The Planning Act 2008 North London Reinforcement Project Examining
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The Planning Act 2008 North London Reinforcement Project Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change _______________________________________ Rynd Smith LLB MA MRTPI FRSA Examining Authority Examining Authority’s findings and conclusions and recommendation in respect of an application by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc for an Order Granting Development Consent for the North London Reinforcement Project Date: 23 January 2014 This page intentionally left blank File Ref EN020009 The Development Consent Order (DCO) application, dated 30 August 2012, was made under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (PA2008) and was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 30 August 2012. The applicant was National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (the applicant). The application was accepted for examination on 27 September 2012. The examination of the application began on 24 April 2013 and was completed on 23 October 2013. The proposed development comprises the upgrading of one of two existing 275kV transmission lines (known as the ZBC alignment) running from Waltham Cross substation in the north via Brimsdown substation to Tottenham substation in the south for approximately 14km, generally along the alignment of the River Lee. The upgrading would to enable it to run at the higher voltage of 400 kV. The proposed development includes replacing the existing 275kV conductors with new 400kV conductors to be run in the large part on existing pylons, together with extensions and works to substations and pylons (including repairs to pylons, two replacement pylons and one new pylon at Waltham Cross substation) to support the voltage upgrade. Applications for certificates under section 127 of PA2008 were made in respect of the acquisition of land or rights over land from statutory undertakers. The Planning Inspectorate received these on 17 May 2013. They were examined concurrently with and in parallel to the DCO examination and these s127 examinations were completed on 24 October 2013. Summary of Recommendation In respect of the DCO application: The Examining Authority recommends the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change grants consent and makes the DCO subject to minor modifications, in the form appended to this report. Report to the Secretary of State 1 Section Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................3 2 THE APPLICATION AND ITS SETTING ........................................... 16 3 LEGAL & POLICY CONTEXT ......................................................... 26 4 EXAMINATION ISSUES, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS .................. 35 PART A THE NEED CASE AND OPTION DEVELOPMENT TO MEET NEED .......... 37 PART B THE RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER MAJOR PROJECTS AND PROPOSALS 47 PART C BIODIVERSITY, ECOLOGY AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT ............... 56 PART D THE AQUATIC AND LAND ENVIRONMENT ................................. 68 PART E TOWNSCAPE, LANDSCAPE, VISUAL AND HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT AND GREEN BELT CONSIDERATIONS .................................................... 73 PART F CONSTRUCTION EFFECTS .................................................. 77 PART G OTHER MATTERS ........................................................... 91 PART H MINOR CHANGES TO THE APPLICATION .................................. 93 PART I EQUALITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS ......................................... 95 5 THE CASE FOR & AGAINST DEVELOPMENT .................................... 97 6 THE DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER & REQUIREMENTS .............. 101 7 COMPULSORY ACQUISITION ..................................................... 137 8 OVERALL CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ......................... 147 Appendices Contents APPENDIX A – THE EXAMINATION APPENDIX B – LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AT THE PRELIMINARY MEETING AND SPEAKERS AT HEARINGS APPENDIX C – ABBREVIATIONS APPENDIX D - EXAMINATION DOCUMENTS APPENDIX E – REPORT ON THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EUROPEAN SITES (RIES) APPENDIX F – RECOMMENDED DRAFT DCO Report to the Secretary of State 2 ERRATA SHEET – North London Reinforcement Project – Ref. EN020009 Examining authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, dated 23 January 2014 Corrections agreed by the Examining Authority prior to a decision being made Page No. Paragraph Error Correction 5 1.15 Typographical error Replace the reference to “paragraph 1.7 to 1.11 above”, with “paragraphs 1.8 to 1.14 above”. 9 1.38 Typographical error Replace “interested parties” with “interested parties and invited persons”. 