The Planning Inspectorate- Wales

Called In Planning Applications

A Guide to Called In Planning Applications

We have prepared this leaflet to explain what happens when there is a public local inquiry in Wales into a called in planning application. The note gives advice only. It has no legal force.

Where we use "he" to refer to anyone, this also means "she" or "they".

What is a called-in planning application?

Most planning applications are decided locally by the county, borough council or national park authority. But the National Assembly for Wales has reserve powers to direct the council to refer an application to it for decision. This is what is meant by a 'called-in' application.

Each year many thousands of applications are made, but the National Assembly for Wales calls in between 5 and 10. Its policy is that normally it will only call in an application if it thinks that there are planning issues of more than local importance. Examples of these are-

development that may conflict with national planning policy on important matters e.g. major transport, sustainability, or regional issues;
development that could have wide effects beyond its immediate locality;
development that raises significant architectural and urban design issues;
development where the interests of national security or of foreign Government are involved;
development where there is significant regional or national controversy.

When the National Assembly calls-in an application, it gives its direction in a letter to the council. This is known as the 'call-in letter' which is normally issued by the Planning division of the Assembly, and requires the council to serve notice of the terms and reasons for the call-in on the applicant and to inform them of their rights to be heard by a person appointed by the Assembly.

the applicant;
the L P A;
the community council for the site, if they made representations to the LPA when the application was made;
if the application site falls within their area but they are not themselves the LPA, the following-

(i) a county or borough council
(ii) a National Park Authority
(iii) a joint or special planning board;
CADW, if they had to be notified by the LPA about a related application for listed building consent;
any statutory party;
any person who has served a statement of case or an outline statement - typically, this could include an association or group who have special knowledge or a particular viewpoint which might otherwise not be adequately examined at the inquiry.

If you are a third party but have not been asked for a statement, you do not have the right to take part. But you may nevertheless speak at the discretion of the Inspector, who must not unreasonably withhold permission. We encourage local people to take part, because their local knowledge and opinions are often valuable.

Why are pre-inquiry meetings held and what will happen at the meeting?

The pre-inquiry meeting has only one purpose - to discuss the procedure to be followed at the inquiry. The aim is to make the inquiry run efficiently, by helping the Inspector and participants with their preparations. There is no discussion of the merits of the planning issues raised by the application. The main matters normally covered are-

facilities and accommodation at the inquiry venue - this includes any special facilities needed for the Inspector or participants;
inquiry dates and sitting times - the Inspector will ask the participants how long they think they will need to take to present their evidence;
names of main participants and number of witnesses;
identification of the main issues for discussion at the inquiry;
arrangements for preparation of the statement of common ground including arrangements for any informal meetings that may be required to assist in preparing such statements;
nature and format of evidence - it is now normal for summaries of evidence to be read at inquiries and for the main written statement of evidence to be taken as read;
other aspects of evidence, such as the use of standard units of measurement.

The Inspector is not prevented from later questioning the participants on agreed matters at the inquiry, where he thinks that this is necessary. For example, he may need to be satisfied that such agreement is soundly based and that the parties have given sufficient weight to all aspects of the development taking account of the development plan, Assembly and government planning policies. The Inspector may also allow other persons to take part in the inquiry - so, whilst any member of the public may attend the pre-inquiry meeting, local people should not feel disadvantaged if they cannot attend or do not wish to.

What will happen at an inquiry?

Called in planning applications are often for large-scale development, or they are complicated in other ways. So an inquiry may last for several days (or even weeks). At the inquiry, the main participants will probably present expert evidence and cross-examine witnesses. But other participants, for example local residents, usually participate in a more low-key way. And because the inquiry is open to the public, some people attend just to listen or report the event for the press.

The Inspector has considerable discretion in running the inquiry, within the Rules. He will often have held a pre-inquiry meeting some weeks earlier with the main participants to discuss the practicalities of the inquiry. But he will still go through some routine matters. These include asking who will be taking part in the inquiry. After those with a right to take part have given their details, the Inspector will ask if anyone else wants to speak - at this stage, he will only ask for their names and addresses.Then the Inspector will usually explain the inquiry procedure. In general this will be as follows.

The LPA will begin by making an opening statement and then call any supporting witnesses to give their evidence.
The applicant will have the final right of reply.
Other leading participants entitled (statutory parties) or permitted (third parties) to take part shall be heard in the order the Inspector determines.
People entitled to take part in the inquiry will be able to call evidence (witnesses).
The applicant, the local planning authority, and any statutory party will be entitled to cross examine persons giving evidence.
The Inspector may refuse to permit giving evidence he considers it irrelevant.
The Inspector may read out letters from those who cannot attend the inquiry.
If necessary, the Inspector may adjourn the inquiry.

Representatives of Assembly departments and other public bodies at an inquiry.

The applicant, the LPA or a person entitled to take part in the inquiry has the right in certain circumstances to ask for a representative of an Assembly department or other public body to send a representative to the inquiry and to cross-examine that representative. But these parties must ask for this in writing at least 28 days before the inquiry is due to start.

How will I know that the application has been called in? And how will I find out the inquiry date and venue?

If we know about your interest because the LPA have told us that you have written to them or you have written to the Planning division of the Assembly, the Case Officer will write to you. And under the Rules we will-

require the LPA to publicise the inquiry arrangements in the local press;
require the LPA to inform owners and occupiers of properties near the application site, and anyone else the LPA thinks may be affected by the development.
require the applicant, if he controls the site, to post a notice on the site in a place where it can be seen by the public.

