What happens next
A decision on the application for a Development Consent Order for Meaford Energy Centre was taken on 19 July 2016 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 (31 items)

The Secretary of State has issued a Correction Notice and Correction Order for the Meaford Energy Centre Order.
The Secretary of State granted development consent for this application. Please refer to the following decision documentation:
Secretary of State’s Decision Letter and Statement of Reasons
Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report
Development Consent Order as made by the Secretary of State
Notice of the Decision by the Secretary of State (Reg 23)
Post Examination Correspondence

The Secretary of State has granted development consent for this application. Please refer to the following decision documentation:
Secretary of State’s Decision Letter and Statement of Reasons
Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report
Development Consent Order as made by the Secretary of State
Notice of the Decision by the Secretary of State (Reg 23)
Post Examination Correspondence



The Examining Authority (ExA) decided to close its examination of the application early on 20 January 2016 and will now report on its findings. The ExA’s report and recommendation must be submitted to the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change on or before 20 April 2016. The Secretary of State will then have a further 3 months to make its decision on whether development consent should be granted.
The Planning Inspectorate would like to thank everyone who has participated in this examination.


No documents were received for Deadline 7 of 14 January 2016.

The Examining Authority has issued a Rule 8(3) letter amending the examination timetable.

A letter giving notification of a variation to the timetable (cancellation of Hearings) has been published.

The audio recordings from the following hearings have been published:
Audio recordings of the Issue Specific hearing on environmental matters, held on 11 November 2015
Audio recordings of the Issue Specific hearing on the draft Development Consent Order, held on 12 November 2015
Audio recording of the Compulsory Acquisition hearing held on 12 November 2015

A notice of provisional agendas for the Compulsory Acquisition and Issue Specific Hearings have now been published.

The Statement of Common Ground with Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council is a late submission for Deadline 2 (28 September 2015) from the Applicant and has now been published.

Please note that the submission from Historic England for Deadline 2, 28 September 2015 has been re-published because the attached email was missed at the time of the publication of deadline documents.

The Examining Authority has issued a Rule 8(3) and 13 letter notifying of the revised examination timetable and notification of the hearings.

Documents received for the Deadline 2 (28 September 2015), including the Local Impact Report have now been published.

The itinerary for the accompanied site inspection on Tuesday 22 September 2015 has now been published.

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

The Audio from the Preliminary Meeting held on Thursday 20 August 2015 is now available.
Documents received for Deadline 1 have also been published and can be found here.

- Preliminary Meeting takes place
- Examination begins

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.



Please be aware that we experienced technical problems on 13 and 14 June that may have prevented you from accessing project information and registering as an interested party. These problems have now been rectified and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.



- Application expected from applicant
- Application received by the Planning Inspectorate