Making your Lawful Development Certificate Appeal - November 2004
3 Timetable for appeals
Setting the timetable
3.1 The appeal process has strict deadlines for you and the LPA to send us information.
When we have accepted your appeal we will write to you confirming which procedure it will follow. Our letter will also tell you the 'starting date'. This is important because it starts the timetable for you and the LPA to send us comments and statements.
You and the LPA must keep to the timetable.
If statements or comments are sent late
3.2 If you, or the LPA, send your statement or comments after the deadlines set in our 'starting date' letter we will not normally accept them. Instead we will return them to you.
This means that for appeals following the written procedure, statements and comments sent late will not be taken into account in our Inspector's decision.
If we return items because they were sent late, there is nothing to be gained by you, or the LPA, copying them to each other as the Inspector will not have seen them.
Items previously returned because they were sent late may be offered to the Inspector at the opening of the hearing or inquiry. But it will be up to the Inspector to decide whether or not to accept them. If they do, this will usually mean an adjournment to allow him/her (and other parties) to read the information. However, a successful claim for costs by the other side because of the time wasted would be likely to follow. See section 7 for more information on costs.
Deadlines
3.3 The following timetable and stages apply to all appeals, whatever procedure is used.
- Within two weeks from the starting date, the LPA will send you and us a questionnaire which they have filled in. They will also tell interested people about the appeal.
- Within six weeks from the starting date, you and the LPA can send a statement of your case. We will then send you and the LPA a copy of what each other has sent, and any comments from interested people (if they were sent in time).
- Within nine weeks from the starting date, you and the LPA can send us any comments on each other's statement and on comments from interested people.
3.4 Some other stages apply if your appeal is being dealt with at an inquiry or hearing. These are explained in sections 5 and 6.
