East of England NSIPs Centre of Excellence

On Wednesday 15 March 2023, Suffolk County Council, in association with EELGA, held the East of England NSIP Centre of Excellence Conference at the Apex, Bury St Edmunds.

The event featured keynote speakers, Kate Johnson (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) who discussed Policy Updates on NSIP Work and National Policy Statement and Hannah Hickman (University of West of England) who presented the National Infrastructure Planning Association (NIPA) research on post-decision implementation at Hinkley Point C.

You can view the documents from the conference, the presentation documents and an image of the conference below. 

Details and the presentation slides from the East of England NSIPs Centre of Excellence seminars can be found below:

This session was held on Thursday 20 October 2022 and featured the following topics/ speakers:

• NSIPs Lessons Learnt: Case Study A14 Cambridge to Huntington Improvement Scheme

David Allatt (Assistant Director for Transport Strategy and Network Management, Cambridgeshire County Council)

• Overview of the DCO (Development Consent Order) and Tips for Local Authorities

Kath Dunne (Operations Lead, The Planning Inspectorate)

• Being Ready for Examination – Local Authority Good Practice

Isaac Nunn (Senior Planning Officer (NSIPs), Suffolk County Council

• Influencing the shape of the DCO and s106 so that it works for Local Authorities during implementation

Emyr Thomas (Partner and Parliamentary Agent, Sharpe Pritchard LLP)

This session held on Tuesday 15 November 2022 featured the following topics/speakers: 

• The Somerset Experience of Discharging Requirements and Conditions – Hinkley Point C Case Study

Tess Bond (Somerset County Council)

• Working with Local Authorities to Discharge a DCO – A Developer’s Perspective

Alison Sidgwick (Natural Power)

• The Importance of Monitoring and Auditing During Construction

Professor John Glasson (Oxford Brookes University)

For enquiries regarding the NSIPs Centre of Excellence, please contact NSIPs@suffolk.gov.uk.

The session held on 18 January 2023 featured the following topics/speakers:

• NSIPs: Transport Aspects

Steve Merry (Suffolk County Council)

• NSIPs from a National Highways Perspective

Stewart Patience (National Highways)

• DCO Decisions and Legal Challenges

Sarah Clark and Mustafa Latif-Aramesh (BDB Pitmans)

• Engaging NSIPs

Dominic O’Donnell (Infrastructure Matters)

Chaired by John Pitchford (former Head of Development at SCC) this session, held on 3 February 2023, featured the following topics/speakers:

• The Developer’s Approach to Technical Planning Matters in NSIPs

Carly Vince (QUOD)

• Managing Change and Balancing Flexibility and Control in NSIPs

Angus Walker (BDB Pitmans)

Chaired by Tim De-Keyzer, Head of Natural and Historic Environment at Suffolk County Council, this session held on 22 February 2023 featured the following topics/speakers:

• Future Positive: The Road to Environmental Outcomes and Delivering Environmental Net Gain

Ian Houlston (LDA Design)

• Adequacy of Environmental Impact Assessments in NSIPs – An Examining Inspector’s Perspective

Professor Martin Broderick FIEMA (Oxford Brookes University)

• Biodiversity Net Gain in NSIPs – How BNG Should Interact with Mitigation for Protected Species and Habitats

Sue Hooton (Place Services at Essex County Council)

• Challenges and Benefits of Undergrounding Cables and Cumulative Impacts

Alison Farmer (Alison Farmer Associates)