Details of the Preliminary Meeting will be announced here shortly.

The Examining Authority will carry out an Initial Assessment of Principal Issues derived from its reading of the application and the Relevant Representations received and set a date for the Preliminary Meeting.

Interested Parties will receive an invitation to the Preliminary Meeting which is to discuss procedural matters only, and is held in public. It is not essential to attend the Preliminary Meeting. Whether or not an Interested Party chooses to attend the Preliminary Meeting, they will still be sent details of how to further take part in the Examination.

The Procedural Decision made after the Preliminary Meeting will be published on our website and will also be available on request from [email protected] and our helpline: 0303 444 5000. Importantly, this Procedural Decision will set the timetable for the Examination. The Examination Timetable will, amongst other things, set deadlines for receipt of detailed Written Representations and for comments on the Relevant Representations made by other Interested Parties.

If you are an Interested Party, either because you are one of the specific bodies cited in s102 of the Planning Act 2008 or have submitted a Relevant Representation, you will receive notifications about the Examination and a copy of the Secretary of State’s decision on the application once that is made.

If you have a legal interest in land affected by a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and:

• have not been identified by the Applicant; and
• did not register to become an Interested Party;

then you can make a request to the Examining Authority to become an Interested Party under s102A of the Planning Act 2008.