This is our chance to demonstrate the depth of opposition to East Park – and highlight the many planning issues.
🔴 Deadline to register: Tuesday 10 March
You must register with the Planning Inspectorate by 10 March if you want to attend or speak at any of the upcoming events on 17 and 18 March. According to the Planning Inspectorate, anyone can attend the preliminary meeting or a Hearing in person but only interested parties have a right to request to speak.
You can also attend via Microsoft Teams or watch the livestream, but being ‘in the room’ sends a stronger message and demonstrates serious local engagement.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE TIME TO JOIN ONE MEETING, WE SUGGEST YOU REGISTER TO ATTEND THE OPEN FLOOR HEARING ON TUESDAY 17 MARCH – 1.30PM FOR A 2PM START
You can register to attend or speak at the:
- Preliminary meeting – 17 March, 9.30am for 10am start
- Open Floor Hearing – 17 March, 1.30pm for 2pm start
- Issue Specific Hearing 1 into the draft Development Consent Order – 18 March, 9.30am for 10am start
- Issue Specific Hearing 2 into Best and Most Versatile Land and Soil and Construction Traffic – 18 March, 1.30pm for 2pm start
If you miss the 10 March deadline, you may not be allowed to attend or speak.
🗓️ Tuesday 17 March – attend if you can
Venue: King’s House Conference Centre, Bedford (also available online)
Morning – Preliminary meeting (10am)
This concerns how the application will be examined – the timetable, issues and Hearing structure.
It does not deal with whether the scheme should be approved, but it sets the framework for the months that follow.
Afternoon – Open Floor Hearing (2pm)
This is your opportunity to speak directly to the Examining Authority on relevant issues.
🗓️ Wednesday 18 March – attend if you can
Venue: King’s House Conference Centre, Bedford (also available online)
Morning – Issue Specific Hearing 1 into the draft Development Consent Order (10am)
Afternoon – Issue Specific Hearing 2 into Best and Most Versatile Land and Soil and Construction Traffic (2pm)
Look at the ‘Rule 6’ letter for more details on these specific issue Hearings.
Important:
- If you decide you want to speak, you must cover planning issues (eg traffic, landscape, biodiversity, heritage, flooding, agricultural land, noise etc)
- You can’t introduce a new issue that you didn’t cover in your Relevant Representation
- Simply stating that you object is not sufficient
- Oral submissions should focus on clear planning impacts and build on what you set out in your representation when you registered as an Interested Party
- Individual Interested Parties registering to speak are normally given 3 minutes
Submitting your suggestions for the site visit: deadline 10 March
If you’d like to make a suggestion for the Inspector’s site visit, you can submit your ideas via the Planning Inspectorate’s Have your say page.
You’ll need to enter your Interested Party number and other details, then the form takes you to a page asking ‘Which deadline would you like to submit against?’. Click the ‘Procedural deadline’ circle, then on the next page, select ‘Suggested locations for site inspections (accompanied or unaccompanied), including justification, for consideration by the ExA’, then you can comment, upload files, or both.
➡️ Looking ahead
The draft timetable currently runs until 21 August 2026, with the next main written submission deadline on 7 April 2026.
So there will be further opportunities to comment and to add to what is called your ‘Relevant Representation’ now published on the Planning Inspectorate portal – but the structure and early direction of the Examination are set at these important first meetings.
Image: kingshousebedford.org
⏰ Immediate actions
✔ Register to attend or speak at the events at King’s House, Bedford, by 10 March
✔ Submit your suggestions for the Inspector’s site visit by 10 March
✔ If you want to speak at one of the events, prepare a short, focused 3-minute statement on planning impacts
✔ Attend on 17 March – and 18 March too if you can, ideally in person
Stop East Park Energy 