{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-enforcement-inquiries-procedure-england-rules-2002/article-6",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-enforcement-inquiries-procedure-england-rules-2002/article-6.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2002/2686",
  "legislation_title": "The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2002",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-enforcement-inquiries-procedure-england-rules-2002",
  "path": "article/6",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "6",
  "heading": "Procedure where pre-inquiry meeting is to be held",
  "text": "(1) The Secretary of State shall hold a pre-inquiry meeting—\n(a) if he expects an inquiry to last for 4 days or more, unless he considers it unnecessary;\n(b) for shorter inquiries, if it appears to him necessary.\n(2) Where the Secretary of State decides to hold a pre-inquiry meeting the following provisions shall apply—\n(a) the Secretary of State shall send to the appellant and the local planning authority—\n(i) notice of his intention to hold a pre-inquiry meeting; and\n(ii) a statement of the matters about which he particularly wishes to be informed for the purposes of his consideration of the appeal in question;\n(b) the local planning authority shall publish in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land is situated a notice of the Secretary of State’s intention to hold a pre-inquiry meeting and of the statement sent in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(ii) above; and\n(c) the appellant and the local planning authority shall send 2 copies of their outline statement to the Secretary of State within 8 weeks of the starting date.\n(3) The Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable after receipt, send a copy of the local planning authority’s outline statement to the appellant and a copy of the appellant’s outline statement to the local planning authority.\n(4) The Secretary of State may in writing require any other person who has notified him of an intention or a wish to appear at the inquiry to send an outline statement to him, the appellant and the local planning authority.\n(5) A person required to send an outline statement under paragraph (4) shall send it to the Secretary of State, the appellant and the local planning authority within 4 weeks of the date on which the Secretary of State so requires.\n(6) The pre-inquiry meeting (or where there is more than one, the first pre-inquiry meeting) shall be held within 16 weeks of the starting date.\n(7) The Secretary of State shall give not less than 3 weeks written notice of the pre-inquiry meeting to—\n(a) the appellant;\n(b) the local planning authority;\n(c) any person known at the date of the notice to be entitled to appear at the inquiry; and\n(d) any other person whose presence at the pre-inquiry meeting appears to him to be desirable.\n(8) Rule 11(6) shall apply to a pre-inquiry meeting as it does to the holding of an inquiry.\n(9) The inspector—\n(a) shall preside at the pre-inquiry meeting;\n(b) shall determine the matters to be discussed and the procedure to be followed;\n(c) may require any person present at the pre-inquiry meeting who, in his opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave; and\n(d) may refuse to permit that person to return to or attend any further pre-inquiry meeting, or may permit him to return or attend only on such conditions as he may specify.\n(10) Where a pre-inquiry meeting has been held pursuant to paragraph (1), the inspector may hold a further pre-inquiry meeting and he shall arrange for such notice to be given of a further pre-inquiry meeting as appears to him necessary; and paragraph (9) shall apply to such a pre-inquiry meeting.\n(11) If the Secretary of State requests any further information from the appellant or the local planning authority at the pre-inquiry meeting, they shall send—\n(a) 2 copies of it to him; and\n(b) in the case of an enforcement appeal, a copy to any person on whom a copy of the enforcement notice has been served,\nwithin 4 weeks of the conclusion of the pre-inquiry meeting.\n(12) Where the Secretary of State receives further information pursuant to paragraph (11) he shall, as soon as practicable after receipt—\n(a) send a copy of such further information received from the appellant to the local planning authority; and\n(b) send a copy of such further information received from the local planning authority to the appellant.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2686/article/6",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T06:41:57.279169+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}