Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects: Commitments Register
This advice explains the purpose and use of a Commitments Register in the planning process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) under the Planning Act 2008.
Applies to England and Wales
The government has published guidance about national infrastructure planning which applicants, members of the public and other parties should read. See the National Infrastructure Planning Guidance Portal. The guidance should be read alongside the Planning Act 2008 (the Planning Act).
This advice is non-statutory. However, the Planning Inspectorate’s advice about running the infrastructure planning regime and matters of process is drawn from good practice and applicants and others should follow our recommendations. It is intended to complement the legislation, regulations and guidance issued by government and is produced under section 51 of the Planning Act.
This advice should be read together with Planning Inspectorate’s Advice on the Environmental Impact Assessment Process and government guidance on the Planning Act process.
What is a Commitments Register?
From Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping and drafting of application documents at the pre-application stage of the NSIP process through to the end of examination, commitments to a number of measures are likely to be required to ensure that good design objectives will be secured and implemented. This is to ensure that potential environmental effects arising from the project are mitigated as far as possible and in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy.
These commitments should be recorded on a Commitments Register as per the template provided at the end of this advice.
The following bullet points include examples of types of measures that may be committed to at scoping and at submission in the Commitments Register.
Scoping:
- noise – best practice measures to control noise emissions, including reference to appropriate thresholds and in line with relevant guidance
- lighting – use of focused directional fittings to minimise outward light spill and glare (for example, hoods/cowls which direct light below downwards)
- waste – a a draft Waste Management Plan to be prepared by the contractor, which will specify the waste streams which would be monitored and targets set with regards to the waste produced, including any re-use and recycling of materials. To include measures to ensure that these targets and the waste hierarchy is adhered to through all stages of the process
- provision of draft control documents as part of the DCO application such as Construction Environmental Management Plan and Construction Traffic Management Plan
Submission:
- best practice measures to control and/or manage dust, air emissions, emissions to water and sediment mobilisation, contaminant mobilisation, lighting, waste to be included in relevant named control documents, including reference to appropriate thresholds and in line with relevant guidance
- specify extent and locations of buffer zones for habitats, water resources, public residential units, heritage receptors, transport receptors to be included in relevant named control documents
- identification of type, extent and locations of screening measures (noise, landscape and visual, air quality)
- number, type, routing and access locations for traffic and transport
- specification of good design principles, such as achieving >10% of biodiversity net gain using the appropriate Biodiversity Net Gain Metric, planting gaps in hedgerows and tree lines to reduce fragmentation in accordance with the outline landscape management plan, identifying earthwork gradients to minimise impacts on landscape and visual receptors
Commitments are defined as both embedded measures (measures integral to the design of the project) and additional measures (measures which are not integral to the project) and monitoring proposed by an applicant to either avoid or minimise adverse effects or to provide beneficial outcomes in order to secure good design.
Where measures are set out as adherence to principles, then there should also be a commitment to how monitoring, evaluation and adaptation will be undertaken to ensure that the principles are achieved in practice.
Purpose and use of a Commitments Register
The purpose of a Commitments Register is to track commitments made by the applicant throughout the NSIP planning process, including post decision, including, detailed design, procurement, construction, operation and decommissioning. To maximise the benefits of the Commitments Register, the Planning Inspectorate recommends that versions of the register are agreed with relevant stakeholders and submitted to the Planning Inspectorate at the following milestones of the planning process:
- EIA Scoping – the first iteration is submitted with a scoping request setting out where applicants rely on commitments as the basis for scoping matters out or refining the scope of assessment
- Preliminary Environmental Information Report
- draft document review
- submission of DCO application
- any updates as required by an Examining Authority within an examination
Provision of a first iteration at scoping provides a clear indication of where measures relied upon to scope matters out will be secured through the application. The final version submitted with the application should be provided as a separate appendix to the Environmental Statement. This aims to reduce the number of principal issues from the outset of examination and provides clarification to the Examining Authority and Interested Parties on:
- whether the commitments made at EIA scoping stage remain at the DCO application stage, and therefore whether the scope of the EIA remains valid
- what commitments are proposed to avoid/reduce adverse effects
- what commitments are proposed in support of achieving good design including environmental or other benefits
- how each commitment is secured through the DCO
- how each commitment will be discharged and monitored (where appropriate) through the DCO
- any changes to commitments that have been made during the pre-application stage, and the reasons for any changes that have been made
- the input that may be required from interested parties at examination to consider whether certain commitments are adequate
- the input that may be required from interested parties post DCO consent to ensure that commitments are fully developed and implemented
The Commitments Register should be a ‘live’ document that is updated throughout the NSIP planning process and will ensure that all commitments are up to date at the time the NSIP application is decided by the Secretary of State. If the DCO is granted, the Commitments Register should then be further updated to incorporate any additional or modified commitments imposed as part of the decision. It can then be used during the post-DCO consent phase as a tool to demonstrate compliance with commitments.
Commitments Register Template
To allow for ease of reference and consideration during the DCO examination process, the Planning Inspectorate advises that the primary document to track obligations and commitments made by the applicant should be titled the ‘Commitments Register’. It is advised that the commitments register includes as a minimum, the information set out within the standardised provided at the end of this advice page.
The information to include in the Commitments Register should be informed by consideration of the Planning Inspectorate’s development specific Technical Advice Page and Advice on the EIA Process.
The identifies each individual commitment and sets out the following corresponding information:
- Commitment Reference – an individual reference identifying each commitment, allowing for ease of referencing during the DCO examination process
- Commitment – a description of the commitment itself, as quoted in the DCO and/or relevant supporting document, for example, the relevant chapter in the Environmental Statement
- Monitoring – whether monitoring is proposed and if so, a description of the monitoring measures as quoted in the DCO and/or relevant supporting document
- Project Phase – identification of the project phase to which the commitment relates. It is recommended that commitments related to each project phase are grouped together in the Register to allow for ease of interpretation
- Relevant aspect / matter – identification of the technical matter to which the commitment relates, allowing for ease of referencing by relevant stakeholders during the DCO examination process and post decision
- Commitment Securing Mechanism – sets out the relevant control documents and relevant part or requirement of the DCO or other mechanism in which the commitment is secured, and the party or parties required to agree the relevant control documents
- Delivery – identification of the stage at which the commitment should be delivered and by whom
- Associated Supporting Information or links to where this is to be found – identifies the relevant supporting document containing further information on each commitment
- Compliance Date and Details – captures the date on which compliance with the commitment was achieved in the post-consent phase, alongside any details such as references and links to detailed plans, which body granted consent, and further requirements for auditing and monitoring