If I intend to take part in an inquiry, do I first have to send a written statement?

If you are taking part in the inquiry as of right, you will be asked to submit a full written statement of case before the inquiry under the Rules. It should be direct and to the point.

Other people (those taking part at the Inspector's discretion) usually prefer to make or read out a brief statement setting out their views. But you need to think about what you want to say and how. If you are the organiser of a group or association and you want to take a leading role at the inquiry by calling your own witnesses, you should contact the case officer at the earliest possible moment. If we agree to your request, we will ask you to serve a statement of case under the Rules. You will then be able to take part in the inquiry as of right, in the same way as the other major participants - and we will send you copies of their statements. However, to avoid making the inquiry too repetitious, we encourage participants with similar views to group together and elect a spokesperson to take part in the inquiry on the group's behalf.

Do I need to be represented at an inquiry by a solicitor, barrister or other professional person?

An inquiry is not a court of law and there is no requirement for anyone to be legally represented by a solicitor or barrister. The applicant and LPA will usually have a legal representative at the inquiry, and may call on the services of other professionals such as architects and engineers. And this is often so for the other leading participants.

Generally, local people making a brief statement do not choose to be professionally represented and should not feel at a disadvantage.

I cannot, or do not wish to, attend an inquiry. But I do want my views considered. What should I do?

You must write to the Case Officer with your views as soon as possible.

I have already written to the LPA or Assembly about the application. How do I make sure that the Inspector is aware of my views?

The Inspector must approach the inquiry with an open mind. For this reason, he will not see correspondence, which may have influenced the Assembly to call in the application. So if you wish to pursue the matter, you must write to the Case Officer making your views known, even if you have written earlier.

After an inquiry.

After the inquiry, the Inspector will report to the Assembly with his or her findings and recommendations. When the Assembly has reached a decision, it will explain this in the decision letter. This letter will normally be sent by the Assembly's Planning division.

2. About the Planning Inspectorate

We are an Executive Agency of the National Assembly for Wales and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. From our office in Cardiff, we arrange for a Planning Inspector to consider the issues involved in the application and submit a report to the Assembly for their consideration.

Inspectors have different backgrounds. These include town planning, surveying, engineering, architecture and law. We choose Inspectors very carefully and train them thoroughly. They generally work from home. For some very complex inquiries, we may appoint an assessor to assist the Inspector on special aspects of the application (for example, noise or pollution).

We have to do a certain amount of administrative work before the site visit, hearing or inquiry. This is dealt with by a case officer. We always name the case officer and give his or her telephone number, fax number and E-mail address. We do not change the case officer allocated to a particular application unless we are forced to (for example, through illness).

3. Appendix i

Terms in this leaflet

We do try to avoid jargon. But we cannot avoid using a few special words and expressions. We explain these here-

Planning Application

An application for planning permission. Or an application for approval of matters reserved for later agreement by the conditions of an existing planning permission.

LPA

The Local Planning Authority. This is the term used to describe the local authority who would normally decide the planning application. This is your l County or Borough Council or National Park Authority. But sometimes it will another body such as a joint planning board.

Called in application (or "call-in")

Most planning applications are decided by the LPA. But the Assembly has reserve powers to direct the council to refer an application to it for decision. This is what is meant by a "called in" application (or simply a "call-in").

Call-in letter

When the Assembly calls in an application, it gives its direction in a letter to the council. This is known as the "call-in letter".

Application Site

The land covered by the planning application.

Applicant

The person or organisation who made the planning application.

Statutory party

Any owner or agricultural tenant of the application site, except the applicant himself. But to qualify as a statutory party, you must have made representations about the application to the LPA or the Assembly within 21 days of being served with notice of the application.

Leading participants

The persons with a right to appear at the inquiry

Third party

Anyone else who makes representations about the application. Examples of third parties are neighbours and local amenity societies.

Inspector

The planning Inspector appointed to consider the issues involved in the planning application.

Case Officer

The person we allocate to handle the administrative work that we need to do before there can be a site visit, hearing or inquiry.

The Rules

The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure)(Wales) Rules 2003 (Statutory Instrument Number ).

The Town and Country Planning (Hearings Procedure)(Wales) Rules 2003 (Statutory Instrument Number ).

The Town and Country Planning (Appeals)(Written Representations Procedure)(Wales) Rules (Statutory Instrument Number ).

Pre-inquiry Meeting

A meeting held by the Inspector to help him and the main participants prepare for the inquiry. Normally the Inspector decides whether this is necessary. But occasionally the Assembly may cause one to be held.

Statement of Case

The written statement prepared by the applicant and LPA and other people appearing at the inquiry. These statements must include the full particulars of the points that the participants intend to make at the inquiry. A list of any documents which they intend to refer to must also be included.

Outline statement

A written statement similar to the Statement of Case, but limited to the participant's main submissions. It will only be required where the Assembly, not the Inspector, has caused a pre-inquiry meeting to be held. So it will rarely be necessary.

Statement of Common Ground

An agreed statement between the applicant and LPA on the issues.
Grounds upon which they agree and those which remain in dispute are to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate not less than 4 weeks before the date of the inquiry.

Written Statement of Evidence

Written evidence to be read at the inquiry.

Inspector's Report

The written report made to the Assembly by the Inspector.

Decision Letter

The Assembly's letter deciding the application after the Inspector's report has been considered. The letter is addressed to the applicant and is usually sent by the Assemblys Planning Division.