Article 17 Proofs of evidence

Any person entitled to appear at an inquiry, who proposes to give, or to call another person to give evidence at the inquiry by reading a proof of evidence, shall send 2 copies of the proofs of evidence, in the case of the local planning authority and the applicant, or 3 copies in any other case, to the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable after receipt, deposit each such proof of evidence.

Where a copy of a proof of evidence sent under paragraph (1) contains more than 1,500 words, it shall be accompanied by a written summary; and the Secretary of State shall deposit each such summary.

Where a person sends copies of a proof of evidence and summary (if any), that person shall at the same time send a copy to every other person specified or referred to in rule 15(1) unless the person so specified or referred to has indicated in writing that he does not require to be sent a copy.

The proof of evidence and any summary shall be received by the Secretary of State no later than the date specified by the inspector pursuant to rule 12(1)(b).

The Secretary of State shall send to the inspector, as soon as practicable after receipt, any proof of evidence together with any summary sent to him in accordance with this rule and received by him within the relevant period, if any, specified in this rule.

Where a written summary is provided in accordance with paragraph (2), only that summary shall be read at the inquiry, unless the inspector permits or requires otherwise.

Any person, required by this rule to send copies of a proof of evidence to the Secretary of State, shall send with them the same number of copies of the whole, or the relevant part, of any document referred to in the proof of evidence, unless a copy of the document or part of the document in question is already available for inspection pursuant to rule 11(13).

The Secretary of State or the inspector may in writing require any person who has sent a copy of a proof of evidence or summary in accordance with this rule to provide such additional copies of the proof or summary as he may specify and may specify the time within which the copy of the proof or summary shall be received by him.

Any person required to provide additional copies shall ensure that the copies have been received by the Secretary of State or inspector within the specified time.