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PLANNING APPEALS
HOME PAGE | CONTENTS | APPEALS
MAIN |CONDUCTING APPEALS
PUBLIC INQUIRY
Public Inquiries are conducted in accordance with the Town &
Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure)(England) Rules 2000 and the Town &
Country Planning Appeals (Determination by Inspectors) (Inquiries
Procedure)(England) Rules 2000.
The difference between these two sets of rules is simply that the
former are those which are applied to the Secretary of State in considering
Planning Appeals, whereas those in the latter govern circumstances where the
Appeal is to be heard by an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State.
The rules are laid down to provide a framework within which
Planning Inquiries may proceed efficiently and effectively and without
prejudicing the impartiality of proceedings.
Failure by any party to comply with the rules could result in an
award of costs, if it can be shown that the failure incurred the other party in
unnecessary expenditure due to unreasonable behaviour. (See costs for further
information).
Public
Inquiries are conducted in a formal framework and you are strongly advised to
seek legal advice before proceeding, particularly if you intend conducting your
own case.
Either party may request the Appeal to be conducted by way
of a Public Inquiry with evidence being given in a formal manner before an
Inspector. In larger cases and some specific circumstances, the Secretary of
State may make the final decision following advice received from an Inspector
appointed to hear the evidence at an Inquiry.
INITIAL PROCEDURE
The initial part of the procedure follows the standard format; with
grounds of appeal being submitted, acknowledgement by the Inspectorate, the
Planning Authority producing their questionnaire, together with confirmation of
whether they wish to hear the Appeal by way of a Public Inquiry.
On receipt of the Appeal form and relevant documentation, the
Inspectorate will send out notification of the start date and the timetable for
conducting the Inquiry. Notwithstanding any request for a Public Inquiry, the
Inspectorate will give consideration to whether the Appeal is more suitably
dealt with by way of a Hearing, notwithstanding the request by the other party.
The Case Officer for the Inspectorate will contact both parties to
establish an appropriate date or dates for the Public Inquiry and each party
will have an opportunity to refuse one date before arrangements are settled.
Both parties are required to produce a Statement of Case.
The Statement of Case contains a full outline of the case to be put
at the Inquiry, together with a list of relevant documents, plans etc. This
Statement ensures that the parties know all about each other’s case at an early
stage, both in terms of ensuring that evidence is not "hidden" and to
encourage a better understanding of the issues. This might encourage
negotiation before the Inquiry over misunderstandings or alternatives that may
resolve the problem. If remedial arrangements are possible, then this early
exchange of statements helps to avoid late cancellations or requests or
postponement of Inquiries nearer the established date.
The Local Authority are required to send two copies of
their Statement of Case to the Inspectorate and a copy to any statutory party
within 6 weeks of the relevant date (ie the start date notified initially to
all parties); Or 4 weeks after any pre-inquiry meeting.
The Appellant must send two copies of their Statement of
Case to the Inspectorate and a copy to any statutory party within 6 weeks of
the relevant date (ie the start date notified initially to all parties); Or 4
weeks after any pre-inquiry meeting.
The Inspectorate will then forward copies of the Statements
to the respective parties.
Further information or receipt of particular documents
referred to in the Statements can be requested through the Inspectorate, and
the Inspector can also request further information from either party. In all
cases two copies must be sent to the Inspectorate within the time specified.
Strict adherence to timescales is required. Late submissions
will normally be disregarded.
Previously the rules allowed a later transmission for the
Appellant, however, the new rules now require simultaneous exchange in order to
avoid "cross-examination by post". The new rules now place the
Inspectorate in the role of 'Post Office', forwarding the various documents
between the parties to speed up the process.
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If you are a third party who has made representations initially
at the planning application stage, you should re-submit these, together with
any additional comments, at the Appeal stage. Although your original
representations will be considered in the general paperwork, any further
written comments at the Appeal stage will be taken into account. You also
have an opportunity to appear at the Public Inquiry to make any
representations verbally to the Inspector. The Secretary of State may require you to supply a Statement of Case in advance of the Inquiry, which should be sent within four weeks of the request. |
Copies of third party representations will be circulated to the
principal parties. It is often better to incorporate any comments on third
party representations within your general Proof of Evidence rather than singly
in an ad hoc manner.
The appellant or the planning authority may comment in writing upon
any Statement of Case within 9 weeks of the starting date. Two copies of any
comments shall be sent to the Inspectorate for forwarding accordingly.
Third parties who have submitted a Statement on their own behalf
may comment upon any of the other Statements not less than 4 weeks before the
date of the Inquiry.
Site notices are sent out for display on the appeal site and any
interested parties are notified by the Local Planning Authority giving
information about the date, time and location of the Inquiry and requesting any
comments to be sent to the Inspectorate within 28 days.
