Nationally significant infrastructure projects

Applications for NSIPs are submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. They examine the proposal and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State who are responsible for making the final decision, guided by National Policy Statements.

The process from submission to determination can be lengthy and typically takes around 15 months.

Find out more about the NSIP process on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

Our role

Where a proposal falls within our administrative boundary, Cheshire East Council is defined as a ‘Host Authority’.

As a host authority, the council have a role throughout the various stages of the process from pre-application to examination and post-consent, and we can assist in providing a local perspective to shape the NSIP proposals. Our key responsibilities include:

• submitting a Local Impact Report to outline how a project affects Cheshire East
• providing written representations and responding to Planning Inspectorate questions
• participating in Examination Hearings
• if consented, discharging any requirements on the consent, and monitoring the works carried out to ensure compliance with the provisions in the DCO.

Our Local Impact Report will a wide range of environmental considerations including:

• biodiversity
• heritage
• landscape
• flood risk management
• transport, highways and rights of way
• public health and amenity

Have your say

Before submitting their application, the project promoter consults with the community and usually advertises their consultations in local newspapers, dedicated websites, and/or by sending letters or flyers to nearby residents. Statutory consultees including the parish councils and Cheshire East Council will also receive notifications. The consultation material will include details on how to respond to the consultation and there are often several stages of consultation as the draft design is refined.

Once a project is listed on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, you can search for a project and sign up for email updates on the progress of the application.

If you want to participate in the examination of an NSIPs, you will need to sign up for updates, as the promoter will notify you about key events and deadlines. You must register to have your say at the pre-examination stage.

To find out more about having your say on NSIPs, including how to access the registration page for making comments, see the Planning Inspectorate's Having Your Say guide.

Hynet Hydrogen Pipeline

Cadent Gas propose a 100km pipeline network to transport low carbon hydrogen from Stanlow Manufacturing Complex (Ellesmere Port) to various industrial organisations, and to transport hydrogen to blending stations near Manchester where it would be blended into the existing gas network to heat homes and businesses.  The project would also link to underground hydrogen storage facilities in Cheshire that would be used to balance supply and demand. The section of the pipeline corridor situated within Cheshire East would run in a south westerly direction from Little Bollington to High Leigh before crossing the M6 and entering the Cheshire West and Chester administrative boundary.

Applicant’s website - Home - HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline

Peak Cluster CCS Pipeline

The scheme proposed the capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) from cement and lime manufacturing in Derbyshire and Staffordshire and to transport it by pipeline to a permanent storage location under the Irish Sea.

Key elements of the project include:

• New carbon dioxide capture facilities at four existing cement and lime plants in Derbyshire and Staffordshire
• Buried pipeline system to transport carbon dioxide emissions across Cheshire, to the network exchange point on the Wirral.
• Associated above-ground inspection and maintenance facilities.
• New CO2 infrastructure on the Wirral peninsula to facilitate the transport of the CO2 offshore.

In order to transport the CO2 from Derbyshire/Staffordshire to the storage destination in the Irish Sea the pipeline route will cut across the length of Cheshire East administrative boundary however the preferred route has not yet been chosen.

Applicant’s website - Peak Cluster - Four major cement and lime producers have come together to create a resilient future for the industries through Peak Cluster.