The Planning Inspectorate has published a series of advice notes that are intended to inform developers, consultees, the public and others about a range of process matters in relation to the Planning Act 2008 process (as amended by the Localism Act 2011). It also publishes good practice advice notes and other guidance relating to planning appeals and other casework under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and related legislation. Each item of advice and guidance sets out the general type of casework and/or the legislation that is applicable to it, and should be read and applied in that way.
National infrastructure advice notes are non-statutory. They are published to provide advice and information on a range of issues arising throughout the whole life of the application process. Although in many cases they include recommendations from the Planning Inspectorate about the approach to particular matters of process, which developers and others are encouraged to consider carefully, it is not a requirement for developers or others to have regard to the content of advice notes.
A change register has now been published at the foot of this page to help those who regularly refer to national infrastructure advice notes keep track of any changes including when new advice notes are published.
Advice note one is about the production of the local impact report (LIR). It is intended to assist local authorities with the form and content of these reports.
This advice note has been withdrawn and is currently being reviewed with a view to it being republished in an amended form in due course
The purpose of this advice note is to explain the approach taken to identifying consultation bodies to be notified by the Secretary of State under Regulation 9 of The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (‘the EIA Regulations’) and where relevant, consulted on the scope of the Environmental Statement (ES) under Regulation 8 of the EIA Regulations. Please note, this advice note refers to annexe in a separate document (PDF 226 KB).
Advice note four sets out advice on how to apply to the Planning Inspectorate to authorise a developer to serve a written notice which requires the recipient to provide information to the developer about interests in land. Please note, this advice note refers to annexes in a separate document (DOC 144 KB).
This note sets out advice on how to apply to the Planning Inspectorate for an authorisation for a right of entry to gain access onto land in order to carry out surveys and take levels under s.53 of the Planning Act 2008. Please note, this advice note refers to annexes in a separate document (DOC 157 KB).
This advice note will assist applicants in preparing, organising and submitting applications to the Planning Inspectorate. Please note, this advice note refers to Appendix 2 – Section 55 Acceptance of Applications Checklist (DOC 212 KB) and an annex – Preparing the technical index to accompany an NSIP application (PDF 223 KB)
The purpose of this advice note is to provide advice on elements of the EIA process during pre-application, namely screening and scoping and to assist applicants in understanding the role of preliminary environmental information.
Advice note eight has been produced in five sections and aims to take you step by step through the planning process for major infrastructure projects:Advice note 8.1: How the process works (PDF 2.1 MB) (version 3)
Advice note 8.2: Responding to the developer’s pre-application consultation (PDF 1.4 MB) (version 3)
Advice note 8.3: How to register and become an interested party in an application (PDF 2 MB) (version 4)
Advice note 8.4: Influencing how an application will be examined – the Preliminary Meeting (PDF 1.4 MB) (version 3)
Advice note 8.5: Participating in the examination (PDF 2 MB) (version 3)
This advice note addresses the use of the ‘Rochdale Envelope’ approach under the Planning Act 2008. A number of developers, particularly those for proposed offshore wind farms, have sought guidance on the degree of flexibility that would be considered appropriate with regards to an application for a nationally significant infrastructure project under the Planning Act 2008 regime.
This version of Advice Note 10 supersedes all previous versions. It has been substantially revised to provide practical guidance on how to submit Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) information with an application and how the Planning Act 2008 process, as amended by the Localism Act 2011, will address HRA. The relevant Secretary of State is the competent authority for the purposes of the Habitats Directive and the 2010 Habitats Regulations.A set of matrices has been introduced to be submitted with a Development Consent Order application. These new matrices will form an integral part of the information submitted with the application. This advice note explains how the matrices should be prepared by the applicant and how these matrices will be used to inform the decision making process. Template matrices are provided in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.
This advice note explains the framework which governs the involvement of relevant consultees and consenting bodies at each stage in the process and sets out the key principles which the Planning Inspectorate hopes will underpin working arrangements. This advice note does not deal with the role of local authorities under the 2008 Act regime. This advice note should be read in conjunction with the supporting annexes found below:
Annex A – Countryside Council for Wales (PDF 73 KB)
Annex B – Marine Management Organisation (PDF 151 KB)
Annex C – Natural England (PDF 170 KB)
Annex D – Environment Agency (PDF 133 KB)
Annex E – English Heritage (PDF 88 KB)
This advice note sets out the procedures for consultation in association with an application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate, where such development has likely significant transboundary impacts. Please note, this advice note refers to annexes in a separate document (PDF 257 KB).
This advice note has been prepared to provide some assistance to developers when preparing their draft order and explanatory memorandum.
This advice note is aimed primarily at developers and local authorities, however, it is also relevant to any consultee who may be interested to know how the developer’s pre-application consultation is reported. It seeks to provide advice about the format and content of the consultation report. Please note, this advice note refers to an annex in a separate document (DOC 413 KB).
This advice note has been withdrawn and is currently being reviewed with a view to it being republished in an amended form in due course.
This advice note explains some of the developer’s pre-application consultation, publicity and notification duties. It contains advice that was previously contained in the Infrastructure Planning Commission’s Guidance Note 1 at paragraphs 6 to 24. That advice has been updated to take account of changes brought in by the Localism Act 2011.
Advice note change register
This change register was introduced on 1 May 2012 and lists any changes made to existing advice notes and notes the publication of any new advice notes.
Date updated | Advice note | Version | Detail of change |
---|---|---|---|
25/07/2013 | 7 | 4 | This advice note has been republished in response to emerging best practice on projects. |
25/07/2013 | 3 and appendix | 5 | This advice note has been republished to reflect amendments made to the Infrastructure Planning (Application: Prescribed Forms and Procedures) Regulations 2009 by the Infrastructure Planning (Prescribed Consultees and Interested Parties) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 and the Natural Resources Body for Wales (Functions) Order 2013. |
04/04/2013 | 6 (annex: Preparing the technical index to accompany an NSIP application) | 2 | Update to annex to reflect the limit of file size that can be sent by email. |
25/01/2013 | 10 (appendices 1 and 2) | 4 | Minor changes to wording in appendices for added clarity. |
16/11/2012 | 11 (Annex E) | 1 | New annex added |
25/10/2012 | 10 and appendices | 3 | Advice note 10 has been substantially revised to provide practical guidance on how to submit Habitats Regulations Assessment information with an application and how the Planning Act 2008 process, as amended by the Localism Act 2011, will address HRA. A set of matrices has been introduced to be submitted with a Development Consent Order application. These new matrices will form an integral part of the information submitted with the application. This advice note explains how the matrices should be prepared by the applicant and how these matrices will be used to inform the decision making process. |
08/06/2012 | 6 | 5 | Formatting changes, hyperlink on page 1 updated, typo corrected in appendix 1 |
28/05/2012 | 2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 | In order listed in previous column: 2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3 | Welsh versions added. |
22/05/2012 | 6 (Appendix 2) | 5 | The revisions to the Checklist reflect the changes to s55 of the Planning Act 2008 brought about by the Localism Act 2011. The order of the checklist has been revised to reflect the order in which s.55 (as amended) is presented. |
09/05/2012 | 3 | 4 | Formatting changes were applied to version 3 of Advice Note 3. One text change was also applied, the reference to the Welsh Language Board as a non-prescribed consultation body was removed following the abolition of this organisation on 1 April 2012. It was replaced as a non-prescribed consultation body by the Welsh Language Commissioner which now delivers this function. |