If any party to the appeal so requests, or if the Scottish Ministers so decide, the appeal shall be or continue in the form of a hearing (which may, if the person hearing the appeal so decides, be held, or held to any extent, in private).

The Scottish Ministers shall give the parties to the appeal at least 28 days' notice (unless the parties agree to a shorter period of notice) of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing.

In the case of a hearing which is to be held wholly or partly in public, the Scottish Ministers shall, at least 21 days before the date fixed for the hearing (or such shorter period as appears to them reasonable where a shorter period of notice is agreed to in terms of paragraph (2)), publish a copy of the notice given under paragraph (2) in a newspaper circulating in each locality which they consider may be affected by any matter which falls to be determined in relation to the appeal.

The Scottish Ministers may vary the date fixed for the hearing and paragraphs (2) and (3) shall apply to the new date as they apply to the original date.

The Scottish Ministers may also vary the time or place fixed for the hearing and shall give such notice of any such variation as appears to them to be reasonable.

Each party to the appeal is entitled to be heard at the hearing.

Nothing in paragraph (6) shall prevent the person appointed to hear the appeal from permitting any other person to be heard at the hearing and such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.

After the conclusion of a hearing the person appointed to hear the appeal shall, unless that person was appointed under section 114(1)(a) of the Environment Act 19954 (power of Scottish Ministers to delegate their functions of determining appeals), make a report in writing to the Scottish Ministers which shall include that person’s conclusions and recommendations or their reasons for not making any recommendations.