PRE-INQUIRY MEETINGS
Although unusual, it is possible for the Inspector to hold a
pre-inquiry meeting into any Appeal in order to outline the administrative
procedures for the Inquiry and to ensure that all parties provide appropriate
information in order that the Inquiry may proceed speedily and efficiently.
An Inspector is required to give at least two weeks notice of any
pre-inquiry meeting.
FIXING THE APPEAL DATE
The date for a Public Inquiry should normally be within 22 weeks of
the starting date or within 8 weeks after a pre-inquiry meeting unless extended
by the Inspectorate for particular reasons.
PROOFS OF EVIDENCE
The timetable for the Inquiry will indicate the period by which
Proofs of Evidence must be exchanged. This must be at least 4 weeks prior to
the date of the Inquiry.
Proofs of Evidence that are likely to be in excess of 1500 words
should be summarised.
Two copies (appellant or local Authority) or three copies (third
parties) should be sent to the Inspectorate with a copy to any statutory party
and the Inspectorate will then forward copies of respective proofs to the
parties.
At least 4 weeks prior to the Inquiry the local authority and the
appellant must send in a 'Statement of Common Ground'. This statement is
prepared jointly and contains factual information about the proposal.
PROCEDURE AT THE INQUIRY
On the appointed day for the Inquiry, all parties will be required
to attend at the notified Inquiry venue in order that the Inquiry may proceed
to start promptly at 10 am.
Public Inquiries do not usually start on a Monday or before 10 am
on the first day, although alternative arrangements for Inquiries that run over
into subsequent days can be made, in order to make the best use of time.
The Inspector will open the Inquiry by introducing himself and any
assistants he may have with him, outline the various procedural requirements
and indicate how he intends the Inquiry to proceed.
He will advise the Inquiry that he has received and considered the
Proofs and other documents, and may have made an informal site inspection in
advance of the Inquiry. The Inspector may then enquire of both parties how long
they consider their case presentation is likely to take, in order that Inquiry
timings can be assessed. Any third parties will also be invited to provide
their details and whether or not they wish to speak.
The Inspector will endeavour to accommodate requests for early
appearances by third parties due to personal timing or other limitations, but
it is normal for third parties to be heard towards the end of the Inquiry.
After the preliminaries have been conducted, the Council will be
invited to present their case. Under the new rules the
Council's case is outlined first, but the appellant does have the final word.
PRESENTING YOUR CASE - [See also APPEAL
PRESENTATIONS]
This may involve reading certain passages from the submitted
statements and other documents, but should not necessitate rehearsing the whole
of the written evidence.
Although Proofs of Evidence and summary statements will be taken as
read, it is generally important to highlight the key issues which gave rise to
the grounds of Appeal and upon which the Appellant is relying in seeking to
overturn the Council’s decision.
The Inspector will use his discretion to enable or require more
than summary information to be read out, particularly where complex evidence
has been submitted and it is necessary to ensure that all parties have a clear
understanding of the salient points.
The Appellant may call any evidence in support of their Appeal.
This may be testimony from Expert Witnesses or other parties, which have a
direct bearing upon the matter at hand.
Witnesses will be subject to cross-examination by the Local
Planning Authority and the Inspector may also ask his own questions of the
witness before they complete their evidence and the next witness is called.
The same procedure is adopted by the Local Planning Authority who
tender their own evidence and witnesses in support of their case. Here again,
the Inspector will be entitled to ask his own questions of the Local Authority
witnesses.
Third parties, who have expressed an interest in addressing the
Inquiry, will then be invited to make their statements and will be open to
cross-examination accordingly. It is sometimes the case that third parties will
be allowed to ask questions of the main party's witnesses.
The Local Planning Authority will then be invited to sum up their
case, after which the Appellant will be invited to do the same - effectively
being given the last word.
CLOSING THE INQUIRY
At this stage the Inspector will usually consider any requests for
an application for costs by either party. This will normally be done in the
form of a statement explaining why it is considered that the other party
concerned has acted in a manner which has incurred the applicant for costs to
incur additional expenditure, by virtue of unreasonable behaviour. Similarly,
the other party will be invited to defend their position and/or make any counter-claim
for costs.
The Inspector will then make any necessary arrangements for
carrying out a formal site inspection. This may not always take place on the
same day as the Inquiry closes and may, in any event, have already taken place
during the course of the Inquiry where it has been seen expedient to do so.
Assuming there are no other matters to be discussed, the Inspector
will then formally close the Public Inquiry and adjourn to the site inspection.
SITE VISITS
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. Third parties may
also indicate relevant matters that have been raised in their evidence.
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.