Article 9 Procedure for pre-inquiry and other meetings
The Secretary of State shall hold a pre-inquiry meeting.
The following provisions shall apply to the pre-inquiry meeting, or where there is more than one, to the first pre-inquiry meeting—
the Secretary of State shall send with the relevant notice—
notice of his intention to hold a pre-inquiry meeting;
a statement of the matters which, in his view, are the matters to be considered at the inquiry; and where another Minister of the Crown or a government department has expressed in writing to the Secretary of State a view which is mentioned in rule 5(2)(c), the Secretary of State shall set this out in his statement;
the Secretary of State shall send a copy of the statement described in the previous paragraph to the Minister or government department concerned and to each major participant; and
the local planning authority shall publish by local advertisement 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.
The Secretary of State may at any time modify the statement referred to in paragraph (2)(a)(ii) above and if he does so shall send the modified statement to the local planning authority who shall publish by local advertisement a notice of the modification made.
The applicant, the local planning authority and each major participant shall ensure that within 8 weeks of the date of the relevant notice 2 copies, in the case of the applicant and the local planning authority, or 3 copies in any other case, of their outline statement have been received by the Secretary of State.
The local planning authority and each major participant shall identify in their outline statement any part of an environmental statement prepared by the applicant with which they disagree and the grounds for any such disagreement.
Where rule 5(2) applies, the local planning authority shall—
include in their outline statement—
the terms of any direction given together with a statement of the reasons for it; and
any view expressed or representation made on which they intend to rely in their submissions at the inquiry; and
within 8 weeks from the date of the relevant notice send a copy of their outline statement to the person concerned.
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, and that person shall ensure that the statement is received by the Secretary of State within 4 weeks of the date of the Secretary of State’s written requirement.
The Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable after receipt, circulate each outline statement sent in accordance with paragraphs (4) or (7).
The pre-inquiry meeting (or, where there is more than one, the first pre-inquiry meeting) shall be held within 16 weeks of the date of the relevant notice.
The Secretary of State shall give not less than 3 weeks' written notice of the pre-inquiry meeting to—
the applicant;
the local planning authority;
each major participant;
any person known at the date of the notice to be entitled to appear at the inquiry; and
any other person whose presence at the pre-inquiry meeting seems to him to be desirable,
and he may require the local planning authority to take, in relation to notification of the pre-inquiry meeting, one or more of the steps which he may under rule 14(6) require them to take in relation to notification of the inquiry.
The inspector—
shall preside at the pre-inquiry meeting;
shall determine the matters to be discussed and the procedure to be followed;
may require any person present at the pre-inquiry meeting who, in his opinion, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave; and
may refuse to permit that person to return or to attend any further pre-inquiry meeting, or may permit him to return or attend only on such conditions as he may specify.
The inspector may at any time and for any purpose connected with the inquiry to which these rules apply hold such other meetings as he considers necessary, and he shall arrange for such notice to be given of those meetings as appears to him necessary; and paragraph (11) shall apply to such meetings.
If the Secretary of State requests any further information from the applicant, the local planning authority or any major participant at the pre-inquiry meeting, they shall ensure that 2 copies, in the case of the applicant or the local planning authority, or 3 copies in the case of any major participant, of the information have been received by the Secretary of State within such period as he may specify; and the Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable after receipt, circulate all information received by him under this paragraph.