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PLANNING APPEALS
HOME PAGE | CONTENTS | APPEALS
MAIN | CONDUCTING APPEALS
HEARINGS APPEALS
Hearing Appeals are conducted in accordance with the Town &
Country Planning (Hearings Procedure)(
Where either the Appellant or the Council wish to exercise their
right to be heard, the Inspectorate will consider whether the case is suitable
for a Hearing, having regard to the circumstances of the Appeal and the views
of the principal parties. Hearings will be used in all appropriate cases in
preference to public inquiries.
If it is considered suitable, then the aim will be to arrange the
Hearing within 12 weeks of that decision. The Inspectorate aim to arrange
Hearings as quickly as possible and there will be negotiation for dates, with
each party being permitted one refusal of a date before the final date, time
and place of the Hearing is fixed.
At least 28 days notice of the arrangements for the Hearing will be
given, which will be notified by the Local Planning Authority to all those
persons with an interest in the land, consultees and other relevant third
parties.
At least 3 weeks before the Hearing, the Appellant and the Council
must have provided written statements containing full particulars of the case
they wish to make at the Hearing, including a list of any documents to which
they wish to refer.
Statements will be passed to the Inspector so that he can prepare
for the Hearing. It will also be necessary for each party to supply copies of
their statements to each other.
It is vital that the timetable is adhered to. If the Inspector
cannot be provided with the necessary information in sufficient time before the
Hearing, it will be necessary to delay or defer the Hearing or alternatively,
to hold a Local Inquiry where procedures are governed by statutory rules.
A party to the appeal may become liable for costs if another party
is put to unnecessary expense through the late submission of statements. See costs.
The aim of the informal Hearing is, as the title suggests, to be in
a format which reduces the formalities inherent in a traditional Local Inquiry.
The Local Planning Authority will use their best endeavours to provide a
setting that is conducive to the round-table format required by the
Inspectorate.
However, if at
any time before or during the Hearing, the Appellant or the Local Planning
Authority comes to the view that the informal procedure is inappropriate and
that they no longer wish to proceed in that way, they should explain their
reasons to the Inspectorate or, during the Hearing, the Inspector, who will
(having sought the views of the other party), decide whether an Inquiry should
be held instead.
The Inspector may come to his own conclusion in this regard and
close the proceedings where he considers that the Hearing has become
inappropriate.
The Inspector will lead the discussion. He will summarise his
understanding of the case from the relevant papers and highlight what he
considers to be the main issues, indicating those matters for which further
explanation or clarification is required. It is likely that he will have made
an informal site visit prior to the Hearing commencing.
Appellants may present their case through an agent, but such
representation is not essential.
The format of the discussion will be flexible and given that
written material will already have been circulated before the Hearing
commences, this will be taken as read. The guidelines indicate that every
effort should be made to avoid introducing new material at the Hearing, as this
may necessitate a delay or give rise to a need for a Public Inquiry.
All those who attend the Hearing will be given an
opportunity to participate and the Appellant will be allowed to make any final
comments before the discussion is closed.
The Inspector will normally ask that any applications for an award
of costs should be made at the end of proceedings in the Hearing room and
certainly before the adjournment to the site visit. See costs for further
information.
SITE VISITS
Following the hearing, the Inspectorate will arrange a site visit.
This inspection is only required in order for either the Local Authority or the
Appellant to be able to point out important site features and verify details
that have been referred to in the submissions.
NO DISCUSSION OF THE MERITS OF AN APPEAL IS ALLOWED AT A SITE
VISIT.
In certain circumstances it may be unnecessary for the Planning
Inspector to be accompanied by either party, if the site can be seen from a
public highway or other publicly accessible land. Unaccompanied site visits
will not require formal arrangements to be made with the Council or the
Appellant.
In the interests of maintaining impartiality, the Inspector will
not permit a site visit to take place accompanied by only one party to the
Appeal. If for any reason you are unable to attend a pre-arranged site visit
you should notify the Inspectorate immediately.
FINALLY
Once the site visit is concluded the Inspector will prepare
his decision and a formal letter will be sent to the appellant and the Council subsequently.
The Inspectorate is always endeavouring to speed up the process and
a decision may be forthcoming very soon after the site visit. This does not
mean that the Inspector has made a snap decision. Remember he will have had
your appeal documents for some time and is charged with ensuring he has all
necessary information before deciding on the case.
The site visit may be accompanied by a representative of either
party or unaccompanied if the site can be properly inspected from a public
vantage point. In no circumstances will the Inspector conduct a site visit
accompanied by only one party.