Hinkley Point Development Consent Application
Information for Interested Parties about Open Floor Hearings on 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th May 2012
The Planning Inspectorate will be holding open floor hearings on the following dates at the listed locations:
| Date |
Morning Hearings |
Afternoon/Evening Hearings
|
Location |
| 9 May 2012 |
Registration 09:00
Start 10:00
|
Registration 13:00
Start 14:00
|
Bridgwater College, Cannington Campus, Cannington TA5 2LS
|
| 10 May 2012 |
Registration 09:00
Start 10:00
|
Registration 13:00
Start 14:00
|
Combwich, Otterhampton Village Hall, TA5 2QS |
| 16 May 2012 |
Registration 09:00
Start 10:00
|
Registration 18:00
Start 19:00
|
Bridgwater Town Hall, High Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 3AS |
| 17 May 2012 |
Registration 09:00
Start 10:00
|
Registration 13:00
Start 14:00
|
Stogursey Victory Hall, Stogursey, TA5 1PR |
At each of the open floor hearing interested parties can (subject to the Examining Authority's powers of control over the conduct of the hearing) make oral representations about the application. Interested Parties include any person that has made a relevant representation to the Examining Authority as well as the applicant and various persons and bodies prescribed by statute.
Interested parties wishing to attend an open floor hearing must inform the Planning Inspectorate by 17:00 on Friday 4th May 2012. Such parties should also indicate the following:
- which session they wish to attend; and
- if they wish to speak at the hearing.
Those parties that wish to speak must also provide a summary in writing of the matters they wish to raise, and mark them for the attention of the Case Manager, Mark Wilson and specifying their interested party reference number, by 17:00 on Friday 4th May 2012.
Each interested party wishing to speak will be given 3 minutes to make their oral representation to the Panel. Interested parties are not required to attend or speak at any hearing and may instead make their representation in writing by the deadlines specified in the examination timetable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a series of questions which relate to the Open Floor Hearings:
Can only registered Interested Parties take part? Is there an opportunity for others to register prior to the open floor hearings?
Only those who registered their interest on the prescribed form, in accordance with IPC/PINS advice, during the registration period, or who are prescribed consultees, are entitled to participate in the examination. The registration of interested parties will not be reopened. If there is room for non interested parties to attend the open floor hearings then they will be allowed to observe the sessions.
Will interested parties be allowed to attend all open floor hearings?
Some of the venues which are being used for the hearings have limited capacities and the Panel has decided to give priority to local people at each venue. Therefore if the number or Interested Parties requesting to speak at any particular session is more than the venue can accommodate then the Inspectorate may ask some Interested Parties to speak at an alternative session and venue. No guarantee can be made to accommodate any interested party at more than one open floor hearing; although every effort will be made to accommodate any requests of this nature should they be made.
How will the Hearings be conducted by the Panel?
Interested Parties who have informed the Inspectorate by 4th May 2012 of their wish to speak will be able to speak the requested hearing (subject to limitations of venues). The Panel will be able to use their discretion to hear from interested parties who do not comply with the deadline; with the overall aim to ensure that the hearings run smoothly, and therefore last minute or late requests to speak are unlikely to be granted.
A table with a fixed microphone will be provided for speakers to address the Panel. The speakers will be invited one at a time to make their oral representation at the table. Interested Parties will have a maximum of 3 minutes to make their oral representation.
Oral representations should be based on the relevant representation made by an Interested Party and must not be vexatious or frivolous or relate to the merits of policy set out in a national policy statement.
All interested parties who wish to speak must provide a summary of the matters they wish to raise by 17:00 on 4th May 2012.
Panel members may ask those who speak questions about the points they raise. There will be no opportunity for questions to be posed directly by one interested party to another. This is an inquisitorial process led by the Panel.
Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) abolition and transfer
On 1st April 2012, under the Localism Act, the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), which was the independent body that examined applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, including projects such as Hinkley Point C, was formerly abolished and the Planning Inspectorate has taken over its case work.
The Government has indicated there will be a seamless transfer to the new arrangements and as a result, interested parties in the Hinkley Point C Examination process should not notice any difference. With the exception that visitors to the old IPC website will be re-directed to the following address:
www.planningportal.gov.uk/infrastructure
The relevant Secretary of State, which for nuclear power stations is the Energy and Climate Change, will ultimately be the final decision maker. This office is currently held by Ed Davey.
Hinkley Point C Examination Timetable
An examination timetable which outlines the key dates and deadlines of the process was issued following the Preliminary Meeting held on Wednesday 21st March 2012. A copy of the current Examination timetable can be found in the IPC's Rule 8 letter (Annex C) which can be download from the right hand side of this page.
