Wrexham Energy Centre

Enquiry received via email

Wrexham Energy Centre

18 July 2013
George Tranter

Enquiry

Enquiry reagrding the considertation of the issues during the examination of the applciation.

Advice given

Firstly as you are already aware the proposed application is currently at the pre-application stage of the Planning Act 2008 process; therefore it has not been formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate yet. Once the application is formally submitted and if it is accepted; the Examining Authority ?ExA? will be appointed to examine the application. This will also be an opportunity to register as an interested party and to raise comments to be considered at examination directly to the ExA.
In response to your question, it is however for the applicant to satisfy themselves that the application meets the satisfactory standards before it is formally submitted for consideration. This includes compliance by the applicant with the provisions of Chapter 2 of Part 5 (pre-application procedure) of the Planning Act and any applicable Regulations. It also means having regard by the applicant to any consultation responses and issues raised during applicant's pre-application consultation. In addition, the applicant must ensure that their application is consistent with the guidance contained in the National Policy Statements (NPS).
For more information on NPSs that set out government objectives for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) please see link below:
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In terms of acceptance, the Secretary of State when deciding whether to accept an application must be satisfied that the application has been prepared to a satisfactory standard, whilst having regard to any standards and guidance made under section 37 of the Planning Act. As evidence, the applicant must also certify to the Secretary of State that it has complied with these requirements before examination of the application can commence.
If the application is accepted, it is for the appointed Examining Authority to decide how to examine the application. The ExA will make an initial assessment of the issues arising from the application based on its preliminary examination of the application documents (pre-application consultation for example). The ExA may also take into account any of the relevant representations received from interested parties. This initial assessment will guide the ExA to form a provisional view as to how the application is to be examined. I would therefore strongly encourage you to raise your concerns with your Local Planning Authority and/or make a relevant representation once the application is formally submitted and if it is accepted. Please do still contact the applicant at this stage as well should you have any specific questions about the project.
Moreover as you are probably aware the examination stage takes a form of consideration by the ExA of written representations as well as oral representations raised at the hearings; therefore the ExA must consider all the written submissions as a part of the its examination of the application. Once the Examination is completed, the ExA will write a report to the Secretary of State on the application setting out their findings, conclusions and recommendation on the decision to be made on the application.
For more information on how examination works, please find link to DCLG Guidance on examination of applications for development consent.
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I hope that is helpful and do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further questions.


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