Advice on the applicants Non-Material Change request consutee list
Thank you for providing your draft list of consultees for the proposed non-material change requests. We have the following advice to give regarding the amended consultee lists for Hirwaun and Progress Power. The advice is without prejudice to any decision the secretary of state may make and I hope you find it helpful.

Progress Power

On the basis of their previous involvement in the examination, we consider that you might wish to provide additional justification to the Secretary of State (SoS) on why you do not propose to consult the following consultees:

Andrew P Colchester
Arqiva Telecommunications Asset Development Company Limited
David Ellis
Eleanor Havers (Agent to the Talbots)
Eleco plc
Gordon Ellis Talbot
Harry Charles Moore
Hayley Talbot
HSBC Bank plc
John Cole Farms Limited
Mr McGowen
Quiet Sports Fishery Management
St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Board of Finance
Steve Jacobs
Tracy Lorraine Jacobs
UK Power Networks Limited.

For similar reasons, you may also wish to retain the following consultees:

Brome & Oakley Parish Council
Common Concern
South Norfolk Council

There were also a number of people who registered as Interested Parties expressly for the examination and you may wish to consider consulting them directly as part of this.

Hirwaun

On the basis of their previous involvement in the examination, we consider that you might wish to provide additional justification to the Secretary of State (SoS) on why you do not propose to consult the following consultees:

Ashtenne (AIF) Limited
Ashtenne Industrial Fund Nominee No. 1 Limited
British Gas Trading Limited
Canal and River Trust
Carol Ann Jenkins
CCF Limited
Cefn Strain Gauges Limited
Celtic Energy Limited
Ceridwyn Short
Deepan Rasiklal Khiroya
Eftec Limited
Eunice Davies
Forward Sound Limited
Ifan Geraint Jenkins
International Greetings UK Limited
J.D Burford Limited
James Snowdon
Mark Newman
Nabeel Yunis Soroya
Naveed Amir Soroya
Paul Jonathan Lloyd
Phillip Sedgemore
Sandeep Rasiklal Khiroya
Skipton Building Society
South Wales Electricity Limited
Swan Mill (Holdings) Limited
Tallyspace Limited
Tip Top Toilets Limited
Walter Energy Inc
Walters Plant Hire Limited
Welsh Tyre Recycling Services Limited
Wendy Joseph
West & Wales Utilities Limited

The Inspectorate would recommend the applicant to retain on its consultee list the following consutlees as they partook in the examination process:

Neath Port Talbot
Network Rail
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd
Royal Mail
South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner

We note you have excluded some S.56(2)(d) consultees in the table below. According to our records these s.56 (2) (d) persons were not included in the application book of reference revision 3. It might therefore be prudent to clarify to the SoS how these parties have been identified and why their rights are not being infringed by the changes applied for.


Lloyds Bank plc
LR (Cardiff) Limited
Metech Recycling (UK) Limited
National Westminster Bank plc
Nationwide Building Society
Nigel Morrison
Peter Burford
Richard Gordon Oliver
Rodd Properties Limited
Rowe Estates (UK) Limited
Simon Jeremy Bryant
Susan Purnell
Taylors Crisps Limited
The Authentic Curry Company Limited
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
Union Pension Trustees Limited
Wilfred Vaughan Jones
Wolseley UK Limited
Wolseley Utilities Limited
WTB Properties Limited


A minor final point - you may also wish might want to review the entry saying Occupier(s) as it is currently unclear which plots this relates to.

Chris McKerrow

Meeting regarding applying for a Non-Material Change
Please see attached meeting note

Chris McKerrow

Request for information in relation to the Book of Reference and s59 notice.
Book of Reference:

In your submitted Book of Reference, you have included within it a non-prescribed schedule of Statutory Undertakers ? akin to that submitted under TWA applications.
Annex D to the DCLG Guidance on Compulsory Acquisition states:

?Applicants should not add any further (non-prescribed) parts to a book of reference, for example schedules of statutory undertakers or other like bodies having or possibly having a right to keep equipment on, in or over the land within the order limits.?

