure me that they have made you fully aware of these changes and that you agree that they are not material?
Advice given
As the Wylfa Newydd and North Wales Connection applications will be made by different applicants it is not possible for these to be made in a single application. The Examining Authorities will consider cumulative impacts when making their recommendations to the Secretary of State.
National Grid are not required to share any of their draft documents but if you wish to see a copy of their draft DCO I suggest you request this from National Grid. If they do not wish to provide this then, if the application is accepted, the first iteration of their draft DCO will be available on our website before the start of the Examination.
We would expect proposals to change as an applicant responds to consultation feedback. We will look at the consultation undertaken as part of our check of the application at Acceptance stage, as well as asking the local authorities for their views on the adequacy of the Applicant’s consultation. Guidance which sets out the requirements and procedures and consultation for major infrastructure projects can be viewed here: attachment 1
