21.—(1) After the close of an inquiry, the lead inspector shall by such date as the Secretary of State may determine make a report in writing to the Secretary of State which shall include—
(a)his consideration of the application;
(b)the consideration by any additional inspector of the matters relating to the application which that additional inspector has been directed to consider;
(c)his conclusions; and
(d)his recommendations or his reasons for not making any recommendations.
(2) Where the Secretary of State determines a date by which the lead inspector is to report to him, he shall give notice in writing of that determination to the lead inspector and to all persons entitled to appear at the inquiry.
(3) Where an assessor has been appointed, he may, after the close of the inquiry, make a report in writing to the inspector in respect of the matters on which he was appointed to advise.
(4) Where an assessor makes a report in accordance with paragraph (3), the inspector shall append it to his own report and shall state in his own report how far he agrees or disagrees with the assessor’s report and, where he disagrees with the assessor, his reasons for that disagreement.
(5) When making his decision the Secretary of State may disregard any written representations, evidence or any other document received after the close of the inquiry.
(6) If, after the close of an inquiry, the Secretary of State—
(a)differs from an inspector on any matter of fact mentioned in, or appearing to him to be material to, a conclusion reached by the inspector; or
(b)takes into consideration any new evidence or new matter of fact (not being a matter of government policy),
and is for that reason disposed to disagree with a recommendation made by the lead inspector, he shall not come to a decision which is at variance with that recommendation without first notifying the persons entitled to appear at the inquiry who appeared at it of his disagreement and the reasons for it; and affording them an opportunity of making written representations to him or (if the Secretary of State has taken into consideration any new evidence or new matter of fact, not being a matter of government policy) of asking for the re-opening of the inquiry.
(7) Those persons making written representations or requesting the inquiry to be re-opened under paragraph (6), shall ensure that such representations or requests are received by the Secretary of State within 3 weeks of the date of the Secretary of State’s notification under that paragraph.
(8) The Secretary of State may, as he thinks fit, cause an inquiry to be re-opened, and he shall do so if asked by the applicant or the local planning authority in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (6) and within the period mentioned in paragraph (7); and where an inquiry is re-opened (whether by the same or a different lead inspector) –
(a)the Secretary of State shall send to the persons entitled to appear at the inquiry who appeared at it a written statement of the matters with respect to which further evidence is invited; and
(b)paragraphs (3) to (9) of rule 14 shall apply as if the references to an inquiry were references to a re-opened inquiry.