Hinkley Point C Preliminary Works - West Somerset Council

Hinkley Point C - Preliminary Works - Site Preparation Works Application

EDF (NNB Generation Company Limited) has submitted a planning application to West Somerset Council in which it proposes to start site preparation works in association with the company's plans to construct two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point.

The description of development is as follows:

"The proposed development involves the following activities: site clearance (including fencing, vegetation removal, demolition of existing structures, and creation of alternative footpaths); earthworks (including soil stripping and storage, site levelling, spoil screening/storage for re-use on-site); provision of earth retaining structures; deep excavations; provision and relocation of drainage infrastructure (including culverts, outfalls, balancing ponds); the provision and operation of plant and machinery (including concrete batching); site establishment works (including layover facilities, car parks, haulage roads, site access points and roundabouts, and laying replacement and/or diversion apparatus); and other associated works, in the event that Hinkley Point C is not consented all structures would be removed and the site reinstated".

The application has been registered (reference number 3/32/10/037) and is now available on the council's website View Application Documents and the Council's headquarters in Williton.

We have written to residents, local Councils, interest groups as well as a wide range of statutory consultees including the Environment Agency, Natural England and English Heritage, as well as consulting with our partner authorities of Sedgemoor District Council and Somerset County Council to seek their views.

Preliminary Works: West Somerset Council Planning Committee

Following a detailed assessment by West Somerset Council Officers which considered all the relevant issues including all representations received a report has been prepared for West Somerset Council's Planning Committee meeting on the 28th July 2011. Further details of this report and of the meeting itself can be found on the Planning Committee 28 July 2011 page.

Preliminary Works: Site Preparation Works Re-consultation Extension

West Somerset Council has received a number of requests from members of the public to extend the consultation deadline beyond the 20th May 2011. These requests have asked for the consultation deadline to be extended so interested parties have sufficient time to read through all of the additional application documentation submitted by EDF on Tuesday 26th April.
Having taken these requests into consideration, the consultation deadline has been extended until the close of business on Tuesday 31st May 2011.

Comments must be made in writing (to Council headquarters in Williton), by e-mail hinkley@westsomerset.gov.uk or through the online comments form. Please quote the Local Planning Authority's reference number 3/32/10/037. Any comments received after this deadline may still be taken into account provided the application has not been determined.

Comments and representations submitted so far for the Site Preparation Works application are currently being reviewed by the Council and issues raised within will be taken into account when determining the application.

Preliminary Works - Site Preparation Works Regulation 19 Response

On Tuesday 26th April 2011, EDF formerly submitted their response to West Somerset Councils (WSC) Regulation 19(1) and 19(10) of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (as amended) request for further information/clarification.This information was received following a formal request by WSC, on Friday 11th March 2011, for additional information to be included in the Environmental Statement submitted in support of the application. The information provided in this response is now subject to a further round of consultation which runs until the 20th May 2011.

This information is available to view on the Councils website by following the link to the Site Preparation Works application documents view application documents It is also available in hard copy at the Council's headquarters in Williton. Stogursey and Cannington Parish Council have also received hard copies.

If you have any comments/observations/representations these should be made by Friday 20th May 2011. They must be made in writing, by e-mail or through the comments form. Please quote the Local Planning Authority's reference number 3/32/10/037. Any comments received after this deadline may still be taken into account provided the application has not been determined.

All representations received before the application is finally decided will be taken into account in the consideration and determination of the proposal. Any representations may be made publicly available under the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

Please be aware that no acknowledgement of the receipt of your representation will be given.

Details of the decision reached by the Local Planning Authority will be made available on the Council's website; additionally the local newspapers publish a weekly list of the Local Planning Authority's decisions

Preliminary Works - Site Preparation Works Regulation 19 Request

Since the close of the consultation period for the Site Preparation Works application (3/32/10/037) on the 31st January 2011, officers have been working through all the responses received. Taking into account all the issues and requests for clarification raised by statutory bodies and members of the public, as well as by the Councils own technical team, a decision has been made to seek further information/clarification from the applicant. This request was made on Friday 11th March 2011, a copy of this request can be found in the related documents section of the Site Preparation Works webpage.

