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The Access to the Countryside (Provisional and Conclusive Maps) (England) Regulations 2002

Status:

This is the original version (as it was originally made).

CHAPTER IIIAppeals determined by way of a hearing

Date and notification of hearing

28.—(1) The date fixed by the Secretary of State for a hearing shall be the earliest date after the expiry of the appeal period which she considers to be practicable having regard to the desirability of arranging consecutive hearings to be held in connection with appeals relating to land in the area to which the provisional map relates.

(2) Unless the Secretary of State agrees a lesser period of notice with the appellant and the Agency, she shall give the appellant, the Agency and any person who, under regulation 21(c), has made representations to the Secretary of State in respect of the appeal not less than four weeks' written notice of the date, time and place fixed by her for the holding of a hearing.

(3) The Secretary of State may at any time change the date fixed for the holding of a hearing (whether or not the new date is within the period mentioned in paragraph (1)) and paragraph (2) shall apply to the new date.

(4) The Secretary of State may at any time change the time or place for the holding of a hearing and shall give such notice of any change to the persons mentioned in paragraph (2).

(5) The Secretary of State may require the Agency, not less than two weeks before the date fixed for the hearing, or, in the case of a number of consecutive appeals relating to land in the area to which the provisional map relates, the date fixed for the hearing of the first of such appeals, to publish a notice of the hearing, or (as the case may be) of the hearing of the first of such appeals, in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the appeal land is situated; and the Secretary of State shall ensure that the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency makes a copy of such notice available for inspection on a website which it maintains until the appeal is determined.

(6) Every notice of hearing published pursuant to paragraph (5) shall contain—

(a)a statement of the date and place of the hearing, or in the case of a number of consecutive appeals, of the hearing of the first of such appeals, and of the powers enabling the Secretary of State or inspector to determine the appeal in question; and

(b)a brief description of the appeal land and of the grounds of appeal.

Consecutive hearings

29.  The Secretary of State may arrange for two or more appeals to be heard consecutively where they relate to the same area of land or to areas of land which she considers to be clustered in such proximity as to make it expedient for the hearings to be held consecutively.

Appearances at hearing

30.—(1) The persons entitled to appear at the hearing are—

(a)the appellant; and

(b)the Agency;

but the inspector may permit any other person to appear at a hearing, and such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld.

(2) Any person entitled or permitted to appear may appear in person or be represented by any other person.

Inspector acting in place of Secretary of State in respect of transferred appeals

31.—(1) This regulation applies where a hearing is to be or has been held in respect of a transferred appeal.

(2) An inspector may in place of the Secretary of State take such steps as the Secretary of State is required or enabled to take under or by virtue of regulation 56(2) in respect of an appeal to be determined by way of a hearing; and, where an inspector requires further information or copies pursuant to regulation 56(2), such information or copies shall be sent to him.

Notification of name of inspector

32.  The inspector shall, at the commencement of the hearing, announce his name and the fact of his appointment.

Notification of the appointment of an assessor

33.  Where the Secretary of State has appointed an assessor in respect of a hearing, the inspector shall, at the commencement of the hearing, announce the name of the assessor and the fact of his appointment.

Procedure at hearing

34.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Part, the inspector shall determine the procedure at a hearing.

(2) A hearing shall take the form of a discussion led by an inspector, and cross-examination shall not be permitted unless the inspector considers that cross-examination is required to ensure a thorough examination of the main issues.

(3) Where the inspector considers that cross-examination is required under paragraph (2), he shall consider, after consulting the appellant and the Agency, whether the hearing should be closed and an inquiry held instead.

(4) At the start of the hearing the inspector shall identify what are, in his opinion, the main issues to be considered at the hearing and any matters on which he requires further explanation from any person appearing at the hearing; but this shall not preclude the addition in the course of the hearing of other issues for consideration or any person appearing at the hearing from referring to issues which they consider relevant to the consideration of the appeal but which were not issues so identified by the inspector.

(5) The appellant and the Agency shall be entitled to give, or to call another person to give, oral evidence, and any other person may give, or call another person to give, oral evidence if so permitted by an inspector at his discretion, but notwithstanding any such entitlement or permission, the inspector may, at any stage in the procedings refuse to permit the giving of evidence or presentation of any other matter which he considers to be irrelevant or repetitious.

(6) Where the inspector refuses to permit the giving of oral evidence, the person wishing to give, or to call any other person to give, evidence may submit to him any evidence or other matter in writing before the close of the hearing.

(7) The inspector may require any person appearing or present at a hearing who, in his opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave the hearing; and the inspector may then refuse to permit that person to return or permit him to return only on such conditions as he may specify, but any such person may submit to the inspector any evidence or other matter in writing before the close of the hearing.

(8) The inspector may allow the appellant or the Agency to alter or make any addition to a statement of case submitted under regulation 21(a) or (b) so far as may be necessary for the purposes of the hearing.

(9) The inspector may—

(a)proceed with a hearing in the absence of any person entitled to appear at it;

(b)take into account any written representations or evidence or any other document received by him from any person before a hearing opens or during the hearing provided he discloses it at the hearing, and

(c)from time to time adjourn a hearing, and, if the date, time and place of the adjourned hearing are announced at the hearing before the adjournment, no further notice shall be required.

Site inspections

35.—(1) Where it appears to an inspector that one or more matters would be more satisfactorily resolved by adjourning the hearing to the appeal site, he may adjourn the hearing to that site and conclude the hearing there provided he is satisfied that—

(a)the hearing would proceed satisfactorily and that no party would be placed at a disadvantage;

(b)all parties present at the hearing would have the opportunity to attend the adjourned hearing; and

(c)neither the appellant nor the Agency have raised any reasonable objections to its being continued at the appeal site.

