Applying for development consent during lockdown: The Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station

Abstract

The UK is currently facing unprecedented times as Covid-19 has forced the country into lockdown. However, the recent development consent application from EDF Energy for the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station provides an opportunity for the planning sector to begin to return to normal. This opinion considers whether it is possible to achieve full public consultation on the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station application, given the current circumstances that the UK faces due to Covid-19. It is argued that the Planning Inspectorate has not currently taken sufficient action to ensure that members of the public who do not have internet access and those who require library access to make representations are not left out of the process. It is also argued that businesses and non-governmental organisations may also struggle to make representations at a time when they are suffering from limited resources. In conclusion, it is essential that the Planning Inspectorate takes immediate action to ensure that the public consultation process is preserved for applications of this kind while Covid-19 restrictions are in place.

This year will be marked in history as the year when life as we know it changed. Since the end of March 2020, nothing has been ‘business as usual’ in the UK after Covid-19 forced the country into lockdown. However, a small glimmer of normality in the planning sector appeared at the end of May with the submission of the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station application from EDF Energy. ¹

While the power station was first proposed over a decade ago, ² EDF Energy submitted their application to the Secretary of State on 27 May 2020 ³ – at a time when the UK remained in lockdown due to Covid-19. Claiming to be able to provide power to around 6 million homes, and 25,000 employment opportunities if approved, it is unsurprising that Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson CBE, the Managing Director of the project, picked up on how important this project is for the economy following the coronavirus crisis. ⁴ However, others disagree about the timing of this project application. The National Trust has voiced strong opinions concerning the impact of the development on both wildlife and visitor experience at Dunwich Heath. ⁵ The project has also garnered objection from a number of A-list celebrities who live in the region including Bill Nighy and David Morrissey, ⁶ as well as from concerned individuals who fear that the current Covid lockdown will significantly hamper their ability to make a representation against the application due to the current closure of public libraries. ⁷

As the developer submitted their application to the Planning Inspectorate on 27 May, this triggers a period of 28 days in which the Planning Inspectorate must determine whether the application meets the standards to be accepted for examination. ⁸ This will then be followed by the pre-examination phase which allows the public the opportunity to register their interest by making relevant representations. ⁹ If the application is accepted by the Secretary of State, the general public, businesses and non-governmental organisations will be invited to make such representations on the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station application by the end of June. This is a time, by the government’s own admission, that the country is very unlikely to have returned to ‘business as usual’. Step 3 of the UK Government’s Covid-19 Recovery Strategy outlined that ‘at least some of the remaining businesses and premises that have been required to close’ may be reopened no earlier than 4 July. ¹⁰ Public libraries fall within this category. Therefore, in the best-case scenario, these buildings will begin to open up on 4 July, however, this date will inevitably be pushed back if we face a second wave of the pandemic. Even when these buildings do reopen, around 2.5 million people in the population who have been told to shield from the virus may well be unable to access these facilities if their shielding requirements are extended. ¹¹

A number of letters have been sent to the Planning Inspectorate outlining the concern that public consultation for this development will not be effective due to the timing of the application. ¹² In response to these, the Planning Inspectorate has asserted that they are unable to comment on the merits or flaws of an application until it has been accepted for consideration. ¹³ Representors are advised to stay in touch with the relevant Local Authority as they may be able to include their consultation concerns in their Adequacy of Consultation Representation at the application stage of the process. ¹⁴ It is also noted that the developer has indicated that it will extend the registration period for interested parties beyond the minimum of 30 days. ¹⁵ In response to one representor who showed concern about the general public’s ability to read and respond to documentation when public libraries are closed, the Planning Inspectorate stated:

The WMS [Government’s Written Ministerial Statement] explains that online inspection of documents should be the default position and, recognising that there are sections of the community that may have limited or no access to the internet, Applicants should take reasonable steps to ensure all members of the public are able to be involved. ¹⁶

The Planning Inspectorate has issued limited guidance on its working approach during the Covid-19 pandemic. ¹⁷ This confirms that their office in Temple Quay House is currently closed, and therefore postal submissions may well be subject to significant delay. ¹⁸ The guidance stresses the importance of working online, and contacting the Planning Inspectorate over e-mail and over the telephone where possible. The Planning Inspectorate maintains that it may exercise its discretion to extend examination timetables where circumstances make it difficult to receive written submissions. However, it is unclear whether such an extension will be made for the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station, and no mention is made in this guidance to those who are unable to utilise public libraries to view the planning documentation at this time. While many in the population are able to access the internet at home, and have multiple devices upon which to do this, it was found last year that over 5 million people in Great Britain had never used the internet at all. ¹⁹

In addition to the members of the public who will find it more difficult to make a representation for this development, it is also the case that many non-governmental organisations and concerned businesses may struggle to find the time and resources to submit representations due to the pandemic – a concern raised by the National Trust. ²⁰ With more than a quarter of the workforce in the UK currently utilising the Government’s furlough scheme, ²¹ there is a high chance that some businesses and non-governmental organisations that would provide a representation for a development like this will not be able to do so due to reduced workforce and resources.

It is essential that the Planning Inspectorate pays particular attention to these concerns. At present, the Covid-19 guidance from the Planning Inspectorate is limited and does not recognise the concerns from those who are shielding, and are unable to use local libraries. ²² Similarly, there is no guarantee that companies and non-governmental organisations will be given any support in terms of an extension to counteract any resource issues that may currently prevent them from submitting a representation. It is simply not clear enough at this stage what concrete plans the Planning Inspectorate has implemented to ensure that planning consultation for this application takes place to the same standard as it usually would. The public consultation process is a sacred requirement of development applications, and while it is important that the planning sector returns to normal as soon as possible, this should not result in the sacrifice of thorough consultation.