, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, the whole purpose of putting compulsory purchase in is to stop that happening. I mean, that's been an absolute bane in loads of places all over the place, hasn't it? So, the idea of including the compulsory purchase as part of the application is to…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, it's for where you've got particular sections of land that are protected and the objection of the landowner hasn't been withdrawn as part of the process. So, the National Trust is one of them. So, you've got somebody applying to build a windfarm on…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes. So, we've got section 72 in the Bill, which is a restrictive power, to ensure Welsh Ministers give appropriate consideration to the statutory undertaker's duties, where rights or restrictive covenants are proposed, and that's the place that we've got…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
I don’t think this is the appropriate vehicle for that. I'm very interested in writing net biodiversity gain in, but we have another piece of legislation coming, as you know, with an environmental governance body in it, and a set of targets. That's the place…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
But, basically, NRW could object to having it and make them go through the consenting process anyway,
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
I'll let Neil explain the detail of it.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, I think there are different ways of doing that. So, first of all, we're constantly keeping 'Planning Policy Wales' under review. So, we'll put a whole series of things in 'Planning Policy Wales' as we develop our biodiversity goals that reflect the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Environmental outcome reports—thank you, Neil. So, you are expected to comply with others. And as I said, Janet, in earlier remarks to the committee, this isn't intended to be a catch-all of everything you've got to do; this is sitting in a suite of existing…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, the Bill isn't intended to cover everything. The Bill is intended to sit within a suite of measures that pertain—. So, we haven't set out every single thing that you've got to do for a particular permit or anything else on the face of the Bill. You are…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, we'll have to discuss this with the UK Government and English counterparts all the time. We have the ability in the Bill to switch our process off if we think it's better to be done the other side. So, we think that's the best way for it to be…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, I think the real issue there, Joyce, is to ensure that people realise that they need to do it again. So, one of the things that really bothers me about some of the pre-application stuff we've got going on at the moment is that people will think they've…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes. This would be reserved for highly controversial, very large projects, where Huw's 'last stand' type of person wants to have a go, and where we feel that there are significant issues around whether or not the thing should go ahead, and it warrants the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
We anticipate that the majority of the decisions will be for the Welsh Ministers to make. I suppose this gives us the flexibility where something becomes more routine to allow the examining authority to do it without having to go through the additional Welsh…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes. We think the inspector already has the ability to ask for more information if they need it. I think that's what we're saying.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
We think it's already there, basically.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
I think we can do that—don't we, Neil?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
I guess. I think there are other places for such a representative to have their last stand. [Laughter.]
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, I'm not too sure—. That just puts another layer of complexity into something, and I don't really understand what the purpose of it is.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Yes, but still, you're still going to have to tell the developer that we've now got to go and make a statement in the Senedd. It's got to be timetabled, it's got to—. What's the purpose of the statement? If all you can do is nod at me, what exactly is the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
I mean, if the committee wants us to look at it we will, but you're putting a level of complexity and uncertainty in there for the developer. So, if you imagine the scenario I've just set out—
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
I think that's just not workable, to be honest; I really don't. I think that would just put a level of complexity into the system that just won't work.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
Well, they have lots of flexibility. The Secretary of State makes rulings in England all the time.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, the problem there is you just don't know what's going to happen. So, with Wylfa, for example, one of the things that happened is that one of the investors pulled out at one point. So, you just don't know what's going to happen. So, you don't want a…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
We think that the overarching timetable should be set on the face of the Bill, so that's 52 weeks—a year, obviously, in lay person's terms. It's very similar to the Planning Act 2008. Then the sub-time frames, like the period of time to validate an…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Infrastructure (Wales) Bill - Evidence session with the Minister for Climate Change
So, if you put in an application to the local planning authority to build an electrolyser in, I don't know, the central square of Swansea, for the sake of argument, and the local planning authority mysteriously said, 'Fine, we'll have a look at that', and…
