The Town and Country Planning (Referred Applications and Appeals Procedure) (Wales) Regulations 2017

PART 6 Inquiries

Application of Part 6

35.—(1) This Part applies where—

(a) notice of appeal has been received; and

(b) the Welsh Ministers determine that the appeal is to be considered in whole or in part on the basis of an inquiry.

(2) This Part also applies where—

(a) the Welsh Ministers have made a determination that all or part of the appeal is to be considered on the basis of written representations or a hearing; and

(b) they subsequently vary that determination such that the appeal or parts of the appeal is or are to be considered on the basis of an inquiry,

to such extent as the Welsh Ministers may specify having regard to any steps already taken in relation to the appeal.

Notification of name of appointed person

36.—(1) The Welsh Ministers must notify the name of the appointed person to every person invited to take part in the inquiry.

(2) Where the Welsh Ministers appoint another person instead of the person previously appointed and it is not practicable to notify the appointment before the inquiry is held, the appointed person holding the inquiry must, at its commencement, announce their name and the fact of their appointment.

Appointment of assessor

37.  Where the Welsh Ministers appoint an assessor under paragraph 6 of Schedule 6 to the Planning Act, paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 to the Listed Buildings Act or paragraph 6 of the Schedule to the Hazardous Substances Act, they must notify the appellant, the local planning authority and any person invited to take part in the inquiry of the name of the assessor and of the matters on which the assessor is to advise the appointed person.

Participation in an inquiry

38.—(1) The persons who may take part in an inquiry are—

(a) the appellant;

(b) the local planning authority;

(c) any person invited to take part by the Welsh Ministers.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) precludes the Welsh Ministers from permitting any other person to take part in an inquiry.

(3) Any person who takes part may do so on their own behalf or be represented by any other person.

Absence, adjournment etc.

39.—(1) The Welsh Ministers may proceed with an inquiry in the absence of the appellant, the local planning authority and any persons invited to take part.

(2) The Welsh Ministers may from time to time adjourn an inquiry and, if the date, time and place of the adjourned inquiry are announced at the inquiry before the adjournment, no further notice is required.

Pre-inquiry meetings

40.—(1) The appointed person may hold a pre-inquiry meeting prior to an inquiry to consider what may be done with a view to securing that the inquiry is conducted efficiently and expeditiously.

(2) An appointed person must give not less than 2 weeks’ written notice of a pre-inquiry meeting which the appointed person proposes to hold under paragraph (1) to—

(a) the appellant;

(b) the local planning authority;

(c) any person invited to take part at the pre-inquiry meeting.

(3) Where a pre-inquiry meeting has been held under paragraph (1), the appointed person may hold a further pre-inquiry meeting and must arrange for such notice to be given of a further pre-inquiry meeting as appears necessary.

(4) The appointed person—

(a) is to preside at any pre-inquiry meeting;

(b) is to determine the matters to be discussed and the procedure to be followed;

(c) may require any person present at the pre-inquiry meeting who, in the appointed person’s opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave;

(d) may refuse to permit that person to return or to attend any further pre-inquiry meeting, or

(e) may permit that person to return or attend only on such conditions as the appointed person may specify.

Inquiry timetable

41.—(1) The appointed person may prepare a timetable for the proceedings in respect of inquiries and may do so at, or at part of, an inquiry.

(2) The appointed person may, at any time, vary the timetable arranged under paragraph (1).

(3) The appointed person may specify in a timetable arranged under this regulation a date by which any written statement of evidence and summary sent in accordance with regulation 44 must be sent to the Welsh Ministers.

Date, place and notification of inquiry

42.—(1) The Welsh Ministers must fix the date for the inquiry which must be no later than—

(a) 12 weeks after the end of the representation period; or

(b) (if later) in a case where a pre-inquiry meeting is held under regulation 40(1), 4 weeks after the conclusion of that meeting (or such shorter period after the conclusion of that meeting as the appellant, the local planning authority and the appointed person may agree).

(2) Where the Welsh Ministers consider it impracticable for the inquiry to be held on a date fixed in accordance with paragraph (1), the date for the inquiry must be the earliest date which the Welsh Ministers consider is practicable.

(3) Where the Welsh Ministers are satisfied, having regard to the nature of the application, that it is reasonable to do so, the Welsh Ministers may direct that different parts of an inquiry are held at different locations.

(4) The Welsh Ministers must give at least 4 weeks’ written notice of the date, time and place fixed by them for the inquiry to—

(a) the appellant;

(b) the local planning authority; and

(c) any person invited to take part in the inquiry.

(5) The written notice under paragraph (4) must identify the matters to be determined at the inquiry and name the appointed person.

(6) The Welsh Ministers may vary the date fixed for the inquiry, whether or not the date as varied is within the period of 12 weeks mentioned in paragraph (1), and paragraph (4) applies to a variation of a date as it applies to the date originally fixed.

(7) The Welsh Ministers may vary the time or place for the inquiry and must give such notice of any variation as appears to them to be reasonable.

(8) Where an appeal is withdrawn after notice of the inquiry has been given, the Welsh Ministers must give such notice of the cancellation of the inquiry as appears to them to be reasonable.

Public notice of inquiry

43.—(1) The Welsh Ministers may require the local planning authority to take one or more of the following steps—

(a) not less than 2 weeks before the date fixed for the inquiry, post and maintain a notice of the inquiry—

(i) in a conspicuous place, or as close as is reasonably practicable to the land to which the appeal relates;

(ii) in one or more places where public notices are usually posted in the area in which the land to which the appeal relates is situated;

(b) not less than 2 weeks before the date fixed for the inquiry, publish a notice of the inquiry by local advertisement in the area in which the land to which the appeal relates is situated;

(c) send a notice of the hearing to such persons or classes of persons as they may specify, within such period as they may specify.