(2) Unless the hearing is to be adjourned to the appeal site pursuant to paragraph (1), the inspector may, where it appears to him necessary or expedient to do so, arrange to make an inspection of the appeal land in the company of the appellant and the Agency, or their representatives; and the inspector shall arrange to make such an inspection if requested to do so by the appellant or the Agency before or during the hearing in relation to an appeal against the showing of any land as open country on a provisional map.

(3) In all cases where the inspector intends to make a site inspection he shall announce during the hearing the date and time at which he proposes to make it.

(4) The inspector shall not be bound to defer an inspection if the appellant or the Agency, or their representative, is not present at the appointed time.

Procedure after hearing—appeals determined by the Secretary of State

36.—(1) This regulation applies where a hearing has been held for the purposes of any appeal determined by the Secretary of State.

(2) After the close of the hearing, the inspector shall make a report in writing to the Secretary of State which shall include his conclusions and his recommendations or his reasons for not making any recommendations.

(3) When making her determination the Secretary of State may disregard any written representations, evidence or other document received after the hearing has closed.

(4) If, after the close of the hearing, the Secretary of State—

(a)differs from the inspector on any matter of fact mentioned in, or appearing to her to be material to, a conclusion reached by the inspector, or

(b)takes into consideration any new evidence or new matter of fact,

and is, for that reason, disposed to disagree with a recommendation made by the inspector, she shall not come to a decision which is at variance with that recommendation without first notifying the appellant, the Agency and any other person who appeared at the hearing of her disagreement and the reasons for it, and affording them an opportunity of making written representations to her or, if the Secretary of State has taken into consideration any new evidence or new matter of fact, of asking for the re-opening of the hearing.

(5) Those persons making written representations or requesting the re-opening of the hearing pursuant to paragraph (4) shall ensure that such representations or requests are received by the Secretary of State within three weeks of the date of the Secretary of State’s notification under that paragraph.

(6) The Secretary of State may, if she thinks fit, cause a hearing to be re-opened, and she shall do so if asked by the appellant or the Agency in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (4) and within the period mentioned in paragraph (5); and where a hearing is re-opened (whether by the same or a different inspector)—

(a)the Secretary of State shall send to the persons mentioned in paragraph (4) a written statement of the matters with respect to which further evidence is invited; and

(b)paragraphs (2), (5) and (6) of regulation 28 shall apply as if the references to a hearing were references to a re-opened hearing.

Procedure after hearing—transferred appeals

37.—(1) This regulation applies where a hearing has been held for the purposes of a transferred appeal.

(2) When making his decision, the inspector may disregard any written representations or evidence or any other document received after the hearing has closed.

(3) If, after the close of the hearing, an inspector proposes to take into account any new matter of fact which was not raised at the hearing and which he considers to be material to his decision, he shall not come to a decision without first—

(a)notifying the appellant and the Agency and any other person who appeared at the hearing; and

(b)affording them an opportunity of making written representations to him or of asking for the re-opening of the hearing;

and they shall ensure that such written representations or request to re-open the hearing are received by the Secretary of State within three weeks of the date of notification.

(4) An inspector may, if he thinks fit, cause a hearing to be re-opened, and he shall do so if asked by the appellant or the Agency in the circumstances and within the period mentioned in paragraph (3); and where a hearing is re-opened—

(a)the inspector shall send to the appellant, the Agency and any other person who appeared at the hearing a written statement of the matters with respect to which further evidence is invited; and

(b)paragraphs (2), (5) and (6) of regulation 28 shall apply as if the references to a hearing were references to a re-opened hearing.

Notification of decision—appeals determined by the Secretary of State

38.—(1) This regulation applies where a hearing has been held for the purposes of any appeal determined by the Secretary of State.

(2) The Secretary of State shall notify her decision on the appeal, and her reasons for reaching it, in writing to—

(a)the appellant and the Agency; and

(b)any other person who—

(i)appeared at the hearing, or

(ii)has made representations to the Secretary of State under regulation 21(c).

(3) Where a copy of the inspector’s report is not sent with the notification of the decision, the notification shall be accompanied by a statement of his conclusions and of any recommendations made by him; and if a person entitled to be notified of the decision has not received a copy of that report, he shall be supplied with a copy of it on written application to the Secretary of State.

(4) In this regulation, “report” does not include any documents appended to the inspector’s report; but any person who has received a copy of the report may apply to the Secretary of State in writing for an opportunity to inspect any such documents, and the Secretary of State shall afford him that opportunity.

(5) A person applying to the Secretary of State under paragraph (3) or (4) shall ensure that his application is received by the Secretary of State within four weeks and six weeks, respectively, of the date of the decision of the Secretary of State.

(6) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a copy of the notification given under paragraph (2) is available for inspection on the website maintained by the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency for the period during which the provisional map covering the land to which the appeal relates remains current.

Notification of decision—transferred appeals

39.—(1) This regulation applies where a hearing has been held for the purposes of a transferred appeal.

(2) An inspector shall notify his decision on the appeal, and his reasons for it, in writing to—

(a)the appellant and the Agency; and

(b)any other person who—

(i)appeared at the hearing, or

(ii)has made representations to the Secretary of State under regulation 21(c).

(3) Any person entitled to be notified of the inspector’s decision under paragraph (2) may apply to the Secretary of State in writing for an opportunity of inspecting any documents listed in the notification, and the Secretary of State shall afford him that opportunity.

(4) Any person making an application under paragraph (3) shall ensure that it is received by the Secretary of State within six weeks of the date of the inspector’s decision.

(5) The Secretary of State shall ensure that a copy of the notification given under paragraph (2) is available for inspection on a website maintained by the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency for the period during which the provisional map covering the appeal land remains current.

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