{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-hearings-procedure-wales-rules-2003/article-8",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-hearings-procedure-wales-rules-2003/article-8.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2003/1271",
  "legislation_title": "The Town and Country Planning (Hearings Procedure) (Wales) Rules 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-hearings-procedure-wales-rules-2003",
  "path": "article/8",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "8",
  "heading": "Method of procedure",
  "text": "(1) If either the appellant or the local planning authority at any time before or during the hearing is of the opinion that the hearings procedure is inappropriate in determining the appeal and that the appeal should not proceed in this way, they may inform the National Assembly, before the hearing, or the inspector, during the hearing, of their opinion and the reasons for it, and—\n(a) the National Assembly, before the hearing, must, after consulting the other party, who may inform the National Assembly of their opinion pursuant to this paragraph, decide whether an inquiry should be arranged instead; or\n(b) the inspector, during the hearing, must, after consulting the other party, who may inform the inspector of their opinion pursuant to this paragraph, decide whether the hearing should be closed and an inquiry held instead.\n(2) If at any time during a hearing it appears to the inspector that the hearings procedure is inappropriate, the inspector may, after consulting the appellant and the local planning authority, decide to close the proceedings and arrange for an inquiry to be held instead.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/1271/article/8",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T06:24:11.427374+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."
}