When we have accepted your appeal, we will write to you to confirm 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, statements or evidence.

You and the LPA must keep to the timetable.

If statements, comments or evidence are sent late

4.2 If you or the LPA send your statement, comments or evidence 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, the Inspector’s decision will not take account of statements and comments that have been sent late.

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.

You may offer items previously returned because they were sent late 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 them (and people and organisations) 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 8 for more information on costs.

Deadlines

4.3 The following timetable and stages apply to all appeals, whatever procedure is used.

i. 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.

ii. Within six weeks from the starting date, you and the LPA can send a statement of your case (but see the note below). 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).

Note: For appeals following the written procedure, your grounds of appeal on the appeal form must make up your full case. In these cases, the six-week statement should relate only to issues raised by the questionnaire and any supporting documents.

iii. 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.

Some other stages apply if your appeal is being dealt with at an inquiry. These are explained in section 7.