A preliminary hearing has taken place in Parliament to determine the scope of the joint committee’s proceedings, which will decide whether or not to confirm the Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order (DCO).
The DCO was made by the Secretary of State in December 2013 to allow the construction of a new harbour and energy park on the south bank of the Humber Estuary. However, it is subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure (SPP) and so must be confirmed by Parliament before it can come into force. The joint committee’s hearing will begin on 15 October 2014.
At the preliminary hearing on 7 July, the developer, Able Humber Ports Limited (Able), argued that the scope of the hearings should be “proportionate” and asked the committee not to duplicate the work of the Examining Authority under the DCO process, which has already established “overwhelming” public interest in the project.
Able requested that the committee focus on whether the ‘Killingholme Triangle’, situated on the south bank of the River Humber, is necessary to allow the construction of the development park. The Killingholme Triangle is currently owned by Associated British Ports (ABP), which is the sole petitioner against the DCO.
However a statement was published on the Parliament website on 8 July stating that the scope of the hearings will be based on all matters raised in ABP’s petitions, except the provisions which ABP has chosen not to pursue.