Planning and
Building (Public Inquiries) (Jersey) Order 2008
1 Interpretation
(1) In this
Order –
“announcement”
means the announcement of a public inquiry in accordance with Article 5;
“applicant”
means the person who applied for the planning permission which is the subject
of the public inquiry;
“application”
means the application for planning permission which is the subject of the
public inquiry;
“eligible person” means –
(a) the
applicant;
(b) the
Chief Officer or any other person whose function is to advise the Chief Officer
or the Minister (as the case may be) on –
(i) planning matters
in general,
(ii) any
objective described in Article 2 of the Law, or
(iii) any
technical matter arising in respect of the application;
(c) any
person to whom the application must be referred under Articles 14 to 17
of the Law;
(d) subject
to Article 7(5)(c), any person who, at the time that person’s
eligibility falls to be assessed, has –
(i) made a
representation in respect of the application in accordance with the Planning and Building (Application Publication)
(Jersey) Order 2006 (other than one who has since indicated a wish to take no further
part in the inquiry), or
(ii) submitted
a statement of case under Article 7; and
(e) any
other person who, at the time that person’s eligibility falls to be
assessed, has been invited by the inspector to contribute to the public inquiry
and agrees to do so;
“inspector”
means the person appointed as such under Article 3, and includes any
assistant inspector;
“Law” means the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002;
“pre-inquiry meeting” means a meeting held by an
inspector under Article 8.[1]
(2) In this Order, any
reference to the submission, circulation or publication of a document is to be
read in accordance with Article 20.
2 Application
of Order
This Order applies where, by virtue of Article 12(2) of the
Law, a public inquiry is to be held in respect of an application for planning
permission.
3 Appointment
of inspector and supporting officers
(1) The Minister shall
appoint a person who is –
(a) appointed,
under Article 107 of the Law, as an inspector for the purposes of Part 7
of the Law; or
(b) to
the Minister’s satisfaction, a person of such qualifications and
experience as are equivalent to those of a person described in sub-paragraph (a),
as the inspector to conduct the inquiry.[2]
(2) If, for any reason, the
person appointed as inspector ceases to be inspector before the public inquiry
is concluded, the Minister may appoint another person as inspector to complete
the inquiry.
(3) The Minister may
appoint as assistant inspectors one or more persons to assist the inspector in
the discharge of his or her functions.[3]
(4) The Minister may designate
an assistant inspector to perform the functions of the inspector for any period
during which the person appointed as inspector is unable to perform those
functions through absence or incapacity.
(5) The inspector may
appoint persons to provide the inspector with advice on any technical matter
arising in the public inquiry.
(6) The Minister shall make
arrangements for the provision of such facilities as the inspector may
reasonably require for the discharge of his or her duties, including (but not
limited to) the provision of administrative support and facilities for
electronic communications.[4]
(7) [5]
4 General
functions of inspector
(1) The Minister shall set
terms of reference for the inspector, which may include a direction to the
inspector to draw conclusions and make recommendations in respect of the
application.
(2) The inspector shall
conduct the public inquiry as he or she thinks fit, subject to the requirements
of this Order and of the terms of reference.
(3) If the inspector
considers it just in all the circumstances to do so he or she may, in any case
or generally –
(a) extend
any period within which anything shall or may be done under this Order;
(b) permit
the use of a greater number of words in a submission than otherwise provided
for under this Order.
5 Announcement
of public inquiry
(1) The Minister shall
announce, in a manner that is likely to bring the matter to the attention of
the public of Jersey, that the public inquiry is to be held.
(2) The announcement shall
specify –
(a) where
and when the application may be inspected, including the address of any inquiry
website;
(b) the
means by which, and the format in which, statements of case may be submitted to
the inquiry;
(c) the
address, in accordance with Article 20, to which any statements of case
should be sent;
(d) requirements,
in accordance with Article 7(2) to (4), as to the content of statements of
case and the documents which may accompany them; and
(e) a
closing date for the submission of statements of case, being not less than 28 days
after the date of the announcement.[6]
(3) The Minister shall send
a copy of the announcement to the applicant and any other eligible persons.
