NSIPs Centre of Excellence 2023/24

On Wednesday 8 May 2024, Suffolk County Council, in association with EELGA, held its second annual NSIP Centre of Excellence Conference at the Apex, Bury St Edmunds.

Speakers at the event included Josh Wainman and Anna Payne from the Development for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities who presented on emerging NSIP reform, Tom McGarry from National Grid on The Great Grid Upgrade and Professor John Glasson from Oxford Brookes University, who discussed the effectiveness of NSIP Environmental Impact Assessments in practice. The agenda and presentations from the event can be viewed below.

This session was held on Monday 18 December 2023, and featured the following topics/speakers:

• NSIPs: An Introduction

Emyr Thomas - Partner and Parliamentary Agent (Sharpe Pritchard)

• Experience of a Local Authority New to the NSIPs Process

Clementine Murphy - Senior Planning Officer, Railfreight and Ed Stacey - Major Schemes Officer (Blaby District Council)

• NSIPs: Top 10 Tips for Local Authorities

Michael Moll - Head of Programmes and PMO (Suffolk County Council)

This session was held on Wednesday 24 January 2024, and featured the following topics/speakers:

• The Exponential Growth of Solar Farms

Jo Wall – Senior Strategy Director - Climate – Local Partnerships

• Achieving Good Design and Flexibility in Solar NSIPs

Peta Donkin – Director of EIA and Infrastructure and Energy Lead (LDA Design)

• Community Benefits Agreements, Planning Performance Agreements and Focus/Priorities for LPAs

Nick Feltham – Assistant Development Manager (North Kesteven District Council)

This session was held on Wednesday 13 March 2024, and was chaired by Natalie Freislich-Mills (Skills for Infrastructure Lead at Suffolk County Council) and featured the following topics/speakers:

• Skills Development Through NSIPs: Unlocking Local Potential
  • Johnathan Reynolds, Managing Director (Opergy)
• RWE’s Approach to Collaborative and Impactful Skills and Employment Strategies
  • Hannah Woodgate, Skills Strategy Manager UK&I and Celia Anderson, Skills Strategy Lead (RWE)
• Developing Skills Through The Great Grid Upgrade
  • Emma Bennett, Head of Socio-economic and Community Benefits and Fergus Hynd, UK Social Impact Senior Manager (National Grid Electricity Transmission)
  • Mike Humphrey, Director (QUOD)

This session was held on Friday 12 July 2024, and was chaired by Michael Moll (Head of Programmes and PMO, Suffolk County Council) and featured the following topics/speakers:

• Community Engagement and Safeguarding Community Wellbeing During the Pre-Application Phase, Consenting and Construction of Infrastructure Projects - Phil Watson, Strategic Energy Projects Manager, Suffolk County Council

• Mental Wellbeing and the EIAs and HIAs Regime of NSIPs – IS EIA An Effective Vehicle for Assessing Mental Wellbeing? - Jenny Wade, Senior Associate Director, Environmental and Health Impact Assessments, Jacobs

• Good Practice Principles for Public Participation in IA - Dr Rufus Howard, Impact Assessment and Sustainable Finance Policy Lead, Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) - Tanya Burdett, Director, Essential Planning Ltd
• Scoping Health in DCOs - Dr Andrew Buroni, Director of Health and Social Impact Assessments, Savills

This session was held on Tuesday 16 July 2024, and was chaired by Mark Woodger, Principal Planning Officer (National Infrastructure), Essex County Council and featured the following topics/speakers:

• Overview of NSIP Centre of Excellence and NSIPs in Suffolk - Roly Arbon, Project Manager (PMO), Suffolk County Council
• Overview of NSIPs in Essex - Mark Woodger, Principal Planning Officer (National Infrastructure), Essex County Council
• Overview of NSIPs in Norfolk - John Curtis, Engineer (Major and Estate Development), Norfolk County Council
• The Aims and Objectives of the Guidance - Joseph Hough, Principal Transportation and Infrastructure Planner
• Points Arising from the Draft Bramford to Twinstead DCO - Emyr Thomas, Partner and Parliamentary Agent, Sharpe Pritchard LLP.