This request was made pursuant to Regulation 19(1) and 19(10) of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (as amended). It should be noted that there is no statutory timeframe in which the applicants have to respond. However, once further information has been provided West Somerset Council will advertise the availability of the information in accordance with the Regulations. This advertisement will set out where the information can be viewed for a period of 21 days from the date of the advertisement

Preliminary Works: Site Preparation Works Consultation Extension

West Somerset Council has received numerous requests from members of the public to extend the consultation deadline beyond the 12th January 2011. These requests have asked for the consultation deadline to be extended so that members of the public can have sufficient time to read through all of the application documentation submitted. Members of the public have also asked for an extension due to the complexity of the information submitted.

Having taken these requests into consideration, the consultation deadline has been extended until the 31st January 2011.

Any comments received after this deadline may still be taken into account provided the application has not been determined.

Additional application document:

Respondents to the consultation for Preliminary Works: Site Preparation Works application should be aware that since the initial consultation letters were sent out, EDF have submitted two further documents in support of their application. These documents are available along with all other application material on the link provided above and at the Council offices in Williton.

The following additional documents have been submitted to West Somerset Council:

Planning Statement Supplement which is to be read alongside the Planning Statement (Volume 1). This has been prepared for completion given the recent legal ruling on the abolition of RSSs; and
Flood Risk Assessment Addendum.

Application documentation unavailable online

There are a small number of application documents which are not available via the online portal, due to the file sizes. These documents are available to view in hard copy at the Council offices in Williton and the copies held by both Cannington and Stogursey Parish Councils:

Volume 4, Chapter 14, Part B, B2 - Onshore Interpretative Report Appendices- Appendix 2 and Appendix 22 Rev3
Volume 4, Chapter 16 Part B B10 Appendix C Geophysical Report
Volume 4, Chapter 22 Part B B3 Geophysical Survey Report Appendix D Figure 36
Volume 4 Chapter 22 Part B B7 Offshore Intertidal Archaeology Assessment
Volume 4 Chapter 17 Appendix 17-1 Recreational Access Appendix M2

Comments/observations/representations

West Somerset Council has received a number of requests to extend the consultation deadline beyond the 12th January 2011. Whilst the consultation period was already longer than was required to be the case to reflect the Christmas break and the nature of the application, having taken these requests into consideration, the consultation deadline has been extended until the 31st January 2011. Any comments received after this deadline may still be taken into account provided the application has not been determined.

If you have any comments/observations/representations these should be made by Monday 31st January 2011. They must be made in writing, by e-mail or through the comments form. Please quote the Local Planning Authority's reference number 3/32/10/037. Any comments received after this deadline may still be taken into account provided the application has not been determined.

All representations received before the application is finally decided will be taken into account in the consideration and determination of the proposal. Any representations may be made publicly available under the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

Please be aware that no acknowledgement of the receipt of your representation will be given.

Details of the decision reached by the Local Planning Authority will be made available on the Council's website; additionally the local newspapers publish a weekly list of the Local Planning Authority's decisions.

Public Meetings

West Somerset Council arranged two public meetings which were held on the following dates:

Stogursey - Victory Hall: Friday 17th December 2010: 6.30pm - 9.30pm - Please note the meeting of the 17th December was postponed due to adverse weather conditions and a rearranged meeting was held on the 4th January 2011
Cannington - Cannington College: Wednesday 5th January 2011: 6.30pm - 9.30pm

Preliminary Works Application for Scoping Opinion

West Somerset Council received an application for a Scoping Opinion for an EIA of the preliminary works on 12th April 2010 in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations, 1999 (as amended). The EDF Environment Scoping Report is provided in the Related Documents section on the right of this web page.

West Somerset Council's formal Scoping Opinion was issued on 24 May 2010. A copy of the Scoping Opinion and the accompanying Appendices is provided on this web page. Additional consultation responses from English Heritage and the Highways Agency are also provided.