Today's entry reports on the first decision to refuse an
application made under the Planning Act 2008.
Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
refused the application for the Preesall underground gas storage
project in Lancashire, being promoted by Halite Energy. This
was despite the inspectors recommending that the application be
granted. It was the eighth decision issued for a Planning Act
application but the first refusal, issued 12 days before the end of
the three month decision period.
This news will send a frisson through current and future project
promoters and demonstrates that the benefits are capable of not
being sufficiently certain to as to outweigh the adverse impacts of
a nationally significant infrastructure project, even when projects
of that type are declared to be urgently needed in a National
Policy Statement. It also demonstrates that the government is
still prepared to turn down an application even when it is