There are a small number of changes from the draft timetable which was issued before the Preliminary Meeting, which include site visits during April and the addition of open-floor hearings in both Stogursey and Bridgwater. Although anyone can request an open-floor hearing, the majority of the examining authority's attention will be on the written representations from all parties and answers to the questions it poses at various points of the process. The first set of questions was published with the timetable and can be found in the Rule 8 letter on the right hand side of this page.
At the Preliminary Meeting EDF Energy indicated it wished to make some corrections, minor changes and additions to its submission documents and this was permitted by the examining panel. The additional material is available on the website and printed copies can be viewed at the offices of EDF Energy in Bridgwater, Sedgemoor and West Somerset Councils and Taunton Library.
The next important deadline in the examination is 3rd May 2012. That is when the Local Impact Reports must be submitted along with the Statements of Common Ground (produced by EDF Energy in conjunction with various parties) and all the written representations from ALL interested parties. That means that if you registered with the IPC and gave an indication of what you wished to raise during the examination, you should put your full views in writing to the panel before this deadline.
IPC Registration Process
Members of the public and other interested bodies can now register to become an 'interested party' to take part in the future examination of the Hinkley Point application which has been submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).
Registration closes at 11.59pm on Monday 23rd January 2012. Registration can be completed online this can be done on the IPC website. If you are unable to complete a registration form online and would like to register your interest, then the IPC helpline should be called on: 0303 444 5000 in order to request a paper copy.
Further information about Registering can be found within the IPC's Advice Note which is listed within the Related Documents section of this webpage.
Members of the public can view an electronic version of the application online from the IPC's website, in addition a hard copy is available to view in the Reception of the Council offices in Williton.
IPC accepts Hinkley Point C nuclear power station application for examination
On Thursday 24th November 2011, the Infrastructure Planning Commission accepted for examination, the Development Consent Order (DCO) application from EDF Energy for the proposed construction of a third nuclear power station to be located at Hinkley Point. The IPC's acceptance letter can be found on the right hand side of this page.
The DCO application material can be found on the Hinkley Point C case page on the IPC website.
The next step is for EDF Energy to publicise the fact that its application has been accepted to proceed to examination and invite people who are interested in the proposal to register with the IPC. Details of when and how to make a relevant representation will be publicised in the local press, on site notices and on the IPC website shortly. Further guidance on the registration process can be on the IPC website.
On the 31st October 2011 EDF Energy (NNB Genco) submitted an application for Development Consent for its Hinkley Point C project to the IPC (Infrastructure Planning Commission). The IPC has 28 days from the day after the date of receipt (i.e. 1st November) to review the application and decide whether the application can be accepted as valid. The IPC now has until the 29 November 2011 to make its decision.
Should the application be accepted, the IPC will:
- Publish all the application documents on the IPC website
- Publish the date from which members of the public will be able to register to state their case on the application; and
- Publish the date that registration on this case will close.
Should the application not be accepted, the IPC will:
- Publish the decision letter and reasons why it hasn't been accepted; and
- Publish all the application documentation on the IPC website.
On the 7th November 2011 the IPC invited prescribed local authorities to comment on the adequacy of the applicant's pre-application consultation. In response to this on Tuesday 15th November 2011 Somerset County Council, Sedgemoor District Council and West Somerset Council submitted a joint report to the IPC setting out their views.
Overall, the Councils joint report confirms that EDF generally carried out the consultation activities it planned. However, there were some areas where it was felt EDF could have done more, such as engagement with hard to reach groups in Bridgwater. The Councils' key concerns relate to the quality of the information that was consulted upon, and the lack of detailed evidence on some topics. A full copy of the report can be found from the Related Documents section on the right hand side.
EDF Energy Hinkley Point C Proposal
EDF Energy intends to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the IPC to develop a new nuclear power station, incorporating two UK EPRs (European pressurised water reactors) at Hinkley Point. The proposed new power station will be situated immediately to the west of the existing Hinkley Point power stations. The DCO application to the IPC will also contain proposals for associated development away from the power station site. This category of development is referred to as Off-site Associated Development (OAD).
The DCO application will need to provide full details of all development proposals and should be accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES) in accordance with the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2263).
Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping
EDF Energy submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Report on the proposed nuclear power station and off-site associated development to the IPC in January 2010. The Scoping Report set out the proposed content, methodologies and key issues to be included in the EIA and the ES. The IPC’s formal Scoping Opinion on the proposed development was published in April 2010.
Copies of the EDF Energy Scoping Report and the IPC’s Scoping Opinion (which includes comments made by West Somerset Council) are available at:
http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/?page_id=202
Further Information
If you require further information on Hinkley Point C, please contact:
planningemail@westsomerset.gov.uk
Alternatively, contact Customer Services on 01643 703704.