Wylfa Newydd: what happens next?

Image source, Horizon

Image caption, It is understood Wylfa Newydd would not be operating until the mid-2020s, if the developer's timetable runs to plan

Negotiations over the proposed Wylfa Newydd plant have started between the UK government and developer Horizon Nuclear Power, and a development consent order has been submitted. What happens next?

Big infrastructure projects like this go through a special planning process.

The process is overseen by the planning inspectorate and the ultimate decision rests with the UK secretary of state for business, enterprise and industrial strategy, currently Greg Clarke, and not the local council or Welsh Government.

The project has already been through the pre-application stage, during which the public was consulted.

This week Horizon has submitted a "development consent order" to the planning inspectorate. This is what the timetable could look like:

June 2018: The planning inspector now has 28 days to decide whether the application is complete and eligible for acceptance.

July to September 2018: Next comes the pre-examination stage during which the public can register as an interested party. An "examining authority" is appointed and all interested parties are invited to a meeting. There is no fixed timescale for this stage but it usually takes around three months, which would potentially take the process up to October.

October 2018 to March 2019: The planning inspectorate then has up to six months to carry out the "examination". All interested parties are invited to submit their views in writing, and the examining authority will consider all relevant matters.

April to June 2019: Within three months of the end of the examination stage, assumed here to be March 2019, the planning inspectorate must make a recommendation to the UK secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, currently Greg Clarke MP.

July to September 2019: The secretary of state then has a further three months to decide whether to grant the development consent.

October to November 2019: Once a decision has been made, any opponents have six weeks to lodge a high court legal challenge - known as a judicial review.

While Horizon navigates these hurdles, it will also be in discussion with the UK government over funding.

If and when all this is resolved, it is thought the plant would not start operating until the mid-2020s.