Today, (Thursday 28 June 2018) The Planning Inspectorate accepted for examination, an application by Horizon Nuclear Power for a proposed nuclear power station to be located adjacent to the existing power station at Wylfa A, on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales.

The application was submitted on 1 June 2018 and the decision to accept the application was made in accordance with section 55 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended). (The Planning Inspectorate has 28 days from the day after the date of receipt of an application to decide whether or not to accept it).

The decision and a copy of the application documents can be viewed at the Wylfa Newydd Nuclear Power Station project page on the Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Planning website Welsh Language version.

The Planning Act 2008 (as amended) sets high standards for applications and places a strong duty upon developers to involve the local community, local authorities and other stakeholders in the development of their proposal, ahead of submission.

Sarah Richards, Chief Executive of The Planning Inspectorate said: “We have considered very carefully the application submitted by Horizon Nuclear Power and decided that it meets the required tests set out in the legislation to be accepted for examination.

“Of course, this does not mean that consent will be given for the project to go ahead – acceptance of the application simply means that the Examining Authority can begin to make arrangements for the formal examination of the application”.

It is now for Horizon Nuclear Power to publicise the fact that its application has been accepted to proceed to examination and invite people who are interested in the proposal to register with the Planning Inspectorate as an Interested Party by making a Relevant Representation.

Interested Parties in an application can:

• Say what they agree or disagree with in the application and why
• Comment on what other people have said in their representations
• Attend a Preliminary Meeting and say how they think the application should be examined
• Request that an open floor hearing is held
• Attend an open floor or issue-specific hearing
• Request to speak at a hearing.

Sarah Richards said. “Shortly, the public will be invited to register as Interested Parties in this proposal, giving them their first opportunity to make formal representations to the Inspectorate whether they object to or support the project. Everyone who registers in the correct way can be sure that their evidence will be considered by the independent Examining Authority who will be appointed to examine the case.“

Sarah added: “A major priority for us over the next few weeks is to continue our work with communities who are affected by this proposal, to ensure that the process is understood and people know how and when to register as an Interested Party.”

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Journalists wanting further information should contact the Planning Inspectorate’s Press Office, on: 0303 444 5004 or 0303 444 5005 or email: pressoffice@pins.gsi.gov.uk

More information on this application, including details of the developer’s website, is available in National Infrastructure’s Programme of Projects. Visit: the Projects page

Notes to editors: * The Planning Inspectorate is an agency of the Ministry for Housing, communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and operates within the policy framework prescribed in the Planning Act 2008, secondary legislation and the National Policy Statements.

There are six key stages within the process. The summary below provides examples of when and how people have an opportunity to provide evidence to the Planning Inspectorate.

Pre-application

Key activities: • Project development / developer’s pre-application consultation and publicity. • Environmental impact assessment preparation and scoping, where required.

Public involvement: • Have their say on the proposal to the developer through their pre application consultation

Acceptance by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State

Key activities: • The Secretary of State has 28 days from the day after receipt to decide whether or not an application should be accepted for examination

Public involvement: • Details will be posted at the Planning Inspectorate’s website on how to register as an interested party – if an application has been accepted for examination and publicised by the developer. • Opportunity to legally challenge a decision not to accept an application.

Pre-examination

Key activities: • Single Inspector or a Panel of Inspectors appointed. • Preliminary Meeting called and held. • Procedure and timetable set for examination.

Public involvement: • Register to say what you agree or disagree with in the application • Submit your representation • View application documents submitted by the developer on the Planning Inspectorate website • Attend the Preliminary Meeting • Say how the examination should be conducted.

Examination

Key activities: • A maximum of six months to carry out the examination

Public involvement: • Submit more detailed comments in writing • Comment on what other people have said • Request and attend an open-floor hearing • If being held, request to speak at open-floor and / or issue specific hearing(s) • Comment on the local authority’s Local Impact Report – detailing the impact of the scheme on the local area.

Decision

Key activities: • A maximum of three months for Planning Inspectorate to issue a recommendation to the relevant Secretary of State, with a statement of reasons.

• The relevant Secretary of State then has a further three months from receiving the recommendation in which to issue the decision.

Post decision

Key activities: • Six weeks for any legal challenge.

Public involvement: Opportunity to challenge.

Community-led housing groups can significantly increase the delivery of affordable homes and create a lasting legacy, through a new Community Housing Fund launched by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of State James Brokenshire on 2 July 2018.

The £163 million fund is available to community-led groups across England to support delivery of new affordable homes up to 31st March 2020.

Specifically, it will expand the housing supply through community led sectors, provide housing that’s affordable for local incomes, and aims to deliver a lasting legacy for the community housing sector through building an effective body of expertise within the housebuilding industry.

Funding outside London is being allocated by Homes England across two phases. A separate programme for London will be delivered by the Greater London Authority. This is in addition to £60 million of funding that has already been allocated directly by Government to 148 councils in December 2016.

Homes England Chief Executive Nick Walkley said:

“Community-led housing is about local people playing a leading role in solving local housing problems to provide affordable homes and strengthen communities in ways that aren’t always possible to achieve through mainstream housing.

