Consultation on environmental statement
9.—(1) Where the relevant authority receive an environmental statement relating to an application to which the prohibition in regulation 3 applies, they shall consult the authorities, bodies and persons mentioned in Schedule 3, according to the circumstances mentioned therein, about the environmental statement and such other persons, groups or bodies as they consider appropriate.
(2) Where an applicant submits an environmental statement to the relevant authority he shall supply them with enough copies of the environmental statement or parts thereof to enable them to comply with paragraph (1) and one additional copy.
(3) Where, under this regulation, the relevant authority consult any authority, body or person–
(a)they shall give not less than 28 days' notice to such authority, body or person that environmental information is to be taken into consideration; and
(b)they shall not grant consent or a licence for the development to which the environmental information relates until after the expiration of the period of such notice.
(4) Where any authority, body or person which the relevant authority is required to consult under this regulation consider that consultation with them is not required in respect of any environmental statement relating to any case or class of case, or relating to any specified area they shall so inform the relevant authority in writing and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this regulation the relevant authority shall not be required so to consult them.