The Planning Inspectorate- Wales

Hazardous substances consent appeals - section 21 of the Planning (hazardous substances) Act 1990

Choosing the procedure

12. Please indicate in the appeal form which procedure you would like to follow. If you have requested that the appeal proceed by way of written representations we will ask the HSA whether they agree to this or would prefer to proceed by way of a local inquiry. Details of each of the procedures are listed below.

WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS

13. Appeals are dealt with in the spirit of the Town and Country Planning (Referrals and Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (Wales) Regulations 2003, SI 2003 No 390 (W.52).

14. The written method of dealing with an appeal is an exchange of statements between you and the HSA, followed by a visit to the site by an Inspector who will make a recommendation to the National Assembly for Wales. This is normally the quickest, simplest and cheapest way of deciding an appeal.

15. If you have requested the written representations procedure your grounds of appeal should be your full statement of case you wish to present. If you wish to make supplementary representations, these should be sent to the Inspectorate within 6 weeks of the start date. The HSA will be asked to send 2 copies of their statement to the Inspectorate within 6 weeks of the start date. Any interested party may also comment within this period. You and the HSA then have the opportunity to comment on all the representations within 9 weeks of the start date. The Inspector will then visit the site.

16. It is normal practice for the Inspector to be accompanied at the site visit by a representative of both parties in order to gain access to the site. However, the Inspector will not allow any discussion about the merits of the case and will restrict questions to the physical features of the site itself.

INQUIRIES

17. Inquiries are conducted in the spirit of the Town and Country
Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (Wales) Rules 2003, SI.2003 No.1266.

18. Either party may ask for a public inquiry, or the Inspectorate may decide that one is needed. The Inspectorate may decide an inquiry is necessary, for example, where particular complex technical evidence is submitted; where cross-examination may be needed; where there are a large number of submissions or where there is a considerable amount of public interest.

19. If you have requested a local inquiry, your grounds of appeal need only comprise a brief outline of the case. Then within 6 weeks of the start date, you and the HSA must submit a statement to the Inspectorate giving full details of the case to be put forward at the inquiry. You and the HSA then have the opportunity to comment on all the representations within 9 weeks of the start date. Not later than 4 weeks before the inquiry, a written statement of evidence and a statement of common ground should also be submitted. A written statement of evidence is a written statement of evidence a witness intends to give at the inquiry and, if it is more than 1,500 words long, there should also be a summary that is no more than 10% of the length of the proof. A statement of common ground is a list of all the matters that you and the HSA are in agreement about.

20. An inquiry usually begins with brief opening statements from both the main parties. Each party may then call witnesses to give evidence that can be cross-examined by the other side. The HSA will normally present its case first. Other interested parties may also attend the inquiry and at the Inspector’s discretion allowed to give their views.

Other Points

WITHDRAWAL OF APPEALS

21. An appellant may withdraw the appeal at any time as long as written notification is sent to the Planning Inspectorate and copied to the HSA.

ASSESSORS

22. Exceptionally, in some cases where an inquiry is held, an assessor may be appointed by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales, to advise the Inspector on very specialist technical issues. The assessor will write a report to the Inspector, the contents of which will be made public when a decision is issued.

23. Where an assessor is appointed, everyone entitled to appear at the inquiry will be notified of the assessor’s name and the matters on which he or she is to advise the Inspector.

COSTS

24. You and the HSA normally have to meet your own expenses for an appeal. However, if the appeal is to be decided by an inquiry, you can ask that the HSA be ordered to pay all or part of your costs. The HSA has the same right to ask you to pay some or all of their costs.

25. Applications for costs are usually heard towards the end of the inquiry proceedings and will only be allowed if the party claiming them can show that the other side behaved unreasonably and put them to unnecessary expense.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE DECISION

26. The National Assembly for Wales’s decision is final. The National Assembly for Wales can no longer consider further representations or make any further comments on the merits or otherwise of the case.

27. The decision can only be challenged in the High Court. An application to the High Court must be made within 6 weeks of the National Assembly for Wales’s decision. If the appeal is quashed following the High Court proceedings, the main parties will be notified and asked to provide any further representations within 28 days. The National Assembly for Wales may then ask for an inquiry to be held or re-opened and the appeal will be re-determined.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE

28. The letters acknowledging receipt of the appeal will give the name of the Case Officer dealing with the appeal. If you have any queries or complaints about the handling of your appeal you should first contact the Case Officer. If this is not satisfactory, the Complaints Officer can be contacted at the following address:

The Complaints Officer
The Planning Inspectorate
Crown Buildings
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Tel: 029 2082 3889
Fax: 029 2082 5150