Not attempting to fetter the discretion of the Examining Authority at a later date; I would advise preparing a justification as to the purpose of this schedule and the reasons why it has been included within the Book of Reference, should the issue be raised. This is in the absence of any justification being provided for in the Statement of Reasons ? section 8 ? ?Statutory Undertakers Land?.

Furthermore, there are instances where statutory undertakers ? which appear in the said non-prescribed schedule ? do not appear in either Parts 1 or 3 of the Book of Reference. Could this also be explained please.

Section 59 Notice:

The purpose of a section 59 Notice is to act as a vehicle to inform the Planning Inspectorate of the names, address for service and contact details of the affected persons as described in Part 1 of the Book of Reference.

We note that there is references to Parts 2 and 3 of the Book of Reference within the s59 Notice. Could you please confirm these amendments, separately, in writing, to the Planning Inspectorate by further correspondence. Please can you also explain the nature of any such amendments ie. is it exactly the same person (including firm or company) which has simply itself changed its own name, or is it actually a different person (including firm or company)?

Chris Girdham

Request for information regarding the planning process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) under the Planning Act 2008 regime and information about becoming organised as an interest group in the run-up to the examination.
The pre-examination stage:

The Progress Power Station application is currently at the pre-examination stage. This stage precedes the statutory 6 ? month examination stage and includes the following ?milestone? events in the order they occur:

- Notification of an accepted application by the applicat to prescribed persons;
- The period to register as an Interested Party or ?IP? commences - a minimum of 28 days set by the applicant;
- Those who submit a relevant representation (?RR?) ? a 500 word summary of ones views either in support or objection to the proposal ? become an IP;
- The applicant must certify it?s compliance with the legislative requirements when notifying persons of an accepted application and confirm whether it has identified any further persons whose land may be affected by the proposed development;
- Relevant Representations are published on the Planning Portal;
- The Examining authority (ExA) is appointed which comprises either one, 3 or 5 examining inspectors.

The appointment is based on:

- The level of public interest ? derived from the RRs;

- The size of the project; and
- The level of complexity the project brings.

- A Rule 6 letter is issued to all Interested Parties (those which registered as an IP and others prescribed in statute). This letter confirms:

- The ExA ? names and size;
- A draft timetable of the 6-month examination;
- An initial assessment of the principle issues the project entails; and
- 21 days? notice of the date, time and venue of the Preliminary Meeting.

- The Preliminary Meeting is held at a venue close to the proposed development.
- The examination stage commences, the day after the Preliminary Meeting.
- A final examination timetable a ?Rule 8? letter is issued to all IPs as soon as practicable following the PM.
- Submissions of written reps & hearings commence as set-out in the Rule 8 letter over the statutory 6-month period.

What happens with your relevant representations?

The relevant representation period has now closed. All relevant representations have been published on the Progress Power Station Project Page. All those persons who submitted a Relevant Representation have, in-turn, regisetered themselves as Interested Parties or an ?IP?. IPs are assinged a legal status and invited to take part in the examination of the application i.e. to speak at hearings and submit evidence (in the form of written submissions) to the Examining authority (ExA) for them to consider.

The ExA ? once appointed ? will review all relevant representations, the application documents and discuss pertinent matters with the case team in compiling its initial assessment of issues. All IPs will have the opportunity to comment on others? RRs during the examination.

I?ve submitted a RR - what happens next?

All IPs will be sent the Rule 6 letter confirming the details for the Preliminary Meeting; the Initial Assessment of Principle Issues; name(s) of the ExA; and a draft examination timetable. The preliminary meeting is purely a procedural meeting to discuss the draft timetable and not the merits of the project.

Following the preliminary meeting, the examination stage will commence. The examination can be an intense period, with tight deadlines for the receipt of information, responses to written questions posed by the ExA and summaries of case put at hearings.

