The Planning Inspectorate- Wales

Guide to taking part in planning appeals: Wales, 2003

The hearing procedure

A hearing is a discussion of the appeal proposals. The Inspector leads the discussion. Hearings give everyone concerned the chance to give their views in a more relaxed and informal atmosphere than at a public inquiry. Hearings have many advantages, but they are not suitable for appeals that:

are complicated or controversial;
have caused a lot of local interest; or
involve cross-examination (questioning) of witnesses.

If there is a hearing for an appeal that you are interested in, you do not have to go to it. If you prefer, you can write to us. If you wrote to the LPA at application stage, they will send us a copy of your views. If you did not, or wish to add to those views, you can still write to us. But you must make sure we receive three copies of your comments within the time limit given in your letter from the LPA telling you about the appeal. This is within six weeks of us accepting the appeal - we call this 'the starting date'. If we do not receive your letter within the time limit, the Inspector will not normally take your comments into account and we will send them back to you. If we receive it in time, we will send a copy of your letter to the appellant, the LPA and the Inspector.

Please tell us in your letter if you would like a copy of the appeal decision. We will not acknowledge your letter unless you ask us to. We will send copies of your letter to the appellant, the LPA and the Inspector. If we consider your letter contains racist or abusive comments, we will send it back to you before the Inspector sees it. If you take out the racist or abusive comments, you can send your letter back to us. But, we must receive this before the time limit ends. If you want to see what the appellant and the LPA have said, you should be able to see copies of their appeal documents at the local council's offices.

How you find out about the hearing

We will agree a date for the hearing with the appellant and LPA. We do not involve anyone else when we fix the date. The LPA will write to everyone they told about the appeal and give them details of the hearing, like the time and place. The LPA may also put a notice in a local paper, giving the same information.

Taking part in the hearing

Hearings are usually held in council offices, village halls or community centres and normally last about half a day. The Inspector will open the hearing by explaining what the appeal is about. They will then go through some routine points, including asking who wants to speak. You should tell the Inspector if you want to speak at this stage, or you can comment on the planning application later in the hearing. The Inspector will usually give a summary of the appellant's and LPA's cases, and say which topics will be discussed at the hearing.

Giving your views

The LPA will usually give their views on a topic first, followed by the appellant, and then anyone else who wants to comment. This is your chance to comment. Although hearings are informal, they must be orderly if everyone involved is to have a fair hearing. So, you must make your comments and questions to the Inspector. The Inspector will not allow any interruptions or bad behaviour.

In most cases, the Inspector will suggest that the hearing is continued on the site of the proposed development. This will only happen if everyone taking part in the hearing (or their representatives) can attend, and they don't object to the arrangement. Most hearings end after any discussion at the appeal site.

People with disabilities

We want to hold all hearings in buildings with proper facilities for people with disabilities. The LPA usually choose and provide the place and we have asked them to pay particular attention to the needs of people with disabilities. If you, or anyone you know, want to go to the hearing and you have particular needs, please contact the LPA to confirm they can make proper arrangements.

After the hearing

As with the written procedure, the Inspector will write a decision or send their report to the Assembly. Where the Inspector decides the appeal, we will send a copy of the decision to:

the appellant;
the LPA; and
anyone else who wrote to ask us for a copy.

We aim to issue the decision no later than seven weeks after the date of the hearing. If the Assembly is making the appeal decision, it may take longer.

Costs

At hearings, the Inspector will say that any application for costs should be made before the end of the proceedings. This can happen when one party claims that it has been caused unnecessary expense in dealing with the proceedings because of the other party's unreasonable behaviour.
Unless you are the appellant, this is unlikely to apply to you because, if you choose to take part in an appeal, you do so at your own expense. However, we do publish a separate booklet called 'Costs awards in planning appeals', which explains when you can apply for costs.