1. Introduction

The Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) have no comment to make on the statement of community involvement.

Thank you for your consultation on the above dated 15 February 2023 which was received by Natural England on 15 February 2023.

Natural England is a non-departmental public body. Our statutory purpose is to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced, and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

We are supportive of the principle of meaningful and early engagement of the general community, community organisations and statutory bodies in local planning matters, both in terms of shaping policy and participating in the process of determining planning applications.

We regret we are unable to comment, in detail, on individual Statements of Community Involvement but information on the planning service we offer, including advice on how to consult us, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-planning-authorities-get-environmental-advice

We now ask that all planning consultations are sent electronically to the central hub for our planning and development advisory service at the following address: consultations@naturalengland.org.uk. This system enables us to deliver the most efficient and effective service to our customers.

Commenting on behalf of Dronfield Civic Society:

A There is no commitment made here about planning applications handled by the County Council. DCC states that any applications involving waste, minerals, and DCC properties, will be handled by DCC. The District Council Development Management team should commit to any such proposal being fully visible and open to public consultation through NEDDC processes.

B There is no commitment here to key performance indicators. We have seen cases where applications wait for inordinately long periods to be resolved causing concern and confusion in the community, and equally others that seem to be expedited with no consideration of public concerns. We’ve seen applications go through under delegated approval where there have been clear errors in the process and consequential bad decisions made. The Development Management team should have a series of KPIs to measure effectiveness of their processes and their public engagement.

C There is no commitment here to an engagement and feedback mechanism for the public and relevant groups to liaise with the Development Management leadership about how the processes are working, and specifically where there have been failures, how we work together to prevent recurrence. At the moment the only feedback process seems to be through the general NEDDC processes, and where issues are raised there are no responses. The NEDDC Development Management team could be more successful through feedback and collaboration with community groups.

Consultation on Draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) 2023

Thank you for consulting NCC on the above document, we have no comments to make.

Thank you for your notification received on the 15th February 2023 in respect of the above consultation.

The Coal Authority is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. As a statutory consultee, The Coal Authority has a duty to respond to planning applications and development plans in order to protect the public and the environment in mining areas.

Our records indicate that within the North East Derbyshire area there are recorded coal mining features present at surface and shallow depth including; mine entries, coal workings and reported surface hazards. These features pose a potential risk to surface stability and public safety.

The Coal Authority’s records indicate that surface coal resource is present in the area, although this should not be taken to imply that mineral extraction would be economically viable, technically feasible or environmentally acceptable. As you will be aware those authorities with responsibility for minerals planning and safeguarding will have identified where they consider minerals of national importance are present in your area and related policy considerations. As part of the planning process consideration should be given to such advice in respect of the indicated surface coal resource.

It is noted however that this current consultation relates to a Statement of Community Involvement and I can confirm that the Planning team at the Coal Authority have no specific comments to make on this document.

Thank you for giving Severn Trent the opportunity to comment on your consultation.

We currently have no specific comments to make however, please keep us informed as your plans develop and when appropriate we will be able to offer a more detailed responce.

Thank you for giving the Environment Agency the opportunity to comment on the NE Derbyshire Draft Statement of Community Involvement. I apologise for the delay in replying and can confirm that we have no adverse comments to make on the document as submitted.