What happens next
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.
Timeline (21 items)
The Examining Authority has issued a number of Procedural Decisions:
- Requesting comments from the Applicant in relation to the Written Ministeral Statement of 09 March 2023
- Requesting comments from the Applicant in relation to a request by Thurrock Council to delay the examination
- In relation to a notification from the Applicant to submit a request for changes to the application.
The Relevant Representations are now available again following resolution of the website issues. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
We apologise for an issue with our website which means that the relevant representations are not currently available for viewing, We are working hard to resolve this as soon as we can.
In response to its procedural decision letters of 19 December 2022 (PDF, 178kb) and 03 March 2023 (PDF, 244kb), the Examining Authority (ExA) has accepted the following documents:
- Applicant’s responses to PDs 1 to 5
- Thurrock and Essex Councils responses to PD 7 and 8
- Principal Areas of Disagreement Summary (PADS) documents
- A overview of the parties who have informed the ExA that they are not submitting a PADS
- An additional document submitted by Gravesham BC and accepted by the ExA.
The Applicant has informed us that a couple of notifications that they sent informing of the opportunity to make Relevant Representations were not received and also that new land interests have been recently identified. The Applicant has sent a notification to those specific parties to notifying them of an ability to make a Relevant Representation by a later deadline of 24/25 March 2023. Anyone who has received such a notification and wishes to make a representation should contact us at [email protected] or telephone 0303 444 5000.
The Examining Authority has issued a Procedural Decision letter addressed to Thurrock Council (PDF, 233 KB).
The Log of Procedural Decisions [PD-007] (PDF, 137KB) and Examination Library have been updated.
The Registration and Relevant Representations form is available until 23:59 on Friday 24 February 2023
If you’re having any issues with the form please refresh the page in the first instance. If you still cannot access or submit the form please contact us on [email protected] or 0303 444 5000.
Further guidance on submitting a Relevant Representation for LTC (PDF, 204KB) has been issued.
You can now register as an Interested Party
If you are unable to complete a registration form online and would like to register your interest, please call the helpline on 0303 444 5000 or email the project mailbox, as found on the project page, for advice on how to register.
For further advice please see Advice Note 8.2: How to register to participate in an Examination.
Those wishing to base their Relevant Representations on the Applicant’s documentation are reminded that slight updates were made to some Application documents and accepted on 22 December 2022.
The Applicant has submitted some Additional Submissions. The ExA has issued a letter (PDF, 162 KB) accepting these documents. The Additional Submissions are as follows:
- Responses to s51 advice issued on 28 November 2022
- Errata Report
- Place Name Gazetteer
- Letters from Department of Transport and Department from Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The Log of Procedural Decisions (PDF, 135 KB) has been updated.
The Examination Library will be updated in due course.
The Examining Authority has today issued the following documents:
- Procedural Decisions and other information following issue of Acceptance decision (PDF, 178KB)
- Note of Unaccompanied Site Inspection carried out on 6-7 December 2022 (PDF, 2MB)
- Pre-exam Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 201KB)
- Log of Procedural Decisions (PDF, 133KB)
The Examination Library (PDF, 423KB) is now available.
The application documents have been published.
The documents have been published to help you become familiar with the proposal. There is no opportunity to make comments on the application at this stage.
If the application is accepted you will be able to register and express your views during the Registration and Relevant Representation stage and the subsequent Examination. Further detail on this process is provided in Advice Note 8.2.
This application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 31 October 2022.
The applicant has agreed that all application documents can be published as soon as practicable to help everyone become familiar with the detail of what is being proposed in this application. The Planning Inspectorate will therefore make the application documents available as soon as practicable.
This provision is solely for the purpose of allowing more time to all those who wish to become familiar with the detail of what is being proposed ahead of the Registration and Relevant Representation period without lengthening the overall time required for the application process. There will be no opportunity at this stage to make comments on the application. However, if the application is accepted anyone interested in the application will be able to register and express their views during the Registration and Relevant Representation stage and the subsequent examination.
The application is expected to be re-submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in Autumn 2022.
The application has been withdrawn. Please see the Applicant’s letter (PDF, 119KB).
This application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 23 October 2020.
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’s Planning Act 2008: guidance on the Pre-application process).
