Mynydd y Gwynt Wind Farm
Enquiry
Enquiry regarding why consultation correspondence was received from Mynydd y Gwynt
Advice given
The proposal for the Mynydd y Gwynt wind farm is considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) due to its proposed generating capacity. On that basis, should a formal application be made, it will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (who operate the process on behalf of the Secretary of State) and will be determined under the Planning Act 2008 regime rather than the Town and Country Planning Act regime.
The Planning Act 2008 regime places a lot of emphasis on the applicant to undertake pre-application consultation with various groups, individuals and organisations. To that end a list of prescribed consultees is set down in legislation, and the short hand for this type of pre-application consultation is 'Section 42 consultation'. As part of some recent changes to the legislation, developers of NSIP schemes are required to consult: "the relevant local health board" meaning a Local Health Board established under section 11 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006. This may explain why Powys Teaching Health Board has received consultation correspondence from Mynydd y Gwynt and why you may not have received it previously.
As part of our phone conversation I noted that 'Section 47' consultation related to consultation with local communities.