Public inquiries6
1
The Scottish Ministers may cause a public inquiry to be held into a variation application if they consider it appropriate to do so.
2
A public inquiry may be held into a variation application in addition to or instead of any other hearing or opportunity of making representations about the variation application.
3
If the Scottish Ministers cause a public inquiry to be held into a variation application, the provisions of paragraph 4(1) (as substituted by paragraph 4(5)) and (4) of Schedule 8 to the Act apply, subject to the modifications specified in paragraph (4) below, to the inquiry as they apply to a public inquiry caused to be held by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of paragraph 2(2) or 3(2) of Schedule 8 to the Act.
4
The modifications are—
a
references in those paragraphs to paragraph 2(2) or 3(2) of Schedule 8 to the Act are to be treated as references to this regulation; and
b
the reference in paragraph 4(4) to an application for consent under section 36 is to be treated as a reference to the variation application.