The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (Scotland) Rules 1997

Procedure after inquiry

21.—(1) After the close of the inquiry, the reporter shall make a report in writing to the Secretary of State which shall include his findings of fact, his conclusions and his recommendations or his reasons for not making any recommendations.

(2) Where an assessor has been appointed, he may (and if so required by the reporter, shall), after the close of the inquiry, make a report in writing to the reporter in respect of the matters on which he was appointed to advise.

(3) Where an assessor makes a report in accordance with paragraph (2), the reporter 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.

(4) Where the Secretary of State–

(a) differs from the reporter on a finding of fact; or

(b) after the close of the inquiry proposes to take into consideration any new evidence (including expert opinion on a matter of fact) or any new issue of fact (not being a matter of government policy) which was not raised at the inquiry,

and by reason thereof is disposed to disagree with a recommendation made by the reporter, he shall not come to a decision which is at variance with any such recommendation without first notifying the applicant, the planning authority and all statutory parties who appeared at the inquiry of his disagreement and the reasons for it and affording them an opportunity of–

(i) making representations thereon in writing within 3 weeks; or

(ii) if the Secretary of State has received new evidence or taken into consideration any new issue of fact not being a matter of government policy, asking within 3 weeks for the reopening of the inquiry.

(5) The Secretary of State may in any case if he thinks fit cause the inquiry to be reopened, and shall cause it to be reopened if asked to do so in accordance with paragraph (4) of this rule, and if the inquiry is reopened, paragraph (3) to (6) of rule 15 shall apply to the reopened inquiry with the substitution in paragraph (3) of the words “3 weeks” for the words “4 weeks”.