It is important to utilise the pre-examination stage as much as possible in getting prepared for what might be voiced at a hearing or what might constitute your written representations. I have included a link to a timetable of a project, similar to that of Progress Power ? this will enable you to see example dates between milestones in the examination and the benefit of being prepared with submissions as we lead into the examination. I am happy to discuss with you what types of submissions may consist of, but I am unable to assist in their preparation ie. advising on specific content:

[attachment 1]

The Examination:

During the Examination, all IPs will be kept up-to-date of procedural decisions made by the ExA. These will either be via email or in letter form ? as confirmed in RR forms. It should be remembered that the premise of the examination is to the inform the ExA?s Report for recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change.

Further written representations will be requested during the Examination stage ? these should be based on one?s relevant representation submitted during the pre-examination stage. There is no word limit to written representations, however, we do ask that summaries are provided for large documents.

Please see the link at the bottom of this email to our Advice Notes for more information.
Although primarily a written process, the examination timetable will make provision for hearings. There are three types of hearings:

- Open-Floor Hearings ? anyone can attend an OFH but only IPs can speak at them. Those who are not an IP and wish to speak at an OFH, must make a request to the ExA for consideration. If representing a group of people, a spokesperson may be best suited to represent those who find public speaking difficult or uncomfortable

- Issue-Specific Hearings ? these are held at the request of the ExA and focus on specific matters e.g transport or ecology.

- Compulsory Acquisiton Hearings ? these are only held if a request by an affected person is received.

A deadline will feature in the examination timetable to inform the ExA of a party?s wish to speak or attend a hearing. This date is important should you wish to attend or speak at hearings.

Site visits:

The ExA may feel the need to visit the site ? this can either be conducted accompanied (by IPs and the applicant) or unaccompanied. Details on site visits will be included within the Rule 6 and Rule 8 letters.

I?ve included some links to our advice notes (8.1 ? 8.5) which you will no doubt find useful:

[attachment 2]

Common Concern

Late representation received after the close of the Relevant Representations period for the Progress Power Station.
Thank-you for submitting a representation to us. As you mentioned in your representation, you had unfortunately, missed the deadline to submit a ?relevant representation? and register as an interested party for the Project. The deadline was 5pm on 6 June and we are unable to extend the registration period.

We will keep your submission on file and make it available to the Examining Authority (ExA), which will be appointed shortly.

Although the information you supplied was received after the deadline, the ExA is able to exercise its discretion to consider your evidence. This does not mean that you will be regarded as an ?interested party? ? a legal status allowing one to speak at hearings and submit written evidence - instead, if your representation is accepted, you will have the status of an ?other person?.

As an ?other person? the ExA has the power to invite you and any other persons they consider it to be appropriate to the preliminary meeting ? a procedural meeting to discuss the timetable of the six month examination ? not the merits of the project. Any person who is invited to the preliminary meeting in this way will also be sent, for information purposes, the Rule 8 letter, confirming the final examination timetable: detailing dates to submit written evidence, responses to questions posed by the ExA and dates of hearings such as open-floor hearings. The timetable will of course include, and any amendments made to it following the preliminary meeting.

The ?other person? status does not give you an automatic right to make representations during the course of the examination, as you do not have the status of an interested party. You can, however, make written representations to the ExA in accordance to the deadlines set out in the Rule 8 letter or request an opportunity to speak at a hearing as the ExA has the discretion to allow such representations, either written or oral, to be made as part of the examination.

Nigel Highfell

Concern over technical quality of advertisements on Progress Power Limited website for the proposed project.
Just by means of clarification, the role of the Planning Inspectorate within the Planning Act 2008 process is to provide advice to stakeholders about becoming involved in the consenting process and to advise applicants on how to submit an application for a development consent order or ?DCO?. The Planning Inspectorate is impartial to both stakeholders and the developers and will be undertaking a 6-month statutory examination of the Progress Power Station application in the near future.

You highlight that you are not satisfied with the visual quality of the applicant?s project website and the material published it. I would advise contacting the applicant about your concerns with regard to their website and other material which has been made publically available.

