Abstract
Navitus Bay Development Limited (the applicant) has applied to the Secretary of State for a development consent order (DCO) under Section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) for the proposed Navitus Bay Wind Park (the application). The Secretary of State has appointed an Examining Authority (ExA) to conduct an examination of the application, to report its findings and conclusions, and to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State as to the decision to be made on the application.
The relevant Secretary of State is the competent authority for the purposes of the Habitats Directive and the Habitats Regulations and the Offshore Marine Regulations for applications submitted under the Planning Act 2008 regime (as amended). The findings and conclusions on nature conservation issues reported by the ExA will assist the Secretary of State in performing their duties under the Habitats Regulations and the Offshore Marine Regulations.
This report has been produced by the ExA, with support from the Environmental Services Team within the Planning Inspectorate. It compiles, documents and signposts information provided within the DCO application, and the information in relation to potential effects to European Sites submitted throughout the examination up to and including Deadline VIa (5 February 2015) by both the applicant and interested parties. It is not a standalone document and should be read in conjunction with the examination documents referred to in this report.
This RIES is issued to ensure that interested parties including the statutory nature conservation bodies in this case Natural England (NE) is consulted formally on Habitats Regulations matters. This process may be relied on by the Secretary of State for the purposes of Regulation 61(3) of the Habitats Regulations and Regulation 25 of the Offshore Marine Regulations. Following consultation, responses to this RIES will be considered by the ExA in making their recommendation to the Secretary of State and made available to the Secretary of State along with this report. The RIES will not be revised following consultation.
The applicant considered a number of European sites in other EEA States6 (APP-059 and APP-060), however no likely significant effects (LSE) were identified and all non-UK sites were screened out of the assessment. Only UK sites are considered in this report.