A planning application from Covanta Rookery South Limited for a 65MW energy from waste and materials recovery facility in Bedfordshire has become the first application to be accepted by the Infrastructure Planning Commission to proceed to examination.
The application was submitted for consideration to the IPC on 5 August and the decision made a week ahead of the statutory deadline of 2 September. A decision on whether or not to grant development consent must now be made within a year.
In deciding whether or not to accept an application, the IPC considers a wide range of factors, including the adequacy of the public consultation undertaken by the developer, whether the developer has had regard to any relevant consultation responses received and the wording of the draft Order submitted with the application.
The Planning Act 2008, which established the IPC, sets high standards for applications and places a strong duty upon developers to involve the local community, local authorities and other stakeholders in the development of their proposal, ahead of submission.
IPC chairman Sir Michael Pitt said the bar has been set high.
“Developers must demonstrate that they have invested the time and effort required at pre-application stage to submit an application which measures up. We have considered very carefully the application submitted by Covanta and decided that it meets the required tests set out in the legislation to be accepted for IPC examination.
“Shortly, the public will be invited to register to have their say to us on the proposal. We look forward to hearing the views of all who have an interest, whether they object to or support the project. Everyone who registers to have their say can be sure that their views will be heard and considered by the independent IPC commissioners who will be appointed to examine the case”.
It is now for Covanta Rookery South Limited to publicise the fact that its application has been accepted to proceed to IPC examination. Members of the public will shortly be able to register to have their say.
People who register may be entitled to:
* Give their views in writing to the IPC
* Comment on the views of others
* Attend a Preliminary Meeting and give their views on how the application should be examined
* Request an open floor hearing
* Attend an open floor or issue specific hearing.
* Request to speak at a hearing
If the relevant National Policy Statements (NPS) have been designated then the decision on this application will be made by IPC. If not, the IPC will make a recommendation to the relevant secretary of state, who will make the decision.
Two of the draft energy NPSs are relevant to this application. These are: EN-1 Overarching Energy NPS, and EN-3 Renewable Energy Infrastructure NPS.
None of the draft NPSs have yet been designated. The Government has stated it will re-consult on the draft energy NPSs in the autumn - in particular, due to changes that are being made to the Appraisal of Sustainability for the Overarching Energy National Policy Statement.
The IPC now has 50 projects in its programme of schemes that have been received as applications, together with those which are expected to be submitted as applications in the coming months.
This now includes:
* 11 offshore wind farms
* 7 onshore wind farms
* 6 electricity lines
* 5 road projects.
* 4 nuclear power stations
* 4 biomass power stations
* 4 railway / rail freight interchanges;
* 3 gas fired power stations
* 2 waste combustion plants;
* 1 tidal power generation facility
* 1 gas storage facility
* 1 gas pipeline
* 1 waste water facility
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