The Countryside Access (Appeals Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2002

Date and notification of a hearing

12.—(1) The National Assembly must:

(a) as soon as practicable, notify the appellant, the respondent, any person who has made representations in relation to the appeal and any other person as it thinks fit, of the name of the appointed person who will conduct the hearing;

(b) as soon as practicable after any change in the identity of the appointed person, give notification of that change to those persons entitled to be notified in accordance with sub-paragraph (a), unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so before the hearing is held, in which case the name of the appointed person and the fact of that person’s appointment must be announced at the commencement of the hearing;

(c) unless the National Assembly agrees a lesser period of notice with the appellant and the respondent, give not less than 4 weeks' written notice to the appellant, the respondent, any interested person and such other persons as it thinks fit of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing; and

(d) not less than 2 weeks before the date fixed for the holding of a hearing, publish a notice of the hearing in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land is situated.

(2) Every notice of a hearing given in accordance with paragraph (1)(c) or published in accordance with paragraph (1)(d) must contain:

(a) a statement of the date, time and place of the hearing and of the powers enabling the National Assembly to determine the appeal in question;

(b) a written description of the land sufficient to identify its location and extent;

(c) a brief description of the subject matter of the appeal; and

(d) details of where and when copies of documents relevant to the appeal may be inspected.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the National Assembly may vary the date fixed for the holding of the hearing, whether or not the date as varied is within the period otherwise required by that paragraph and paragraph (1)(c) and (d) apply to a variation of a date as they applied to the date originally fixed.

(4) The National Assembly may vary the time or place fixed for the holding of the hearing and must give such notice of any variation as appears to it to be reasonable.