If you would like to formally raise such issues with the Planning Inspectorate then you can do so via a relevant representation ? this will ensure that your views are taken into account as part of the formal examination of the application by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State and ensure you have a legal right to participate in the examination by registering as an interested party. My previous email sets out the process for registering as an interested party.

Please also find attached copies of Advice Notes 6 ?Preparation and submission of application documents? and 8.1 ?How the process works? which gives more detail as to the role of the Planning Inspectorate and that of the applicant in this planning process.

Stephen Schwarz

Phonecall regarding the revised Environmental Statement Non-Technical Summary (Document 6.4) with a change to the wording of paragraph 1.5.4.
Many thanks for your phone call just now. As discussed, we have published the revised version of the Non-Technical Summary to the Environmental Statement (Doc 6.4) Revision 1 which made amendments to paragraph 1.5.4 ? this can be found on the project pages of the Planning Portal along with the original version of the Non-Technical Summary to the Environmental Statement (Doc 6.4) Revision 0. You will notice that the wording included on the banner at the top of the project page highlights that the revised NTS makes amendments only to paragraph 1.5.4.

As a reminder, you will no doubt be aware that section 56(6) of the Planning Act 2008 requires the applicant to make available to each person to whom notice is given under s56(2) of that Act the original documents and information that were required by section 37(3)(d) of that Act to accompany the application. You are therefore advised to make available to those persons the original Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement (Doc 6.4) Revision 0 in addition to the updated version (Revision 1) of it dated April 2014, together with a clear explanation of what has been updated and why.

Chris Girdham

Request to become an Interested Party.
Thank-you for your email dated 15 April 2014 relating to the Progress Power Station application ? I have the following information for you which I trust will be of use:

An application for the Progress Power Station was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 31 March 2014. The Inspectorate now has a period of up to 28 days to consider whether or not the application meets the standards required to be formally accepted for examination. The Secretary of State?s decision on whether or not to accept an application for examination is based on a number of legal criteria, including whether or not the applicant?s consultation has been adequate, when considered against the statutory tests. The decision as to whether the said application should be accepted for examination must be made by Monday 28 April 2014.

If and when the application is formally accepted by the Secretary of State the preparations and arrangements for the examination get underway ? this stage is known as the ?Pre-examination? stage and it is during this stage that you can register as an Interested Party with the Inspectorate by submitting a relevant representation. First, the Inspectorate notifies the applicant of the acceptance. The applicant is then required to publicise the fact that their application has been accepted and the arrangements for making representations about it.

The easiest way to register as an Interested Party and submit a relevant representation is by completing an online registration form on the National Infrastructure portal (www.planningportal. gov.uk/infrastructure), which has been designed to ensure that you do not miss any of the required sections. The form includes space for you to provide an initial written summary of what you agree and / or disagree with in the application, and this is known as a ?representation?. Representations should relate specifically to the project and its impacts.

Here's a link to the Progress Power project page on the Planning Portal, where you can get updates on this project's progress:
[attachment 1]

I would recommend signing up to receive email updates about the project via the box on the right hand side of the page.

As you're thinking of registering as an interested party and making a representation on the application if it is accepted for examination, it's worth taking a look at our advice note on the subject:

[attachment 2]

Brian Guthrie

The applicant requested comments from the Planning Inspectorate on their draft documents including draft Development Consent Order (DCO) and Explanatory Memorandum, Land/Works Plans, Consultation Report.
Please see comments document attached.

Progress Power Limited

During the afternoon session at last weeks Outreach Meeting Mr Simon Cairns, representing Common Concern, questioned the Planning Inspectorate regarding the number of cases to date where local authorities, other than Suffolk CC and Mid Suffolk DC, have resolved to support Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects at the pre-consultation stage.

On this point the Planning Inspectorate (Jeff Penfold) undertook to provide a response to Common Concern regarding the orthodoxy of local authorities resolving, in principle, to support projects in the absence of project design details or EIA evidence at this very early stage of the process.
I am writing in regards to the request for advice following the outreach event held on 22 January 2014 relating to the proposed Progress Power Station by Progress Power Ltd. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you on this matter.

