HOW THE PLANNING SYSTEM WORKS
By claiming that is a “power station” because they say it will generate more than 50 Megawatts of electricity for the national grid, LRV have sought to gain permission to build their incinerator via the national planning process under Section 36 of Electricity Act 1989.
This to some extent by-passes the local authority planning process, although it does provide for objection by “interested parties” such as the Local Authority, local interest groups et al. and must still comply with local and national regulations on planning and emissions.
Section 36 applications for plants producing 50MW of power
Applications to build power plants of more than 50MW output go through an alternative planning process handled by Scottish Ministers rather than the local council under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.
The Scottish Government stated: "the Scottish Government would prefer to see such recovery plant deployed in heat-only or combined heat and power schemes, off gas-grid, at a scale appropriate to make best use of both the available heat, and of local supply. The Scottish Government has set out its policy on biomass in the National Planning Framework II, s36 Thermal Guidance, and in the s36 Biomass Scoping Opinion guidance. Applicants will have to assess how their proposals fit with this policy."
In outline this is the process followed. LRV have completed the steps marked in red:
1. Scoping Report - Applicant produces a Scoping Report describing what it proposes.
2. Public consultation - The company holds an exhibition to seek the views of the public.
3. Scoping Opinion - Various statutory consultees, including the Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), comment on the Scoping Report. These comments are published by the Scottish Government Consents Unit in a 'Scoping Opinion'. This highlights specific concerns, such as the potential for pollution, that should be addressed when the company makes its application to Scottish Ministers.
4. Section 36 application - The company will then submit its application to Scottish Ministers, with reference to those areas of concern raised in the Scoping Opinion. It will also publish a statutory notice of the application to a local paper and the Edinburgh Gazette. The application will include various documents:
5. Environmental Statement
· Transport Statement (what will be the added traffic etc)
· Heat recovery plan (secondary, low-grade heat, which would otherwise go up the chimney stack, must be use for some sort of district heating system)
· Public Participation Statement (showing how the public were consulted)
· Design statement
6. At that point the three statutory consultees (local authority, Scottish Natural Heritage and SEPA) will be able to respond to the application within 4 months. The Council will reach a decision based on a committee report. It will then be up to Scottish Ministers to consider all inputs.
7. If the Council has objected, there must be a public inquiry. If others object, Scottish Ministers can decided whether a public inquiry is required.
8. There is also a list of non-statutory consultees that Scottish Minisers will consult, including the public and community councils – 28 days only are allocated for these interests to respond to the proposals
9. Ministers may issue a direction deeming planning permission to be granted, but with conditions. The applicant will now be required to provide further information to be considered by the local authority, mainly about planning issues such as access and appearance.
10. If consent is granted, the applicant will still require consents from SEPA (PPC license), and a building warrant from the local authority.