10 1.45 Typographical error At the start of the footnote to this paragraph, replace “3 3” with “3 4”. 29 3.20 Typographical error Remove “(Update…)” from the end of footnote 14. 35 4.4 Typographical error Close square brackets “]” after “[PD19-22”. 40 4.27 Typographical error Insert “could” between “upgrade” and “have”. 50 4.71 Typographical error Replace “designate” with “designated” before “NPS for Waste Water”. 59 4.113 Typographical error Delete “an” at the start of bullet point 1. 65 4.142 Typographical error In the final line, replace “no” with “not”. 69 4.164 Typographical error Insert “;” at the end of bullet point 1. 72 4.181 Typographical error In the final sentence, replace “the other back” with “the other bank”. 73 4.183 Typographical error In the final sentence, replace “Chapter 7 below” with “Chapter 6 below”. Page No. Paragraph Error Correction 85 4.238 Typographical error Replace the reference to “paragraph 4.214 above” with “paragraph 4.236 above”. 92 4.274 Typographical error In the final sentence, replace “electro-magnet” with “electro- magnetic”. 92 4.275 Typographical error In the first sentence, insert “not” before “raised”. 93 4.281 Typographical error In the first sentence, replace “Error! Reference source not found.” with “2.17”. 96 4.304 Typographical error In the second sentence, replace “whether and whether” with “whether and how”. The following error ‘missing content’ has been inserted into the report at Appendix D for ease of reference. From 149 Appendix D Missing content At the end of Appendix D, insert a table of “Section 127 Examination Documents”. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This document is the Examining Authority’s report to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (the Secretary of State), following an examination of the application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the North London Reinforcement Project (the application) by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (the applicant). It sets out the Examining Authority’s findings and conclusions and his recommendation to the Secretary of State. APPOINTMENT 1.2 On 21 November 2012, Rynd Smith was appointed under sections 61 and 78 PA2008 [PD10], under delegation from the Secretary of State as a single person Examining Authority, to examine the application. THE APPLICATION 1.3 The proposed development for which development consent is required under section 31 PA 2008 is as follows [APP1 – 37]: . Uprating approximately 14km of an existing transmission alignment (the ZBC alignment) from Waltham Cross substation to Tottenham substation, from the existing 275,000 to 400,000 volts (from 275 to 400kV), together with associated development, in summary: . An extension to and minor route re-alignments at Waltham Cross substation to incorporate new 400 kV gas insulated switchgear (GIS). New transformers and new sealing end compounds at Brimsdown substation. A 400kV ‘bypass’ to Tottenham substation, connecting the application proposal to the existing VC alignment to the south, which is the subject of a separate uprating proposal and will operate at 400 kV in due course. It is a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) as defined by sections 14 and 161 of PA2008. 1.4 It should be noted that whilst the application proposal relates to the ZBC alignment, there is also a second 275kV transmission line, the ZBD alignment, which runs parallel to it between Waltham Cross and Tottenham. There are no proposals affecting the ZBD alignment in the application. 1 In its current form, s16 PA2008 does not apply to the replacement of an existing line by a line with a greater nominal voltage but on the same alignment. However, transitional provisions apply that retain this project within the scope of the section prior to that amendment. Further, as amended, s16(3A) makes clear that a power line is not exempt if it passes within a European site or an SSSI, a condition which does apply to the application proposal. Report to the Secretary of State 3 1.5 The application was submitted on 30 August 2012. It was accepted for examination on 27 September 2012. 1.6 The applicant advertised the accepted application and fourteen relevant representations were received [REP14 – 27]. To the extent that they remained un-withdrawn, the Examining Authority has given due consideration to the issues raised by these throughout the examination. 1.7 The application was for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development as defined by the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009. It was accompanied by an environmental statement (ES). I consider that the ES met the definition provided in Regulation 2(1) of these regulations. Minor additional clarifications of the ES were provided in describing minor changes to the application (see para 1.13 below) and in response to questions from the Examining Authority throughout the examination. In reaching