Pre-Application stage is a town or parish council’s most powerful legal window to shape a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). Once this phase closes, your ability to influence what is built, and where and how, drops significantly. Use this guidance to prepare your council immediately and get a head start.
Statutory Consultation is a legal requirement under the Planning Act 2008. The developer will run activities such as exhibitions, meetings and drop-ins, and share consultation materials with the public including the latest designs shaped in the earlier non-statutory phase.
Feedback from the public and councils will inform the design the developer submits to the Planning Inspectorate with the aim of being granted a DCO (Development Consent Order). It is important to acknowledge that focusing on influencing the project can result in a more positive outcome for the community.
Below is guidance to enable you to begin planning straight away.
Formally share the workload
In order to enable you to engage effectively, organise a collaboration with other nearby councils as soon as possible. Sharing resources can help you manage the increased workload, and reduce risk of burnout.
Form clusters: connect with neighbouring councils and networks to pool limited resources and administrative budgets.
Assign topic leads: allocate specific technical areas (e.g. traffic, noise, ecology, water) to different parishes to divide the reading.
Review proven models: read the Saxmundham Town Council NSIP case study to learn how council collaborations operate.
Focus locally: only focus your resources and attention on the most local matters, and avoid being drawn into other issues further afield.
Interrogate the consultation strategy and options
Do not wait for the formal launch to review project parameters.
Audit the consultation strategy: review the developer's draft Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) to ensure local voices are genuinely included.
Understand who is not engaging: it is helpful to have engaged residents but get to know who is not engaging. Then, create a plan to reach residents who may need more encouragement to participate in the consultation.
Stress-test the options: scrutinise the developer’s options appraisal to identify why and how their preferred route, site or technology harms your town or parish.
Gather data early: request complex localised mapping and data models from the developer before public events launch.
Mobilise your community
Community feedback must be organised and legally focused to carry weight during the later Examination phase.
Unify your message: make sure your newsletters, websites, social media and physical noticeboards are communicating identical, clear messaging.
Highlight the urgency: remind residents that this specific statutory window will not repeat itself.
Focus on evidence: encourage residents to submit factual, localised impacts rather than generic emotional objections.
Understand the key challenges
Do not reinvent the wheel; look at the existing trail of project documentation.
Track PINS portals: review existing project documents on the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) or project website.
Talk to experienced clerks: contact clerks from other councils or regions who have already gone through similar NSIP processes.
Identify shifted gaps: pinpoint new technical issues or design changes that have emerged since the non-statutory phase.
Overall, success depends on early preparation and strategic planning throughout the process. And ideally, by Statutory Consultation you would have already engaged in Non-Statutory Consultation.
For more detail, download the 'Getting to Grips with NSIPs' guide here.
If you have any NSIP community engagement-related queries, please either raise these through the members portal or email me direct: engagement@suffolk-alc.gov.uk.