On 1 April 2021, 5 days before the 6 month Examination period was due to close, the Planning Inspectorate announced that the Secretary of State had granted a 3-month extension to the Examinations. This meant the Examinations did not close until 6 July 2021.
SEAS joined with other groups to object to the extension on the grounds that it was procedurally unfair.
SEAS have limited human and financial resources. To meet the gruelling schedule of hearings we, in effect, emptied the bank accounts to pay for experts and counsel. In this context, SPR has unlimited resources and any extension can and will be funded commensurately.
The overwhelming impression we were left with is that the extension benefited SPR by giving them an unfair chance to plug the multitude of gaps that existed in their evidence. SPR has had more than ample opportunity to adduce evidence on all matters.
Deadline 13 Submission (point 18), SEAS 5 July 2021
Additional Submission, SEAS 23 June 2021
Deadline 10 Submission, SEAS 6 May 2021
Formal Objection to the Extension of the Examinations SEAS, 8 April 2021
Notification of a new deadlines The Planning Inspectorate, 1 April 2021,
Letter granting the Extension to the Examinations Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, 30 March 2021