1.—(1) The first meeting of a National Park authority (in the following provisions of this Schedule referred to as “the Authority") shall be convened by the acting proper officer as soon as practicable and, in any event, within 21 days after 23rd November 1995 and shall be held at such place and hour as may be fixed by him.
(2) That meeting shall be treated as the annual meeting of the Authority in the year 1995.
(3) Notice of that meeting shall be published at the place where the meeting is to be held and the summons to attend the meeting shall be signed by the acting proper officer.
(4) Until the completion of the election of a chairman of the Authority at that meeting, the acting proper officer shall exercise any functions falling to be exercised by the chairman and the deputy chairman of the Authority but the acting proper officer shall not vote in the first instance at the election of the chairman of the Authority.
(5) Without prejudice to the generality of article 12(1) of this Order, at the first meeting of the Authority the acting proper officer shall exercise any functions falling to be exercised by the proper officer of the Authority in relation to the meeting.
(6) The standing orders for the regulation of the proceedings and business of the existing council of which the acting proper officer is an officer shall apply at the first meeting of the Authority.
(7) The Authority shall hold such further meetings before 1st April 1996 as may be necessary for the purpose of doing anything which, in accordance with section 65(3) and (4) of the 1995 Act, it considers appropriate for the purpose of securing that it is able properly to carry out its functions on and after that date.
(8) So far as is consistent with the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the following provisions of this Schedule shall apply to the calling and conduct of meetings under this paragraph.