The question posed by yourself to the Planning Inspectorate related to the frequency of cases where local authorities involved in a project have voiced an opinion, at the pre-application consultation stage of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (?NSIP?) process, in regards to their stance on a proposal.

At the pre-application stage, local authorities provide responses directly to applicants and this is not information that is given to the Planning Inspectorate. In addition, we do not hold information on the procedure for each authority to prepare its response, for example whether this is a delegated power or report to the relevant cabinet or committee.

The most comprehensive record of local authority responses can be found in consultation reports submitted with each application. We have published all consultation reports submitted as part of applications made, on our website. These documents summarise the response of local authorities to formal pre-application consultation and may prove a useful starting point to help answer your query. Each project has its own page with all the relevant documents. Our home page also lists the latest schemes in examination.

You can search for projects by stage in the process at the following link:

[attachment 1]

For each project, application documents can be found under the ?documents? tab, and are sorted by stage on the left hand side of the page.

Consultation Reports can be found under ?developer?s application?, and you can search for ?consultation report? in the filter on the right hand side of the page.

I attach an example below which I hope assists:

[attachment 2];stage=app

As a general point, the aim of the Planning Act 2008 is to use the pre-application stage to identify potential issues before an application is made. We encourage all consultees whether statutory or community consultees, to make responses at the pre-application stage based on the information available for applicants to have regard to when forming an application. It is for each consultee including local authorities to consider how they put together their response.

Local authorities in particular have a statutory role throughout the process. Where they are able to identify issues early on and work with applicants at the pre-application stage, it can help identify potential mitigation measures before an application is submitted. Should an application be accepted, formal responses at the pre-application stage can help applicants and local authorities to establish information needed to inform future representations made as part of any examination. Please note that all parties have the opportunity to comment on any representations made during examination, for consideration by the Examining authority and on the application documents.

I hope this helps to answer your question, please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions regarding any aspect of the process.

Common Concern - Hilary Butler

During the outreach event on 22 January 2014, a query was raised into what constituted a 'relevant' local authority or parish council for the purpose of the applicants pre-application consultation.
Following on from the Outreach event held in Diss on 22 January, we have looked into the matter of statutory consultees for this project in more depth in relation to parish councils and local authorities, with the aim of providing clarity to all parties. It remains for the applicant to ensure it has consulted correctly, however we hope this information assists all the attendees at the event given the questions raised.

The information includes which local authorities and parish councils we consider are classed as 'relevant', based on the information we have at present, for the purposes of statutory pre-application consultation, those bodies that we consider would be notified by the applicant of an accepted application for examination, and those that would be classed as automatic Interested Parties to an examination if an application was to be accepted in its current form. Please note that should an application be accepted for examination, the applicant would be required to make public notices of the acceptance decision.

It?s important to stress that any person or group can register to become an Interested Party for an examination. Details of how to register are provided in notices and notifications by the applicant, and no-one should feel excluded from the process. We are happy to provide further advice to anyone should they wish and our details are at the end of this email.
I have also included links to our series of Advice Notes and to our new video which explain the process of involvement for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects ('NSIPs').
I would be grateful if you could circulate this email to those who attended the Outreach event, and we will also shortly publish this on our website at the following location: [attachment 1]
Local authorities and parish councils as pre-application statutory consultees:

