The Access to the Countryside (Means of Access, Appeals) (England) Regulations 2004

Date and notification of inquiry

27.—(1) The date fixed by the Secretary of State for the holding of an inquiry shall, unless she considers such a date to be impracticable, be not later than –

(a) subject to sub-paragraph (b), twenty-two weeks after the start date; or

(b) where a pre-inquiry meeting is held pursuant to regulation 25, eight weeks after the conclusion of that meeting.

(2) Where the Secretary of State considers it impracticable to fix a date in accordance with paragraph (1), the date fixed shall be the earliest date which she considers to be practicable after the expiry of the relevant period mentioned in that paragraph.

(3) Unless the Secretary of State agrees a lesser period of notice with the appellant and the access authority, she shall give to the appellant, the access authority and every interested person not less than four weeks' written notice of the date, time and place fixed by her for the holding of an inquiry.

(4) The Secretary of State may –

(a) change the date fixed for the holding of an inquiry (whether or not the date as changed is within the relevant period mentioned in paragraph (1)); or

(b) change the time or place for the holding of an inquiry.

(5) Where, under paragraph (4)(a), the Secretary of State changes the date for the holding of an inquiry, paragraph (3) shall apply to the new date as it applied to the date originally fixed, and where, under paragraph (4)(b), she changes the time or place for the holding of an inquiry, she shall give such notice of such change as appears to her to be reasonable.

(6) The Secretary of State–

(a) may require the access authority to publish, not less than two weeks before the date fixed for the inquiry, a notice of the inquiry in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the appeal land is situated;

(b) may require the access authority to affix a notice of the inquiry firmly to the appeal land or to some object on or near the land in such manner as to be readily visible to and legible by members of the public; and the access authority shall not remove the notice, or cause it to be removed, for such period before the hearing as the Secretary of State may specify; and

(c) shall ensure that the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency makes a notice of the inquiry available for inspection on a website which it maintains until the appeal is determined.

(7) Every notice of an inquiry referred to in paragraph (6) shall contain –

(a) a statement of the date, time and place of the inquiry and of the powers enabling the Secretary of State to determine the appeal in question; and

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

(8) A notice referred to in paragraph (6) may relate to more than one inquiry.