28.—(1) After the initial assessment of the principal issues the Examining body must hold a preliminary meeting.
(2) The Examining body must invite to the preliminary meeting—
(a)the applicant, and
(b)each other interested party.
(3) The Examining body must give at least 21 days’ notice of the date, time and place of the preliminary meeting to all those it is required to invite to the meeting and to any other person it chooses to invite.
(4) The Examining body must, at the same time as giving notice of the preliminary meeting, notify all those invited to it of the matters to be discussed at the preliminary meeting.
(5) The purposes of the preliminary meeting are—
(a)to enable invitees present at the meeting to make representations to the Examining body about how the application should be examined; and
(b)to discuss any other matter the Examining body wishes to discuss.
(6) The Examining body shall preside at the preliminary meeting and shall determine—
(a)the procedure at the preliminary meeting;
(b)the matters to be discussed;
(c)the amount of time to be allocated—
(i)to each matter; and
(ii)for making any oral representations.
(7) As soon as practicable after the end of the preliminary meeting, the Examining body must prepare a note of the proceedings, and make the note available in accordance with regulation 46 to all interested parties and anyone who attended the preliminary meeting.
(8) The Examining body may hold further meetings for the purposes of the examination of an application and where it does so, the Examining body shall arrange for such notice to be given of any meeting as appears to the Examining body to be necessary.