What happens next
A decision on the application for a Development Consent Order for Lake Lothing Third Crossing was taken on 30 April 2020 and has now been issued.
The period for legal challenge is defined in s118 of the Planning Act 2008. Further information about legal challenge can be found in the letter sent to all Interested Parties accompanying the Secretary of State’s decision and statement of reasons.
If you have any queries about the process please email the Planning Inspectorate at [email protected] or telephone the helpline on 0303 444 5000.
Timeline (37 items)

The Secretary of State has made a Correction Order (PDF, 55 KB) affecting The Lake Lothing (Lowestoft) Third Crossing Order 2020. A Correction Notice (PDF, 141 KB) was issued on 21 October 2020. The corrections to the Order are applied following a request from the Applicant dated 11 June 2020 (PDF, 3MB).

The Secretary of State has granted development consent for this application. For further information please refer to the following decision documentation:
Planning Inspectorate Notification of Decision Letter
Secretary of State Decision Letter
Development Consent Order as made by the Secretary of State
Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report
Post-Examination Submissions
Regulation 23 Notice


A Statement has been laid in Parliament by the Secretary of State announcing a new deadline of 5 May 2020 for the decision.
IMPORTANT: As a result of ongoing Government guidance relating to COVID-19 the Planning Inspectorate is seeking to ensure that all Parties are notified of key developments on projects, in a timely manner. In order to help achieve this, and to minimise any delays which could arise if the postal service is affected, it would be extremely helpful if registered Parties that have not already done so could supply us with a contact e-mail address as soon as possible (details in the contact information heading of the project page).
Please be assured that this information will be managed in line with our Privacy Notice.

IMPORTANT: As a result of ongoing Government guidance relating to COVID-19 the Planning Inspectorate is seeking to ensure that all Parties are notified of key developments on projects, in a timely manner. In order to help achieve this, and to minimise any delays which could arise if the postal service is affected, it would be extremely helpful if registered Parties that have not already done so could supply us with a contact e-mail address as soon as possible (details in the contact information heading of the project page).
Please be assured that this information will be managed in line with our Privacy Notice.

The Applicant’s response to the Secretary of State’s consultation dated 10 December 2019 has now been published.

The Department for Transport has asked for comments from the Applicant by 3 January 2020.

In light of the general election, the original decision date of 5 December 2019 for the Lake Lothing Development Consent Order application will now be postponed until a new Government is appointed. A Statement to Parliament setting a new deadline for a decision will be made once Parliament is in session.
The Examining Authority issued a Recommendation Report to the Secretary of State on 05 September 2019. The decision letter and Recommendation Report will be published on this project page once a decision has been made.

Responses from the Applicant and Associated British Ports to the Secretary of State’s consultation have now been published.

The Department for Transport has asked for comments from the Applicant and Associated British Ports by 11 October 2019.
Letter from Secretary of State requesting comments from Department for Transport Estates Manager – 7 Oct 2019.

The Department for Transport has asked for comments from the Applicant and Associated British Ports by 11 October 2019.


The Examination closed at 23:59 on 5 June 2019.
Submissions to Deadline 11 have now been published.
Additional Submissions, accepted at the discretion of the Examining Authority, have also been published.

All submissions to Deadline 10 have now been published.
The Examining Authority’s draft Development Consent Order has been published.

Updated documents have been submitted by the Applicant reflecting the inclusion of eight non-material changes within the application. These documents were requested by the Examining Authority to Deadline 10 and have been published early in order to facilitate the Examination. All other submissions to Deadline 10 will be published as soon as practicable after 24 May 2019.

Please note that in the light of the content of this letter from the Applicant dated 12 April 2019, the Examining Authority has decided to defer its Procedural Decision in respect of the proposed changes to the application from 15 April 2019 to a later date.
Submissions to Deadline 8 have now been published.

Interested Parties have been notified of further hearings and a second Accompanied Site Inspection.

The agenda for the forthcoming Issue Specific Hearing dealing with matters relating to the environment has been published.

Agendas for the forthcoming Compulsory Acquisition Hearing and Issue Specific Hearing dealing with the draft Development Consent Order have been published.

Interested Parties and others have been notified of changes to the Examination Timetable and of the date, time and place of rescheduled hearings.

Interested Parties and others have been notified of a change to the Examining Authority and about the postponement of Issue Specific Hearing 2 (Environment) on 14 February 2019 and Open Floor Hearing 2 on 15 February 2019.

The Examination Timetable (Rule 8 letter) has been sent to Interested Parties
Procedural decision following Preliminary Meeting

- Preliminary Meeting takes place
- Examination begins

The notification of Preliminary Meeting (Rule 6 letter) has been sent Read the letter
The letter also includes the draft Examination Timetable and Initial Assessment of Principal Issues.





This application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 13 July 2018.
The application documents will be made available if the application is accepted for examination.
It is for the Applicant to decide whether or not application documents can be published upon submission (see government guidance).
