The CIEH has warned that proposed planning guidance for large-scale national energy developments, including coal and nuclear power stations, do not adequately consider the possible adverse impact on health.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) launched a series of draft documents in November outlining how the new Infrastructure Planning Committee (IPC) should deal with applications. The national policy statements cover applications for renewable energy schemes, gas supply, electricity networks and nuclear power generation.
The DECC claims the system will help remove ‘unnecessary planning delays’ and boost the UK’s dwindling energy supply.
The CIEH told a subsequent inquiry by the Parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee, which is running alongside a DECC consultation, that the national policy statements would have an ‘enormous influence’ on planning decisions.
Howard Price, CIEH principal policy officer, added that the guidance did not require the IPC to consider health impact assessments, which are used to predict the possible health consequences of a proposal. Such assessments are recommended by the World Health Organization to provide a ‘foundation for improved health and well-being of people likely to be affected’.
To read the CIEH response to the DECC consultation please click here.