(2) Where a direction has been given under regulation 42(3), paragraph (1) has effect with the substitution—

(a) for references to the inquiry, with references to the part of the inquiry which is to be held at a place specified in the direction; and

(b) for references to the appeal, with references to that part of the appeal which is to be the subject of that part of the inquiry.

(3) Any notice posted under paragraph (1)(a) must be readily visible to, and legible by, members of the public.

(4) Where, without any fault or intention of the local planning authority, the notice is removed, obscured or defaced before the commencement of the inquiry, the local planning authority is not for that reason to be treated as having failed to comply with the requirements of paragraph (3) if the local planning authority has taken reasonable steps for the protection of the notice and, if need be, its replacement.

(5) A notice of an inquiry posted, published or sent under paragraph (1) must contain—

(a) a statement of the date, time and place of the inquiry and of the powers enabling the Welsh Ministers to determine the appeal;

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

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

(d) details of the place where and when copies of the application which is the subject of the appeal, the local planning authority’s completed questionnaire and all other documents sent by and copied to the authority under these Regulations can be inspected.

Written statements of evidence

44.—(1) If the appellant, the local planning authority or any person invited to take part in the inquiry propose to give, or to call another person to give, evidence at the inquiry by reading a written statement—

(a) the appellant must send one copy of the statement, together with a written summary, to the local planning authority;

(b) the local planning authority must send one copy of the statement, together with a written summary, to the appellant;

(c) the appellant and local planning authority must simultaneously send one copy of their statement, together with a written summary, to the Welsh Ministers;

(d) each person invited to take part in the inquiry must send one copy of their statement, together with a written summary, to the Welsh Ministers.

(2) The Welsh Ministers must, as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt—

(a) send a copy of the written statement of evidence, together with any summary, of each person invited to take part in the inquiry to the local planning authority; and

(b) send a copy of each written statement of evidence, together with any summary, to each person invited to take part in the inquiry.

(3) No written summary is required where the statement of evidence proposed to be read contains no more than 1,500 words.

(4) The statement of evidence and any summary must be received by the Welsh Ministers no later than—

(a) 4 weeks before the date fixed for the inquiry; or

(b) where a timetable has been arranged under regulation 41, the date specified in that timetable.

(5) The Welsh Ministers must send to the appointed person, as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt, any statement of evidence together with any summary sent to them in accordance with this regulation and received by them within the relevant period, if any, specified in this regulation.

(6) Where a written summary is provided in accordance with paragraph (1), only that summary is to be read at the inquiry unless the appointed person permits or requires otherwise.

(7) Any person required by this regulation to send copies of a statement of evidence to the Welsh Ministers, must send with them the same number of copies of the whole, or the relevant part, of any document referred to in the statement, unless a copy of the document or relevant part of the document in question is already available for inspection under regulation 10.

Procedure at inquiry

45.—(1) The appointed person presides at the inquiry and must determine the procedure at the inquiry, subject to these Regulations.

(2) At the start of the inquiry the appointed person must identify the matters on which the appointed person requires representations at the inquiry.

(3) The appellant, the local planning authority and any person invited to take part in an inquiry may call evidence.

(4) The appointed person may permit any other person to call evidence.

(5) The appellant, local planning authority and any persons invited to take part in the inquiry are to be heard in such order as the appointed person may determine.

(6) The appellant, local planning authority and any person invited to take part in an inquiry may cross examine persons giving evidence but, subject to the foregoing and paragraphs (7) and (8), the calling of evidence and the cross examination of persons giving evidence are otherwise at the discretion of the appointed person.

(7) The appointed person may refuse to permit—

(a) the giving or production of evidence;

(b) the cross-examination of persons giving evidence; or

(c) the presentation of any matter,

which the appointed person considers to be irrelevant or repetitious.

(8) Where a person gives evidence at an inquiry by reading a summary of their written statement of evidence in accordance with regulation 44(6)—

(a) the written statement referred to in regulation 44(1) is to be treated as tendered in evidence unless the person required to provide the summary notifies the appointed person of a wish to rely on the contents of that summary alone; and

(b) the person whose evidence the written statement contains is to be open to cross examination on it to the same extent as if it were evidence that had been given orally.

(9) Where the appointed person refuses to permit the giving of oral evidence, the person wishing to give the evidence may submit the evidence in writing to the appointed person before the close of the inquiry.

(10) The appointed person may—

(a) require any person taking part in, or present at, an inquiry who, in the appointed person’s opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave; and

(b) refuse to permit that person to return; or

(c) permit that person to return only on such conditions as the appointed person may specify.

(11) Any person required to leave an inquiry may submit to the appointed person representations in writing before the close of the inquiry.

(12) The appointed person may direct that facilities are afforded to any person taking part in an inquiry to take or obtain copies of documents that are open to public inspection.

(13) The appointed person may take into account any written representation or any other document received by the appointed person from any person before an inquiry opens or during the inquiry provided that the appointed person discloses it at the inquiry.

(14) The appointed person may invite any person taking part in the inquiry to make closing submissions.

(15) Any person who makes closing submissions must by the close of the inquiry provide the appointed person with a copy of those closing submissions in writing.

Inquiry inappropriate

46.—(1) At any time before an appeal is determined, the Welsh Ministers may determine that the procedures set out in this Part are no longer suitable for that appeal.

(2) Where such a determination is made the Welsh Ministers must notify the appellant and the local planning authority in writing that—

(a) the appeal is to be transferred from the procedures in this Part of these Regulations; and

(b) the appeal will proceed in accordance with Part 5 of these Regulations or by means of combined proceedings to such extent as the Welsh Ministers may specify having regard to any steps already taken in relation to those proceedings.