Article 6 Procedure where pre-inquiry meeting is to be held
The National Assembly must hold a pre-inquiry meeting—
if it expects an inquiry to last for 8 days or more, unless it considers it unnecessary;
for shorter inquiries, if it appears to it to be necessary.
Where the National Assembly decides to hold a pre-inquiry meeting—
the National Assembly must send to the appellant and the local planning authority—
notice of its intention to hold a pre-inquiry meeting; and
a statement of the matters about which it particularly wishes to be informed for the purposes of its consideration of the appeal in question;
the local planning authority must publish in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land is situated a notice of the National Assembly’s intention to hold a pre-inquiry meeting and of the statement sent in accordance with paragraph (2)(a)(ii) above; and
the appellant and the local planning authority must send 2 copies of their outline statement to the National Assembly so as to be received within 8 weeks of the starting date.
The National Assembly must, 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.
The National Assembly may in writing require any other person who has notified it of an intention or a wish to take part in the inquiry to send an outline statement to it, to the appellant and to the local planning authority.
A person required to send an outline statement under paragraph (4) must send it to the National Assembly, the appellant and the local planning authority so as to be received within 4 weeks of the date of the National Assembly’s written requirement.
The pre-inquiry meeting (or where there is more than one, the first pre-inquiry meeting) must be held within 16 weeks of the starting date.
The National Assembly must give not less than 3 weeks’ written notice of the pre-inquiry meeting to—
the appellant;
the local planning authority;
any person known at the date of the notice to be entitled to take part in the inquiry; and
any other person whose presence at the pre-inquiry meeting appears to it to be desirable,
Rule 11(6) applies to a pre-inquiry meeting as it does to the holding of an inquiry.
The inspector—
is to preside at the pre-inquiry meeting;
is to determine the matters to be discussed and the procedure to be followed;
may require any person present at the pre-inquiry meeting who, in the inspector’s opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave; and
may refuse to permit that person to return to or attend any further pre-inquiry meeting, or may permit that person to return or attend only on such conditions as the inspector may specify.
Where a pre-inquiry meeting has been held pursuant to paragraph (1), the inspector may hold a further pre-inquiry meeting and he must arrange for such notice to be given of a further pre-inquiry meeting as appears to the inspector to be necessary; and paragraph (9) applies to such a pre-inquiry meeting.
If the National Assembly requests any further information from the appellant or the local planning authority at the pre-inquiry meeting, they must—
send 2 copies of it to the National Assembly; and
in the case of an enforcement appeal, a copy to any person on whom a copy of the enforcement notice has been served,
so as to be received within 4 weeks of conclusion of the pre-inquiry meeting.
Where the National Assembly receives further information pursuant to paragraph (11) it must, as soon as practicable after receipt—
send a copy of such further information received from the appellant to the local planning authority; and
send a copy of such further information received from the local planning authority to the appellant.