47D.—(1) Before determining an application for a railway order, the Board may, at its absolute discretion and at any time—

(a) request further submissions or observations from the applicant, any person who made submissions or observations in relation to the application or any other person who may, in the opinion of the Board, have information which is relevant to the determination of the application,

(b) without prejudice to section 41, make any information relating to the application available for inspection, notify any person or the public that the information is so available and, if it considers appropriate, invite further submissions or observations to be made to it within such period as it may specify, or

(c) hold meetings with the applicant or any other person where it appears to the Board to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of—

(i) determining the application, or

(ii) resolving any issue with the applicant or any disagreement between the applicant and any other party, including resolving any issue or disagreement in advance of an oral hearing.

(2) Where the Board holds a meeting in accordance with subsection (1)(c), it shall keep a written record of the meeting and make that record available for inspection.

(3) The Board, or an employee of the Board duly authorised by the Board, may appoint any person to hold a meeting referred to in subsection (1)(c).

(4) The Board may, if it is provisionally of the view that it would be appropriate to grant the railway order concerned were certain alterations (specified in the notification referred to in this subsection) to be made to the terms of the application in respect of it or the proposed order, notify the applicant that it is of that view and invite the applicant to make to the terms of the application or the proposed order alterations specified in the notification and, if the applicant makes those alterations, to furnish to it such information (if any) as it may specify in relation to the proposed application or order, in the terms as so altered, or, where necessary, a revised F90[environmental impact assessment report] in respect of it.

(5) If the applicant makes the alterations to the terms of the application or proposed order specified in a notification given to the applicant under subsection (4), the terms of the application or order as so altered shall be deemed to be the application or order for the purposes of this Part.

(6) The Board shall, where the applicant has made the alterations to the terms of the application or proposed order specified in a notification given to the applicant under subsection (4), require the applicant—

(a) to publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the area or areas in which the proposed railway works would be situate F91[, and make available electronically in such manner as may be appointed by the Board,] a notice stating that the applicant has, pursuant to an invitation of the Board, made alterations to the terms of the application or order (and the nature of those alterations shall be indicated) and, if it be the case, that information in relation to the terms of the application or order as so altered or a revised F90[environmental impact assessment report] in respect of the development has been furnished to the Board, indicating the times at which, the period (which shall not be less than 3 weeks) during which and the place, or places, where a copy of the information or the F90[environmental impact assessment report] may be inspected free of charge or purchased on payment of a specified fee (which fee shall not exceed the reasonable cost of making such copy) and that submissions or observations in relation to that F92[information or report] may be made to the Board before the expiration of the indicated period, and

(b) to send to the planning authority and each person to which a notice was served pursuant to section 40(1)(c) or (e), and to every (if any) occupier and every (if any) owner of land referred to in the order (being, if the terms of it have been so altered, the order as so altered)—

(i) a notice of the furnishing to the Board of the F92[information or report] referred to in paragraph (a), and

(ii) a copy of that F92[information or report],

and to indicate to that authority or other person that submissions or observations in relation to that F92[information or report] may be made to the Board before the expiration of a period (which shall be not less than 3 weeks) beginning on the day on which the notice is sent to the authority or other person by the applicant.

F91[(6A) The Board shall make—

(a) any information, submission, observation, record or alteration to the terms of an application proposed by the Board under subsection (4), that contains significant data in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed railway works,

(b) any notice, any information in relation to the terms of an application or order as altered and any revised environmental impact assessment report, referred to in subsection (6)(a),

available electronically on the Board’s website.]

(7) The Board shall, in deciding whether to grant the railway order to which the application concerned relates, have regard to any information submitted on foot of a notice under subsection (4), including any revised F90[environmental impact assessment report], or any submissions or observations made on foot of a request under subsection (1) or a notice under subsection (6).]