Part 2Hearings
Date and notification of hearing
5.—(1) The date fixed by the Secretary of State for the holding of a hearing must be—
(a)not later than 5 weeks beginning with the day after the end of the last representation period, unless the Secretary of State considers such a date impracticable, or
(b)the earliest date after that period which the Secretary of State considers to be practicable.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State must give at least the minimum amount of notice of—
(a)the date, time and place fixed for the holding of a hearing, and
(b)the name of the inspector holding the hearing,
to each of the persons entitled to appear at the hearing.
(3) The Secretary of State may vary the date, time and place fixed for the holding of a hearing and must give such notice of any variation as appears to the Secretary of State to be reasonable.
(4) In paragraph (2) “the minimum amount of notice” means—
(a)in relation to a hearing to be held regarding a Crown development application in respect of major development, 2 weeks;
(b)in relation to a hearing to be held regarding a Crown development application in respect of non-major development, 5 working days.
(5) Where the Secretary of State appoints another inspector instead of the person previously appointed and it is not practicable to give written notice under paragraph (2) of the new appointment before the hearing is held, the inspector holding the hearing must, at its commencement, announce their name and the fact of their appointment.
(6) Where—
(a)a notice of a hearing has been given under paragraph (2) or (3), and
(b)the Crown development application is withdrawn before the date fixed for the hearing,
the Secretary of State must cancel the hearing and, as soon as reasonably practicable following the withdrawal of the application, give notice of the cancellation of the hearing to the persons previously notified.
(7) In this rule, “major development” and “non-major development” have the meanings given in article 2 of the 2025 Order.
Issues statement
6. At least 5 working days before the date fixed for the hearing under rule 5, the Secretary of State must—
(a)prepare a statement setting out what, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, are the issues to be considered in relation to the Crown development application, and
(b)publish the statement on a website.
Admission of the public and appearances at a hearing
7.—(1) A hearing must be open to the public and any person attending a hearing for the purpose of reporting the proceedings is, so far as practicable, to be afforded reasonable facilities for taking their report.
(2) The persons entitled to appear at the hearing are—
(a)the applicant;
(b)the relevant local planning authority;
(c)any councillor of the relevant local planning authority for the ward in which the land, or any part of the land, to which the Crown development application relates is situated;
(d)any authority or person consulted in relation to the Crown development application under articles 20, 21 or 22 of the 2025 Order;
(e)any person who—
(i)made representations in relation to the Crown development application within the applicable representation period, and
(ii)when making those representations, requested to be heard.
(3) Nothing in paragraph (2) prevents the inspector from permitting any other person to appear at a hearing, and such permission must not be unreasonably withheld.
(4) Any person entitled or permitted to appear may do so on their own behalf or be represented by any other person.
Procedure at hearing
8.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in these Rules the inspector must determine the procedure at a hearing.
(2) At the start of the hearing the inspector must summarise the main issues set out in the statement published by the Secretary of State under rule 6.
(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), a person entitled to appear at a hearing is to be given the opportunity to make oral representations but the length of representations may be limited by the inspector.
(4) The inspector may refuse to permit the making of oral representations on any matter which they consider to be repetitious or irrelevant.
(5) The inspector may require any person appearing or present at the hearing who, in the opinion of the inspector, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave and—
(a)refuse to permit that person to return, or
(b)permit that person to return only on such conditions as the inspector may specify.
(6) Any person who is required to leave and is not permitted to return or who does not return may submit written representations to the inspector before the close of the hearing.
(7) The inspector may proceed with a hearing in the absence of any person entitled to appear at it.
(8) The inspector may adjourn a hearing, and if the date, time and place of the adjourned hearing are announced at the hearing before the adjournment, no further notice is required.
Site inspections
9.—(1) The inspector may inspect the land to which the Crown development application relates.
(2) Where the inspector intends to make an inspection under paragraph (1), the inspector may notify the applicant and any other person as to the date and time of the inspection.
(3) The inspector is not required to defer an inspection where any person (including the applicant) is not present at the time appointed.
Procedure after hearing: standard applications
10.—(1) This rule applies where a hearing has been held for the purposes of a standard application.
(2) After the close of the hearing, the inspector must prepare a written statement setting out their decision and their reasons for it.
(3) When making their decision, the inspector—
(a)must take into account—
(i)any representations made to the Secretary of State pursuant to any notice of, or information about, or consultation in relation to, the Crown development application under the provisions of the 2025 Order which are received before the end of the applicable representation period, and
(ii)any representations made at the hearing, and
(b)may disregard any representations or information received after the hearing is closed.
(4) Paragraph (5) applies if, when making their decision, the inspector proposes to take into consideration any new representations or information (not being a matter of government policy) which were not raised at the hearing and which the inspector considers to be material to their decision.
(5) The inspector must not come to a decision without first—
(a)notifying in writing the persons entitled to appear at the hearing of the matter in question, and
(b)affording them an opportunity of making written representations to the inspector.
Procedure after hearing: recovered applications
11.—(1) This rule applies where a hearing has been held for the purposes of a recovered application.
(2) After the close of the hearing, the inspector must—
(a)prepare a written statement setting out their conclusions and recommendations or their reasons for not making any recommendations (“the inspector’s statement”), and
(b)send a copy of it to the Secretary of State.
(3) The Secretary of State, when making their decision—
(a)must take into account—
(i)any representations made to the Secretary of State pursuant to any notice of, or information about, or consultation in relation to, the Crown development application under the provisions of the 2025 Order which are received before the end of the applicable representation period, and
(ii)any representations made at the hearing, and
(b)may disregard any representations or information received after the hearing has closed.
(4) Paragraph (5) applies if, when making their decision, the Secretary of State—
(a)differs from the inspector on any matters of fact mentioned in, or appearing to the Secretary of State to be material to, a conclusion reached in the inspector’s statement, or
(b)takes into consideration new information (not being a matter of government policy),
and is for that reason disposed to disagree with a recommendation made in the inspector’s statement.
(5) The Secretary of State must not come to a decision which is at variance with the inspector’s recommendation without first—
(a)notifying in writing the persons entitled to appear at the hearing of the Secretary of State’s disagreement and the reasons for it, and
(b)affording them an opportunity of making written representations to the Secretary of State.