Priority Applications for Transmission Infrastructure guidance: Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989

Glossary

Applicant: Any person, company or organisation submitting a section 37 application to Scottish Ministers.

Deemed Planning Permission: The decision of Scottish Ministers, on granting consent under section 37 of the Electricity Act, to direct that planning permission for a proposed development shall be deemed to have been granted under section 57(2) of the TCP(S)A.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): a process consisting of, amongst other things, the preparation of an EIA report, the carrying out of consultation, the examination of the EIA report and any other environmental information, and the reaching of a reasoned conclusion by the Scottish Ministers on the significant effects of a proposed development on the environment.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report: Document submitted by the Applicant alongside their application (where it is EIA development) which describes amongst other things, the proposed development, the likely significant effects of the proposed development on the environment, any mitigation measures, and any alternatives to the proposed development which were considered by the Applicant and discounted.

Hearing Statement: Written statement of summary of key matters to be subject of Hearing session and submitted in advance of hearing session.

Inquiry Report: Written evidence to be presented by Expert Witness at Inquiry and submitted in advance of inquiry session.

Position Statement: Written confirmation of Applicant’s and other parties’ position following consultation period to inform process.

Planning statement: Document submitted by the Applicant describing how the Proposed development accords with local and national planning and other policies. This can be used to present the case in favour of a proposal, and as such must be kept separate from any EIA report.

Pre-application consultation report: Report on the nature, timing and detail of all pre-application engagement undertaken for the development, including the feedback to the community following such engagement, and how any feedback has been taken into account in formulating the proposed development.

Precognition: a written statement of evidence that will be read out at the inquiry. This should be no more than 2000 words unless the Reporter agrees that a longer precognition may be submitted. Where it is proposed to rely on expert reports/topic papers these should be treated as documents and must be lodged at the same time as other documents. Precognitions should not include appendices or other technical information or other evidence such as photographs. These should be lodged as documents. Precognitions may refer to such documents.

Representation: Views (positive or negative) on a proposed development communicated to the ECU or to Scottish Ministers by any third party.

Scoping opinion: The opinion of Scottish Ministers as to the content which should be included in a forthcoming EIA report. This document does not provide comment on the merits, or otherwise, of the proposal, but details the minimum information that Scottish Ministers must be provided with in order to adequately consider any application.

Scoping report: Report provided by the Applicant detailing their initial proposals, the work to be undertaken and the possible effects of those proposals on the environment. This document should include a plan sufficient to identify the site which is the subject of the proposed development. This document is consulted upon and the results of this consultation provide the basis of the scoping opinion.

Scoping request: Request made under the EIA Regulations to the Scottish Ministers for a scoping opinion. It will be accompanied by a scoping report which will be duly consulted upon.

Section 37 application: An application made for the installation and the keeping installed of an overhead electric line under the Electricity Act.

Statement of Agreed Matters: These can be an important tool in clarifying the matters that need not be rehearsed further. They can enable the appointed Reporter to focus on the disputed evidence. These should include one covering the relevant policies applicable to the case and another covering suggested conditions (and reasons) and the heads of terms of any legal agreements. The statement need not be agreed by all participants but should reflect areas of common ground between the Applicant and any of those opposing the application.

The Electricity Act: The Electricity Act 1989.

TCP(S)A: The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997

The EIA Regulations: The Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.