At the pre-application stage, applicants are under a duty under s42 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) ('PA 2008') to consult statutory consultees about their proposals. These include, amongst others, local authorities and parish councils.
The local authorities and parish councils, who will be consulted upon at this stage include:
? host local authorities (where the proposed development is situated in a local authorities area - known as either 'B' or 'C' authorities); and
? neighbouring local authorities to those host authorities (known as either 'A' or 'D' authorities).
Parish councils which have responsibility for the location where the proposal may be sited are known as 'relevant' parish councils. Applicants are required to consult these parish councils at the statutory pre-application consultation stage. PINS are required to consult these parish councils on any scoping request made by the applicant and we did so during the scoping stage of the project.
On 15 May 2013, the Planning Inspectorate received notification from the applicant, Progress Power Limited, under Regulation 6 of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (as amended). This triggered the requirement for the Planning Inspectorate to produce a list under Regulation 9 of those regulations. On the basis of the information provided by the applicant in relation to this request, the following local authorities were identified by the Inspectorate as local authorities for the purposes of s42 consultation under the 'A', ?B?, ?C? & 'D' tests as prescribed in s43 PA 2008:
Relevant Parish Councils:
? Thrandeston Parish Council
? Eye Town Council
? Yaxley Parish Council.
Local Authorities:
'A' local authorities (local authorities which neighbour the 'host' local authority if that authority is a unitary council or a lower-tier district council):
? Waveney District Council;
? Suffolk Coastal District Council;
? Ipswich Borough Council;
? Babergh District Council;
? St Edmundsbury District Council;
? Breckland Council;
? South Norfolk Council; and
? Norfolk County Council.
'B' local authority (A 'host' unitary council or lower-tier district council):
? Mid-suffolk District Council.
'C' local authority (A 'host' upper-tier county council):
? Suffolk County Council.
'D' local authority (A local authority that is not a lower-tier district council which neighbours a 'host' upper-tier county council):
? Norfolk County Council;
? Essex County Council; and
? Cambridgeshire County Council.
Notification of an accepted application - prescribed persons:

If and when an application is accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate, the developer is under a duty to give notice of this acceptance to, amongst others, 'host' and ?neighbouring? local authorities and 'relevant' parish councils.
As part of the duty on developers to publicise an accepted application, the developer is required to set the period - being a minimum of 28 days - for the receipt by the Planning Inspectorate of relevant representations. A relevant representation should constitute, a brief, 500 word summary of the main, headline issues a party wishes to put towards the Examining authority (once appointed), allowing such issues to be fed into the initial assessment of principal issues.
In submitting a relevant representation, the party doing so will consequentially be registered as an Interested Party to the examination of the project. This entitles the party to a legal status, allowing full participation within the examination e.g. to attend and speak at hearings and to submit further, written representations to the Examining Authority.
Automatic IPS:

Some parties are automatically registered as Interested Parties, and therefore, not required to submit a relevant representation to the Planning Inspectorate. Such bodies include, but are not limited to:
? Local authorities whose land the proposed development falls within or 'host' local authorities (NB: this excludes parish councils).
Statutory Parties (which includes, but is not limited to, relevant parish councils) are not automatically registered as Interested Parties however they will be invited to the Preliminary Meeting to allow them to make representations to the Examining authority as to how the application is to be examined. Following on from this, the Rule 8 letter will be issued to all Interested Parties and to the said ?statutory parties? (s88 (3) (c ) or (d)). The statutory parties will then be invited to register as an Interested Party.
This means that the aforementioned 'host' local authorities (NB: not parish councils) will not need to register as an Interested Party through submitting a Relevant Representation by the deadline as set-out in the developer's acceptance notice, should the project be accepted for examination. However, the Planning Inspectorate still urges those bodies which are automatically classed as Interested Parties to submit a relevant representation to the Planning Inspectorate to ensure the views of such bodies are not missed by the Examining authority at such a key, early stage.
For further information regarding how the process works and how local authorities and parish councils can be involved please refer to the Advice Notes and information videos provided below.

Advice Notes:

8.1 (How the process works) - [attachment 2]

8.2 (Responding to the developers pre-application consultation) - [attachment 3]

8.3 (How to register and become an interested party in an application) - [attachment 4]

8.4 (Influencing how an application will be examined ? the Preliminary Meeting) - [attachment 5]

8.5 (Participating in the examination) - [attachment 6]

Information Videos:

A new video explaining the process is now available on our website at the following link:

[attachment 7]

Progress Power Progress Power Limited

Tripartite meeting with Progress Power Limited, Suffolk County Council, Mid-Suffolk District Council and the Planning Inspectorate.
Please see meeting note attached.