“At Homes England, we’re determined to increase the supply of homes across all tenures and increase capacity in the housing sector. This is a really important fund, which will offer lasting impact and we look forward to receiving bids from community groups across England.”

Homes England has been working with leading organisations in the community-led housing sector to shape the new fund.

Tom Chance, Director at the National Community Land Trust Network, said:

“We’re delighted the Government has recognised the vital role community-led housing can play in delivering much-needed affordable housing. It’s the fastest growing new form of housing in the country. The new Community Housing Fund will provide long-lasting opportunities for communities everywhere so they can go out and build the homes they really want and need.”

Bidding is open to a range of organisations. Local authorities or Registered Providers of social housing may apply on behalf of community groups to support them through this process.

Phase one of the Community Housing Fund will support applications for revenue grants to assist community groups with the costs involved in the pre-development stage of community-led housing projects. Local authorities can also bid for revenue funding to support capacity-building activities for community-led groups in their areas.

In addition, local authorities can bid for capital funding for small-scale infrastructure projects, such as roundabouts or pumping stations, to unlock sites that the community can then develop for housing.

Bidding for Phase One of the Fund is now open on a Continuous Market Engagement basis via the Homes England Portal. Bidding will remain open to new applications until funding is fully committed or until 31 December 2019, whichever occurs first.

Further details on the Fund are available in the Prospectus published on Gov.uk.

A second phase of the fund will be launched later this year by Homes England, who will invite bids for capital funding to develop community-led affordable housing schemes.

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For further media information please contact: Shaun Harley in the Homes England press office on 07989 203272 or shaun.harley@homesengland.gov.uk. Or Patsy Cusworth 0796772328 patsy.cusworth@homesengland.gov.uk.

Notes to Editors

In order to ensure that the schemes supported by the Community Housing Fund are truly community-led, proposals should ensure that:

• Meaningful community engagement and consent occurs throughout the development process. The community does not necessarily have to initiate and manage the process, or build the homes themselves, though some may do;
• The local community group or organisation owns, manages or stewards the homes and in a manner of their choosing, and this may be done through a mutually supported arrangement with a Registered Provider that owns the freehold or leasehold for the property; and
• The benefits to the local area and/or specified community must be clearly defined and legally protected in perpetuity.

Bidding is open to all organisations which are, or intend to become, constituted as a body corporate, or an equivalent form of constituted body. Eligible organisations include, but are not restricted to:

• Registered charity;
• Company Limited By Guarantee;
• Community Benefit Society
• Co-operative Society;
• Community Interest Company;
• An organisation of another type operating as a social enterprise and principally reinvesting their surpluses for social benefit;
• Registered Provider of social housing; or
• Local authority.

Local authorities or Registered Providers may apply on behalf of community groups and other organisations and, in those cases, the lead bidding organisation will remain directly accountable for the funds, where appropriate. For applications not directly submitted by community-led organisations the applicant must demonstrate how the identified community will be engaged in the development proposal and how this will support the objectives of the Fund.

All organisations applying to the Fund will be required to submit details of the proposed activity through the Homes England bidding portal: https://bids.homesengland.org.uk

Homes England is the new housing delivery organisation that has been created to adopt a more commercial approach to respond to the long term housing challenges facing this country. The new, expanded agency will play a far bigger role in investing in supply and intervening in the market to help deliver 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the next decade.

Homes England will act differently from its predecessor, bringing together money, land, expertise and planning and compulsory purchase powers to accelerate the supply of new homes and address affordability issues in areas of highest demand.

The Environment Agency (EA) has revealed that over a third of illegally dumped waste is from households.

The regulator is now urging homes to avoid illegal waste operators by taking extra care when it comes to disposing of rubbish.

A recent change in the law means that householders found to be knowingly involved in the illegal dumping of waste, could be liable for Landfill Tax or prosecuted alongside the actual illegal operators.

It’s been found that unlicensed waste operators target householders via social media or local advertising, often luring customers with cheaper rates to dispose of unwanted furniture, building rubble or garden waste.

An Environment Agency spokesperson, said:

We must all come together to win the fight against waste criminals. We’re doing our part with enforcement action and prosecution, whenever necessary. But we cannot do this alone. Households also have a responsibility to ensure their waste is collected by a responsible operator who will not pollute the environment with waste or cost thousands to clear up and make safe.

It’s estimated to cost the UK economy £600M every year, the equivalent of a new and fully staffed NHS hospital. More than 850 new illegal waste sites were discovered by the EA in 2016-17. While an average of two illegal waste sites are shut down every day, they continue to create severe problems for local communities and business, particularly in rural areas, as well as posing a risk to key national infrastructure.

To avoid contributing to waste crime, householders are advised to take the following steps:

• Check the waste management operator being used is a registered waste carrier. Registration documents should available on request and should be inspected before services are rendered. You can check environmental permits online or call 03708 506506.

• Get a written receipt/transfer note complete with contact details, a description of waste removed and details of where the waste is being taken to.

• Note down the vehicle type, colour and registration number of the vehicle that’s taking your waste away.

Report suspected waste crime to the EA incident hotline 0800 807060 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.