Have your say
As the proposed development will play an important role in helping meet the UK’s energy needs, the KGSP is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This means that, rather than the application being determined by the local authority, it will require a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Pre-application consultation was essential in allowing us to understand and minimise the impacts of the proposed Project. Full details of how we carried out our consultation is set out in the Statement of Community Consultation document, which can be downloaded from the ‘Library’ page by clicking here.
The formal consultation period started on Thursday 2nd October 2014 and closed on Thursday 27th November 2014.
As part of the first stage of consultation, which took place between April and July 2014, a series of Information Days were held. These events provided a chance for visitors to talk through the proposal with members of the Project Team, ask any initial questions and provide feedback on the plans.
Following this informal stage of consultation an Interim Consultation Report was produced, which details how KGSL consulted with stakeholders and the surrounding communities, the feedback received and how KGSL has responded.
You can download the Interim Consultation Report from the Library page by clicking here.
KGSL launched a statutory stage of consultation on Thursday 2nd October 2014, which ran until Thursday 27th November 2014. During this period, those with an interest in the proposed development were able to find out more about our plans and have a say on the proposed gas storage project.
In preparation for the statutory stage of consultation, KGSL produced a Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC), with both Halton Borough Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council having input into this document. The SoCC outlined the methods that KGSL proposed to use to inform those in the surrounding communities and other stakeholders about the application and encourage participation in the consultation. The SoCC can be viewed in the Library page by clicking here.
In addition, documents relating to the public consultation were available to view at the local venues and a series of Information Days were held.
A further stage of statutory consultation was held in September 2015, which provided those with an interest, as defined by the Planning Act 2008, to make comments on the application.
It’s easy to ask questions about the proposed development and submit your feedback to the Project Team. Views expressed during the consultation stage have been reviewed and recorded and have helped shape the proposal as it progressed.
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out by an independent specialist as part of the DCO process. This is a collection of in-depth studies into any potential impacts the scheme could have on the environment. It also sets out mitigation measures to safeguard the surrounding environment. This forms the Environmental Statement, which has been submitted as part of the DCO application.
KGSL has published a Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) to coincide with the statutory consultation to help consultees understand the potential impacts of the project and how these will be mitigated. This document can be downloaded from the Library page by clicking here.
KGSL also consulted on the PEIR and has sought views from statutory and non-statutory stakeholders.
All documents are available to view on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, as well as this website. A Scoping Report, which details what environmental studies will be carried out, has already been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. This can be viewed our on project library page here.
The timeline below shows how we plan to progress with the application:
April – June 2014 – Non statutory consultation (COMPLETE)
October – November 2014 – Statutory consultation (COMPLETE)
September 2015 – (Additional) Statutory consultation (COMPLETE)
Late 2015 – Submission of DCO application (COMPLETE)
Mid 2016 – Examination of the DCO application (COMPLETE)
Early 2017 – Decision on the DCO application (COMPLETE)
From 2017 – Construction starts
From 2018 – Solution mining starts
From 2020 – Gas storage starts
Consultation on the application was carried out in 2014, with two stages of consultation providing those interested with an opportunity to have their say on the proposed development.
In September 2015, a further stage of statutory consultation was carried out. This provided those with an interest in the land, as defined by the Planning Act 2008, to make a representation to KGSL.
KGSL wrote to consultees and provided information including the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) and revised red line boundary.