Notes for the Guidance of Inspectors Holding Inquiries into orders and Special Road Schemes.

7. The Inquiry (continued)

Conducting Inquiries in Wales

7.14 The Welsh Language Act 1993 established that in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales , the English and Welsh languages should be treated equally. In giving due consideration to this principle, when conducting inquiries in Wales Inspectors should make it clear in their opening statement that members of the public are welcome to speak in Welsh if they so wish.

7.15 Normally the relevant authorities will inform Inspectors where the Welsh language will predominate, and either a Welsh-speaking Inspector will be appointed or translation facilities will be provided. However the spirit of the Welsh Language Act should be applied to all inquiries in Wales , regardless of which language is used. A short statement to that effect is therefore a pre-requisite of all inquiries held in Wales . The form of words should be along the lines:

"Although this inquiry is to be conducted in English, participants are entitled to use Welsh if they so wish. It would be helpful if any participants who wish to speak in Welsh indicate that intention."

Absence of Objectors or Other Parties

7.16 Apart from the promoters, who must of course attend to describe their proposals and explain their purpose, it is not necessary for any particular party to appear at the inquiry in order to make their views known since all written objections, and other representations, are taken into account with the Inspector's report to the Secretary of State / NAW. The failure of certain of the objectors and/or other parties to appear at the inquiry is thus no reason for not proceeding with the inquiry.

7.17 In the rare instances in which there is only one objector, who neither appears nor is represented at the inquiry, the Inspector should immediately adjourn the inquiry for long enough to enable enquiries to be made about the objector's whereabouts. The Programme Officer or a representative of the promoters should be instructed to find out by the quickest means possible whether the objector intends to appear, or to be represented. If so, arrangements should be made to await the objector's arrival and then to proceed with the inquiry in the usual way. If not, the promoters should be invited to state their case and to reply to the written objection. Any other people present who wish to be heard, should be heard and the inquiry should then be closed.

7.18 In the case of a CPO or similar inquiry where the Inspector is told that the sole outstanding objection has been withdrawn, the inquiry should still be opened in the usual way, bearing in mind that the inquiry is into the order itself and not merely the objection.

Order Making Authority not Actively Supporting an Order

7.19 This sometimes occurs where a stopping up order is proposed by the Secretary of State, for example under s247 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990, following the grant of planning permission for a development proposal 6 . The local authority (planning or highway) might not be directly involved, leaving the applicant for the order to present the case and to deal with the objectors who appear.

7.20 There are no inquiry procedure rules for these cases and therefore no requirement for participants (promoters/applicant/supporter or objectors) to produce statements or evidence in advance. It might be apparent from the case file whether the local authority will appear, but this may not be obvious. The Inspector should not be surprised by the non-appearance of the authority at this type of inquiry, nor be surprised if the applicant for the order is not represented by a lawyer, or is represented by a professional person unfamiliar with the purpose of an inquiry or the procedure. As a safeguard, even more thorough preparation is called for by the Inspector.

The Inquiry

7.21 It is for the applicant/promoter to justify the order proposal. Where the local authority does not appear the applicant (or supporter) should be encouraged to take the lead and present the case for an order to be made by the Secretary of State. The Inspector may need to guide the applicant through the procedural matters. Objectors should be given the opportunity to question evidence contrary to their case, and vice versa .

7.22 Where the local authority appears in a nominal or neutral capacity, the authority should be invited to make an opening statement of explanation about its role in advance of the applicant's case. Where there is no further participation by the authority a closing statement should not be permitted because evidence has not been given. If there is evidence which the authority wishes to rebut or refute, the authority should be permitted to do so and to make a closing statement, remembering that the applicant has the final right of reply.

7.23 In the highly unlikely situation where a stopping up order is opposed by the local authority (e.g. highway), the authority is normally treated as a principal objector with priority in the objectors' order of appearances. Where a closing submission is made by such an authority, this will precede that of the promoter.

7.24 Again in the highly unlikely situation where the applicant or supporter or objector does not wish to give evidence, the Inspector should summarise their case as presented in writing (i.e. on the case file), clarify that the summary is satisfactory and invite questions from the other side. The Inspector may then need to ask questions of clarification from the applicant and objectors. A closing statement by the "relevant participants" would be appropriate.

6, The same sort of considerations might also apply to orders under s248 and 257 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990

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