Due to the size of the potential energy capacity proposed for EcoPower Suffolk, the Project is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
The planning permission to construct, operate and decommission the Project requires EcoPower Suffolk to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application. As part of this, we will be conducting consultation to support our DCO application over several stages.
We are committed to consulting with the local community on our proposals for the design of the Project. For our non-statutory consultation (Stage 1), we will be delivering a programme of stakeholder engagement where we will be seeking feedback on our early-stage proposals and plans for EcoPower Suffolk. We will host in-person and online consultation events in March 2025.
The feedback we receive will then inform the development of more detailed proposals. These will be published, and we will invite members of the public to comment during our public statutory consultation, expected to be held in the Autumn of 2025.
Stage overview
Stage 1 is when we will carry out our non-statutory consultation activities. We will invite local councillors, residents, and community organisations to participate. The feedback received will help to shape our more detailed proposals.
We will continue to engage with local communities and key stakeholders following our non-statutory consultation events and up until (and beyond) our statutory consultation.
Stage 2 is when will carry out our formal statutory consultation in line with the formal requirements of the Planning Act 2008. During the statutory consultation, public consultation events will be held at venues local to the Project and materials will be made available to provide members of the public the opportunity to comment on our proposals.
This is currently scheduled to take place in Autumn 2025.
These comments, received in the two consultations, will inform our project design before we submit our DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate. More information regarding the DCO process can be accessed on the Planning Inspectorate website.
Consultation by collaboration
We are committed to working with local communities as we develop our proposals for EcoPower Suffolk.
As part of the non-statutory consultation and our commitment to conduct transparent and effective consultation with local communities, in March we will invite local stakeholders to consultation events so they can have a chance to learn more about the proposals, ask questions of our project team and submit feedback that will inform our proposals and Project design prior to submitting the DCO application.
Collaborating with the local community while we develop our plans will help us better understand local challenges and aspirations.
