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Our Development Consent Order application

We carried out several stages of consultation on Net Zero Teesside (NZT) between Autumn 2019, when we introduced NZT to the local community, to January 2021, when we provided an update on changes made to the Project. After each stage we reviewed the comments received from the local community and other stakeholders and undertook further work.

In July 2021 we submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the construction and operation of the onshore elements of NZT to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS), a government agency, that administers the development consent application process on behalf of the relevant Secretary of State – in the case of NZT this is the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

On 16 August 2021 PINS formally accepted our DCO application for examination.  The Secretary of State will make the final decision on whether to grant development consent for the onshore elements of NZT.

The application documents can be viewed at the Documents tab on the PINS website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/north-east/the-net-zero-teesside-project/

The Digital Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement can also be found here: https://planengageuk.alytics.com/nzt-digital-nts/home

The DCO process

NZT is defined as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’ (a ‘NSIP’)under Section 35 of The Planning Act 2008. Therefore, before the onshore elements of NZT can be built, we need to apply for and obtain development consent from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under Section 37 of the Act. Development consent for a NSIP is granted in the form of a Development Consent Order (a ‘DCO’).

The offshore elements of NZT will be subject to separate consent applications, which are being progressed by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), of which NZT is a part. This will involve the captured carbon dioxide being transported to and stored in the Endurance carbon store – a saline aquifer – which lies approximately 145km offshore from Teesside in the southern North Sea.

Consultation is a key part of the DCO process and it is a statutory requirement of The Planning Act 2008 to consult people living within the vicinity of the development being proposed and to take their views into account in preparing an application for development consent. Our DCO application includes a Consultation Report that details what was done to consult the local community (and other stakeholders and interested parties) and how people’s views were taken into account.

We are currently at the pre-examination stage of the DCO process, following the decision by PINS on 16 August 2021 to accept our DCO application for examination. The Relevant Representations that have been submitted by interested parties to PINS during the pre-examination period can be viewed at the Relevant Representations tab on the PINS website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/north-east/the-net-zero-teesside-project/?ipcsection=relreps

We expect the examination of our DCO application to start in May 2022.  The examination will be run by a panel of three independent inspectors, known as the Examining Authority, who will examine the DCO application on behalf of the Secretary of State. The examination must be completed within a period of six months (likely to be around November 2022) and within three months of the end of the examination, the Examining Authority will need to produce and submit a recommendation report to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will then have three months to decide whether to grant development consent for NZT. We expect to receive a decision from the Secretary of State in Quarter 3 2023.

Further details on the DCO process can be found at the PINS website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/.

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Proposed changes to the DCO application

Since submission of the DCO application, we have continued to engage with interested parties with a view to addressing the comments made in their relevant representation and to agree common ground, while also continuing with detailed project development.  Through this work we have identified a number of changes that we consider it would be beneficial to make to the project and the application.  The proposed changes relate primarily to the optionality included in the application (particularly around the connection corridors for the Project) and a reduction in the land required for the project.

The changes would reduce complexity and the potential effects of NZT on interested parties and affected persons, reducing the number of issues to be considered during the examination once it commences and simplifying both the examination and decision-making processes.

In advance of seeking the approval of the Examining Authority to make the proposed changes, we are consulting on those changes.  The consultation on the changes will run from 10 March to 14 April 2022.

A consultation document, which explains the changes being proposed, and a copy of the notice that has been placed in national and local newspapers publicising this consultation can be viewed in the March to April 2022 Proposed Changes Consultation section below.

Hard copies of the consultation document will be available to view at the following public information events at which it will be possible to find out more about the proposed changes, speak to members of the project team and ask questions:

  • Lazenby Village Hall, High Street, TS6 8DU – 23 March 2022, 2pm to 6.30pm
  • 25k Community Centre, Ayton Drive, Roseberry Square, Redcar, TS10 4LR – 24 March 2022, 11am to 4pm

In addition, hard copies of the consultation document will be available to view at the following locations until 14 April 2022:

  • Redcar Library, Redcar & Cleveland House, Kirkleatham Street, Redcar, TS10 1RT – Mon, Tues & Weds: 9am to 6pm; Thurs: 9am to 5pm; Fri 9am to 6pm; Sat: 9:30am to 12:30pm
  • Stockton Central Library, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1TU – Mon, Weds & Fri: 8:30am to 6pm; Tues & Thurs: 8:30am to 8pm; Sat: 9:30am to 4pm

We will also hold a webinar on 30 March 2022 – 11am to 12noon at which people will be able to find out more about the proposed changes and speak to the project team. To join this webinar on the 30th, click here at 11am.

Any responses to this consultation must be submitted to the Applicants no later than 14 April 2022 via one of the methods below:

This consultation is being carried out in accordance with the PINS Advice Note 16 ‘How to request a change which may be material’, which can be viewed at:

https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/legislation-and-advice/advice-notes/advice-note-16/