Requested advice as to whether the Swansea Bay Port Health Authority was a prescribed consultee for the proposed Tidal Lagoon - Swansea Bay development.

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) have considered whether The Swansea Bay Port Health Authority is a statutory undertaker against the relevant statutory provisions, and the criteria set out in PINS Advice Note 3: EIA Consultation and Notification. Section 42 of the Planning Act 2008 (the 2008 Act) and Schedule 1 of The Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 (as amended) (the APFP Regulations) are the relevant statutory provisions in determining prescribed consultees.
The only potential category on the Schedule 1 list where a port health authority could potentially fall is that of a relevant statutory undertaker. For the purposes of the APFP Regulations ?statutory undertaker? has the same meaning as in s.127 of the 2008 Act which defines statutory undertakers as having the meaning given by s.8 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (?the ALA?).
Our understanding is that port health authorities are not prescribed statutory undertakers under s.8 or s.16 of the ALA. So far as we are aware they are not deemed to be statutory undertakers for the purposes of the ALA, and they are not one of the bodies which the Secretary of State (SoS) will treat as statutory undertakers within the dock/harbour sector because they do not have responsibility for national or regional public networks/infrastructure.
We do not think therefore that The Swansea Bay Port Health Authority can be classed as a prescribed consultee. Ultimately, this will not prevent the Authority from being involved in the examination of this proposed development should an application be submitted to, and accepted for examination by the SoS. Following acceptance of an application, a body can register to become an 'interested party' to the application and will have the opportunity to submit representations, and participate in any hearings that take place.