NSIP information for individuals and businesses

How individuals and businesses with interest in land affected by an NSIP can engage with the process.

The NSIP process

The Planning Act 2008 established a process for examining NSIPs that were previously consented by different government departments. This can be broken down into 6 steps

  1. Pre-application begins when the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) is informed by a developer that they intend to submit an application for development consent. Before submitting an application, the developer is required to consult on their proposals.

  2. The acceptance stage begins when a developer formally submits an application for development consent to Planning Inspectorate (PINS). There then follows a period of up to 28 days (starting with the day after the application is submitted) for PINS, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to decide whether or not the application meets the standard required to move to the next stage.

  3. The pre-examination phase commences as soon as the Development Consent Order (DCO) application has been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) and takes approximately 3 months. The start of the pre-examination phase begins with the appointment of the Examining Authority (ExA). This can be a single Examining Inspector or a panel of up to 5 Examining Inspectors.

  4. The Examining Authority (ExA) carries out the examination, having a maximum of 6 months to do so. During this stage, interested parties are invited to provide more details of their views in writing and in hearings, though it is primarily a written process.

  5. The Examining Authority (ExA) submits a report and recommendation to the Secretary of State within three months. The ExA carefully considers all the important and relevant matters, including the representations from interested parties. The Secretary of State then has another three months to make their decision.

  6. Once development consent has been granted by the Secretary of State, the developer can commence the project, subject to the completion of any pre-commencement commitments set out in the Development Consent Order (DCO) or in an agreement.

Individuals and businesses

If you live near a proposed Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), there are several ways to get more information and provide your input about a project.

Before submitting their application, the project promoter must consult the community. This will often be done in a number of rounds, as decisions are made about the project. Promoters usually advertise their consultations in local newspapers, set up websites, and send notifications to statutory consultees. Sometimes they directly mail booklets or letters to nearby residents. All these materials should include contact details and instructions on how to respond to the consultation.

You can visit the Planning Inspectorate website, which contains a register of all NSIP proposals.

Once a project is listed on the National Infrastructure Consenting website, you can sign up for email updates on its progress through the consenting system.

If you want to participate in the examination of an NSIP, it's crucial to sign up for these updates (or frequently check the website), as they will notify you about key events and deadlines.

For more information on where individuals can participate in the NSIP process, visit the Planning Inspectorate website.

Affected persons

If you own land (or have rights over land) in the area of a proposed NSIP, there are different procedural events during the examination that you may need to consider, such as Compulsory Acquisition Hearings.

You may also need to negotiate directly with the project promoter at an early stage. NSIP promoters must make enquiries to identify and consult directly with anyone with land in the area of a proposed NSIP.

Suffolk County Council cannot assist individuals or businesses in negotiations with the promoter. Instead, you should find professional or legal advice.