On Wednesday 21 October, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy granted development consent in respect of the proposed West Burton C Power Station. Located approximately 3.5km south of Gainsborough, the facility will have a generating capacity of up to 299MW.
EDF Energy (Thermal Generation) Ltd submitted the application to the Planning Inspectorate on 30 April 2019, which was later accepted for Examination on 23 May 2019. The Applicant, Statutory Consultees and Interested Parties were all subsequently provided with the opportunity to submit evidence to the Examining Authority, which resulted in the Recommendation being made to the Secretary of State on 21 July 2020.
The gas-fired power station is the 96th Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and the 60th Energy Project to be examined and determined by the framework established under the Planning Act 2008.
More than 50 years after their original stations were closed in 1965, Walsall Council’s planning committee has approved applications by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to open new station facilities in Willenhall and Darlaston.
The new station at Darlaston will comprise two platforms, a footbridge, steps and a 300-space car park. The facility will be built on the former site of A B Waste Management at Cemetery Road. To enable the development at Willenhall, old industrial buildings will be demolished in Bilston Street and Rose Hill. The station will incorporate two platforms, a footbridge, a 33-space car park and improved pedestrian crossing facilities in Bilston Street.
An invitation to tender for the construction works has now been issued with a view to appointing a contractor by Spring 2021. It has been confirmed that two new hourly services will call at the stations once they are opened; one will be a direct Walsall to Wolverhampton route whilst the other will be a Wolverhampton to Birmingham service.
Sunderland City Council have this month unveiled a Masterplan to transform the city centre. The proposed scheme, Riverside Sunderland, will incorporate the development of 1,000 new homes and is expected to create 10,000 jobs through the construction of one million sq. ft. of modern office space.
Dubbed ‘the most exciting regeneration site in Britain’, the blueprint includes the regeneration of a 33.2-hectare site which extends across both sides of the River Wear, creating the UK’s first carbon neutral quarter. Other key features include a major life sciences / health care facility and a state-of-the-art library and community hub.
The scheme is supported by £100m of committed investment from Legal & General, as part of a combined £160m pledge to the regeneration of Riverside Sunderland and Hillthorn Park manufacturing site.
Cumbria County Council’s Development Control and Regulation Committee have approved plans to develop a new £134m road south of Carlisle. It is anticipated that works will commence in 2022 with the new road scheduled to open in 2024.
Comprising five miles of new highway, four roundabouts, three road bridges, an underpass and cycle paths and footways, the scheme will be built on a corridor of land between Junction 42 of the M6 and the Newby West roundabout. Planning permission was granted subject to 41 planning conditions being adhered to.
According to the County Council, the scheme is vital in terms of the region’s economic recovery following the severe impacts of coronavirus. The scheme will also provide essential infrastructure and facilitate the development of St. Cuthberts Garden Village, a council-led development which will deliver 10,000 new homes and further employment opportunities.
As part of ongoing plans to decarbonise the entire British rail network, the first hydrogen-powered train recently took to the tracks as part of initial testing. This step forward marks a significant breakthrough for the project, with the train already having been in development for circa two years.
The HydroFLEX, a modified Class 319 train which was first built in 1987 by British Rail Engineering, is the creation of BCRRE (The University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research and Education) and Porterbrook, owners of approximately one third of the country’s passenger rail fleet. Rather than burning diesel, this particular locomotive has been fitted with an advanced hydrogen system.
When not using the electrified grid traction system, electricity is generated through hydrogen combustion, which subsequently powers the train’s electric motors. Such flexibility enables the train to run on most of the network’s existing routes.
Whilst developers are forecasting that the technology will be available to retrofit to existing locomotives by 2023, the next stage of the development process is to create a compact hydrogen and battery-powered system which can be installed below passenger compartments.
Esso Petroleum Company has been granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for a project to replace 90km of pipeline which transports aviation fuel from Fawley Refinery on the South Coast, to Esso’s West London Terminal Storage Facility in Hounslow.
A 6-month examination process, allowing locals, authorities, councils and other interested parties to have their say culminated in an approval under the Planning Act 2008.
Following the approval of the DCO, Esso can now exercise rights under Compulsory Purchase Powers to assemble the necessary rights and land for the project’s completion. It is likely that construction will begin in spring 2021.
Highways England has submitted £250m upgrade plans to improve Junction 10 of the M25, joining the A3.
Aims of the scheme include additional capacity for the existing roundabout and new slip lanes to allow all left-turning to pass through without having to stop. There will also be widening of the A3 up to four lanes around the interchange, and the hard shoulders of the M25 will be changed to running lanes.
The Planning Inspectorate accepted the proposals for inspection on 17th July 2019. This was followed in March 2019 by a series of public hearings and on 12th October 2020, the Inspectorate submitted to the Secretary of State their recommendation, who will issue a decision within three months, so a decision is due on 12th January 2021.
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The Carter Jonas Infrastructure teams have expanded. In the last two months we’ve had 21 new starters spanning a number of our offices and specialisms – infrastructure, energy, geospatial and contract management – from Apprentice to Associate Partner, including five who have joined our graduate scheme.
To continue providing the excellent customer service that we have become known for, we need to expand our teams with bright, ambitious graduates to help grow our clientele and turnover, through embracing innovation and driving change.
We have just launched our graduate recruitment programme for this year, if you know someone who might be interested, please ask them to get in touch or visit carterjonas.co.uk/infrastructure-grads.
Our measured survey team undertook a survey of over 240 hectares of agricultural land earmarked for a proposed garden village development
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