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Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs)

There are plans for a growing number of nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) in the Vale of White Horse over the next ten years or more.

What are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects?

NSIPs are large scale projects falling into five general categories (energy; transport; water; wastewater and waste) which are considered by the Government to be so big and nationally important that permission to build them needs to be given at a national level, by the Government, rather than by the local authorities.

Instead of applying to the local authority for planning permission, the developer must apply to the Planning Inspectorate for a different permission called a Development Consent Order (DCO).

The developer is responsible for setting the timetable and consultation process for this project.

The district council does not make the final decision on the proposal but will be closely involved in the examination process.

Because of the scale of NSIPs, the process has many stages and can seem complicated.

Here is a brief summary of the process:

  1. The applicant is first required to consult with a range of people including the local community and relevant public authorities.
  2. After this, they can submit the application and a government appointed planning inspector will determine if the application is suitable to go forward to a public examination.
  3. Should that be successful, the planning inspector will hear the views of interested parties, which can include members of the community, and then will go away to consider and examine all the details.
  4. The planning inspector then prepares a report and recommendation for the Secretary of State who then decides whether to grant or refuse permission.

The full process is explained here on the government’s website.

Find out more about the NSIP projects impacting the Vale of White Horse:

We will update and add to the Vale NSIP hub pages as these projects progress.