Progress Power Limited Chris Girdham

Enquiry regarding the applicant's pre-application consultation.
Thank you for your email dated 10 October 2013 regarding proposed Progress Power Station at Eye Airfield. Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying.

As you are probably aware, this application is currently at the pre-application stage; where the developer is required to undertake its statutory pre-application consultation exercises in accordance with the Planning Act 2008 (as amended). I believe that the leaflet you received relates to the applicant?s statutory consultation.

We appreciate being informed about the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs); please note however that the pre-application consultation exercise is driven by the applicant. I therefore suggest contacting the applicant directly to make them aware of your concerns. The applicant might be able to provide you with other opportunities to have your say on the project. You may wish to use the conatc details below to make your representation to the applicant;

Progress Power

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0131 550 3380

Progress Power Limited
49 York Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3JD

Please note that once the application is formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate specific tests will be undertaken against the relevant legislation on the submitted application documents during the 28 day acceptance period. As a part of these tests, the Secretary of State will review the applicant's pre-application consultation exercises undertaken and, how the applicant had regard to consultation responses received.

If the application is accepted for examination you will then have an opportunity to register as an interested party (IP) directly to the Planning Inspectorate. In a case where the applicant fails to demonstrate that it has fulfilled this duty there may be grounds to refuse an application for examination and require that the developer restarts its pre-application consultation exercises before an application is re-submitted.

I would suggest that any views you have on the applicant's proposed consultation exercises are formally sent to the developer in the first instance and that you make a record of this. Responses to consultation exercises must form part of the applicant's Consultation Report which will be used to determine the level of 'regard' an applicant has had to responses submitted.

I am also including the link below to our Advice Notes 8.1 - 8.5 on how the process works and how to get involved:

[attachment 1]

I hope this information was helpful.

Nigel Bamber

Phone call from member of the public regarding pre-application consulation and information about the project.
Thank you for your telephone call on 1 October 2013 regarding the above application.

As discussed over the telephone, the above application is currently at the pre-application stage of the Planning Act 2008 process (as amended). The application therefore has not been formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate yet. The pre-application stage is mainly driven by the applicant to carry out its consultation with local communities, statutory undertakers and the local planning authorities. Please note that there is no statutory deadline for the pre-application stage.

Once the application is formally submitted by the applicant to the Secretary of State (SoS) and if accepted for examination, there will be an opportunity to become an interested party by submitting a relevant representation. The purpose of submitting a relevant representation is to express directly to the appointed Examining Authority (ExA) your views on whether you agree or disagree with the proposed application.

For more information on how the process works and how to get involved you may find it useful looking at our Advice Notes 8.1 - 8.3 (please use link below).

[attachment 1]

As discussed over the telephone, if you wish to find out more specific information about the project itself, I suggest looking at the project website and/or contacting the applicant Power Progress Limited. I am including project details and the contact details for the applicant below for your information.

Please note that before the formal submission of the application for Development Consent, the applicant can request the SoS for a formal written opinion, known as a 'Scoping Opinion' on the information that they should include in their Environmental Statement (ES). The purpose of applicant?s Scoping Report is to provide the SoS with information about the proposed development and an assessment of possible effects that the development may have on environment.

Once a request for a Scoping Opinion is made by the applicant, the SoS will then provide its opinion in relation to the proposed development based on the information provided by the applicant and the responses received from the relevant statutory consultees. Further information on Scoping Opinions can be found in Advice Note 3. Please see link below

[attachment 2]

As discussed over the phone, you might find it useful looking at the Scoping Report submitted by the applicant regarding the application and/or the Planning Inspectorate's Scoping Opinion produced by the SoS. I am including the link to those documents below.

[attachment 3]

Please don?t hesitate to contact us should you have any further questions.

Jenny Youden

Please see attached meeting note.

Chris Girdham

Introductory project meeting between the developer for the Progress Power Station and the Planning Inspectorate.
Please see attached meeting note.

Chris Gridham