What happens next
A decision on the application for a Development Consent Order for M42 Junction 6 Improvement was taken on 21 May 2020 and has now been issued.
The period for legal challenge is defined in s118 of the Planning Act 2008. Further information about legal challenge can be found in the letter sent to all Interested Parties accompanying the Secretary of State’s decision and statement of reasons.
If you have any queries about the process please email the Planning Inspectorate at [email protected] or telephone the helpline on 0303 444 5000.
Timeline (46 items)

A Correction Order (PDF 131KB) and Correction Notice (PDF 122 KB) following the Applicant’s request (PDF 232KB) have been published.

The Secretary of State has granted development consent for this application. For further information please refer to the following decision documentation:
Planning Inspectorate Notification of Decision Letter
Secretary of State Decision Letter
Development Consent Order as made by the Secretary of State
Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report
Post-Examination Submissions
Regulation 31 Notice
Department for Transport Estates letter


The Responses to the Secretary of State request for comments have now been published.
IMPORTANT: As a result of ongoing Government guidance relating to COVID-19 the Planning Inspectorate is seeking to ensure that all Parties are notified of key developments on projects, in a timely manner. In order to help achieve this, and to minimise any delays which could arise if the postal service is affected, it would be extremely helpful if registered Parties that have not already done so could supply us with a contact e-mail address as soon as possible (details in the contact information heading of the project page).

The Secretary of State for Transport has requested comments from the Applicant and other Interested Parties by 21 April 2020.
IMPORTANT: As a result of ongoing Government guidance relating to COVID-19 the Planning Inspectorate is seeking to ensure that all Parties are notified of key developments on projects, in a timely manner. In order to help achieve this, and to minimise any delays which could arise if the postal service is affected, it would be extremely helpful if registered Parties that have not already done so could supply us with a contact e-mail address as soon as possible (details in the contact information heading of the project page).

IMPORTANT: As a result of ongoing Government guidance relating to COVID-19 the Planning Inspectorate is seeking to ensure that all Parties are notified of key developments on projects, in a timely manner. In order to help achieve this, and to minimise any delays which could arise if the postal service is affected, it would be extremely helpful if registered Parties that have not already done so could supply us with a contact e-mail address as soon as possible (details in the contact information heading of the project page).
Please be assured that this information will be managed in line with our Privacy Notice.


The Examining Authority’s letter announcing the close of the Examination has been published.

The Examination closed at 23:59 on Thursday 21st November 2019.

The letter informing about the ExA’s decision regarding the Applicant’s proposed changes to the original Development Consent Order (DCO) application, amending the Examination Timetable and requesting further information has been published.

The ExA letter postponing the decision on Applicant’s proposed change to the DCO has been published.

The Examining Authority’s Rule8(3) letter amending the Examination Timetable has been published.

The Action Points from the Compulsory Acquisition Hearing (CAH2) and from the Issue Specific Hearing 7 (DCO 4) have been published.

The Examining Authority covered all the Environmental Matters listed in the agenda during Issue Specific Hearing 6 on 2 October and have decided to cancel Issue Specific Hearing 7 on 3 October as it is no longer necessary.

The Examining Authority’s written questions and requests for information (ExQ3) have been published.
The agenda for Issue Specific Hearing 5 on Living Conditions and the agenda for Issue Specific Hearing 6 on Environmental Matters have also been published.

The Examining Authority has issued a Notification of a change to the Examination Timetable, Notice of procedural decision, notification of hearings and request for further information.

The Deadline 3A Submissions have been published.
The Applicant has made a request to make non-material changes to the Application.

The following Agendas have been published:
Tuesday 20 August 2019 – Compulsory Acquisition Hearing

The Examining Authority’s written questions and requests for information (ExQ2) have now been published.

The itinerary for the Accompanied Site Visit on 3 and 4 July has been published.
The agendas for Issue Specific Hearings 2 and 3 to be held in July 2019 have also been published

The agendas for Issue Specific Hearings 2 and 3 to be held in July 2019 have now been published.

The Examination Timetable (Rule 8 letter) has been sent to Interested Parties
Procedural decision following Preliminary Meeting

The Rule 8 letter, which will set out the confirmed timetable, will be issued on or before Friday 31 May. The next deadline is deadline 1 on the 3 June.
Items for this deadline include:
- Whether you would like us to hold a Compulsory Acquisition Hearing or Open Floor Hearing at the dates indicated in the timetable.
- If you have any suggested locations for the Accompanied Site Inspection.
- You can provide a ‘Written Representation’ – this is an email, letter or other document which sets out your views on the Application.
- You may also wish to comment on Relevant Representations which were submitted to us earlier this year eg you might be interested to read the opinion of a person or organisation and make comments on their opinion.
Please send correspondence for Deadline 1 in writing to [email protected].

A draft ASI itinerary, which was received shortly before the Preliminary Meeting, has been published. During the meeting and at the later Open Floor Hearing we agreed to a second day to ensure a range of stops for the ASI could be accommodated and to some additional stops.
The audio recordings taken at the Preliminary Meeting, the Open Floor Hearing and the Issue Specific Hearing have also been published.

- Preliminary Meeting takes place
- Examination begins

The agendas for the Open Floor Hearing and Issue Specific Hearing (ISH) are now available. Please also see the schedule of questions which are intended to be asked at the ISH.
The agenda for the Preliminary Meeting is available in the Rule 6 letter.

The notification of Preliminary Meeting (Rule 6 letter) has been sent Read the letter
The letter also includes the draft Examination Timetable and Initial Assessment of Principal Issues.





This application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 2 January 2019.
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 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 relevant representation stage and the
subsequent examination.
