Development Plan Document Examinations - Programme Officer Guidance Notes
ANNEX 4
GUIDANCE FOR UNREPRESENTED REPRESENTORS
You need not be represented by a legally qualified or other person who is familiar with public examinations in order to present your representation to the Inspector. Nevertheless, the imminent appearance at a public examination understandably makes some people feel apprehensive and uneasy. However, the system is designed to be `user friendly' and you can make the best use of your time at the examination if you bear in mind a few basic ground rules.
Before the Examination
If you said on your representation form that you want to present your case at the examination, the Programme Officer will have sent you a copy of the programme. You should check that you have been given a date and time that you can attend. If there are foreseeable problems please let him/her know immediately.
In accordance with the timetable provided by the Programme Officer, before your appearance at the examination, you should submit a written statement or proof of evidence setting out all that you wish to say at the Examination. Six copies of this proof are required, together with 6 copies of any appendices and documents. Nothing should come as a surprise to the Council at the Examination session and therefore you will not normally be able to raise matters not referred to in your proof. You need not include lengthy extracts from documents held in the Examination library, provided adequate references are included. All documents should be A4 size or capable of being folded to that size. Any photographs should be mounted on A4 card and accompanied by a plan showing viewing points. If your proof exceeds 10 pages, a summary should also be submitted, drawing from but not adding to the proof.
You will receive a copy of the Council’s response to the representations made to date. You should study it in preparation for the Examination. If the Council’s response refers to any documents, make sure that you are familiar with them and make sure that you have read the relevant sections of the DPD and any proposed changes. The documents can be seen at the Council's offices. If having read the Council’s response you consider that you no longer wish to maintain your representation or wish to conditionally withdraw your representation subject to an offered proposed change being recommended by the Inspector, please confirm this in writing to the Programme Officer as soon as possible. This may enable him to re-allocate your time in the Examination programme to someone else. Similarly, if you decide that you don't want to appear at the Examination and rely instead on written representations, please inform the Programme Officer immediately.
If you miss the deadline for submitting your proof, the Programme Officer will contact you and ask whether you still wish to appear at the Examination. If the delayed statement causes complications to the Examination Programme, you may be asked to come on a different day at a time when it is convenient to the Examination, having regard to other participants who have complied with the timetable or to proceed by written representations. On the day of your appearance at the Examination, try to arrive at the venue in good time, at least half an hour before the allotted time and let the Programme Officer know that you have arrived. You can enter the Examination Room at any time before you are due to speak, but if the Examination is in session, please avoid disturbing other speakers.
At the Examination
When talking to the Inspector, it is usual to call him Sir/Madam rather than Chairman or some other designation. The Inspector will summarise the disagreements between you and the Council. The Inspector will ask both sides to respond to his questions. The Responder and the Council will have the opportunity to ask questions of each other through the Inspector. The Council and then the responder will have the opportunity to make a short closing statement.
Please try to answer questions put to you as best you can and don't worry if you don't know the answer or can't see the relevance of the point. If you don't understand the question, please say so. If you wish to call any witnesses in support of your case, the process may be repeated if the witness has not already made their contribution.
At the end, you will have the chance to sum up your case, but you must not introduce any new material or points at this stage. Your summing up must only refer to points that you have already made and the response to them. The Inspector will thank you for your attendance and move onto the next representation.
The Inspector will make the proceedings as informal as possible and will try to make you feel at ease. If you don't understand the procedure, don't hesitate to ask him/her. If you are unsure about the procedure, come along beforehand and see another representation being heard, or ask the Programme Officer to explain it to you.
After the Examination
In some cases, the Inspector will have seen the site of your representation from the public highway before you present your case (e.g. during the adjournment weeks) but will probably need to see it again afterwards. Usually, the Inspector will do this alone and without announcing when it will occur. Sometimes the Council and representor, or the Inspector might suggest that an accompanied site visit is necessary, perhaps because it involves going on to private land. The Programme Officer will arrange a time and date convenient to everyone. At such inspections, no new evidence can be heard, but physical features referred to at the Examination or in the written statements can be pointed out to the Inspector.
Because of the length of the Examination and the number of objections, it will be some time before you hear the results of the Inspector's recommendations. The Inspector will write a report to the Council with his/her binding recommendations. The Council will adopt the Plan as speedily as possible.