6 Submissions to the inquiry[7]
(1) Submissions may be made
to a public inquiry by any of the following means –
(a) statements
of case under Article 7;
(b) proofs
of evidence under Article 13;
(c) appearance
and being heard in person at the inquiry.[8]
(2) A person entitled to
make a submission to a public inquiry may use that submission –
(a) to
supplement or to replace, but not to repeat substantively, any points made in
any earlier representation submitted by that person; and
(b) to
comment on any representation already submitted by any other person.[9]
7 Statements of case[10]
(1) A statement of case in
respect of the application –
(a) must
be submitted by the Chief Officer; and
(b) may
be submitted by any other person.[11]
(2) A statement of case
must –
(a) be in
writing stating, in not more than 1500 words, the key points which the
person submitting the statement wishes to make in respect of the application;
(b) in
the case of a statement submitted by a person other than the Chief Officer,
contain the person’s name and address; and
(c) be
submitted before the closing date specified in the announcement.[12]
(3) If the person submitting
the statement of case wishes to be contacted other than by post to the address
given under paragraph (2), the statement of case must also include details
of the other means by which and the address (including any electronic
address) at which the person wishes –
(a) to
have documents circulated to him or her; and
(b) if
different, to be contacted for other purposes connected to the public inquiry.[13]
(4) A statement of case may
be accompanied by documents that –
(a) are
concise;
(b) support
any of the key points summarized in the statement; and
(c) do
not contain any matter that is not relevant to those points.[14]
(5) If representations have
been made to the Chief Officer in respect of the application, in accordance
with the Planning and Building (Application Publication)
(Jersey) Order 2023 –
(a) the
Chief Officer shall provide the inspector with copies of those representations;
(b) for
the purposes of this Order, the representations shall be treated as statements
of case; and
(c) the
inspector may request each person who made a representation to provide, before
the closing date for the submission of statements of case, so much of the
information required by paragraphs (2) and (3) as has not already been
provided by that person, and if the person does not submit the information
requested, the inspector may decline to consider any submissions by the person.[15]
(6) The inspector shall,
after the closing date for the submission of statements of case, circulate the statements
of case to eligible persons, and may publish them electronically for that purpose
(whether on a website or otherwise).[16]
8 Pre-inquiry meetings[17]
(1) The inspector may, if
he or she thinks fit, hold one or more pre-inquiry meetings or seminars.[18]
(2) The purpose of a pre-inquiry
meeting is to give information about the conduct of the public inquiry to
eligible persons.[19]
(3) A pre-inquiry meeting
shall not be used as a forum for the making of submissions.[20]
(4) The inspector shall
circulate information regarding a pre-inquiry meeting (which must include, but
need not be limited to, the date, time and address of the meeting) to all
eligible persons.[21]
(5) A pre-inquiry meeting
shall be held in public.[22]
(6) [23]
(7) [24]
9 [25]
10 [26]
11 [27]
12 Timetable
for hearings and submission of proofs of evidence[28]
(1) When the closing date
for submission of statements of case has passed, and any pre-inquiry meetings
have been held, the inspector shall prepare and circulate to eligible persons a
timetable showing –
(a) the
date by which proofs of evidence under Article 13 must be submitted (being
a date not less than 7 days before the inquiry to which they relate) and
(where appropriate) a maximum number of words to be used in each proof of
evidence, whether generally or in relation to a particular matter or matters;
(b) the
date, time and venue for the inquiry; and
(c) so
far as reasonably possible, the matters to be examined and the persons to
appear and be heard on each day on which an inquiry is to be held.[29]
(2) If for any reason the
timetable is revised, the inspector shall circulate a revised version as soon
as possible after the revision, and in the same manner and to the same persons
as the timetable circulated under paragraph (1).[30]
13 Proofs
of evidence[31]
(1) Any eligible person may
submit a proof of evidence, which –
(a) must
be submitted –
(i) in writing,
(ii) to
the address given for the purpose, in accordance with Article 20(1), and
(iii) before
the date specified for the purpose in the timetable circulated under Article 12
(and if it is not submitted before that date, the inspector may decline to
admit in evidence any matter contained in it);
(b) must
raise any substantial point on which that person intends to rely and which has
not already been raised in a previous statement of case;
(c) must
not exceed any maximum number of words specified in that timetable; and
(d) may
be accompanied by supplementary documents that –
(i) are concise,
(ii) support
points made in the proof of evidence, and
(iii) do
not contain any matter that is not relevant to those points.
(2) The inspector shall
circulate to eligible persons all proofs of evidence and supplementary
documents submitted in accordance with this Article.
14 Conduct
of the inquiry[32]
(1) An inquiry shall be
held in public, and may be held on one or more days (and if on more than one,
these may or may not be consecutive days).[33]
(2) A person may appear at an
inquiry in person or through his or her representative, and references in this
Order to a person appearing shall be construed accordingly.[34]
(3) The inspector may determine
all matters of procedure relating to the conduct of an inquiry, including (but
not limited to) –
(a) cross-examination;
(b) the
use and admissibility of expert evidence; and
(c) the
exclusion of any person in the interests of good order,
and for that purpose may impose any reasonable conditions.[35]
(4) [36]
(5) The inspector shall
cause a record to be made of the inquiry.[37]
15 [38]
16 Site
visits
(1) The inspector may visit
the land to which the application relates.
(2) The inspector may make
a site visit either unaccompanied or accompanied.
(3) Where the inspector
arranges to make a site visit accompanied by any person, the inspector shall
not be required to defer the visit in the event that the person is not present
at the time appointed for the visit.
(4) A site visit may take
place at any time between the announcement and the preparation of the report
under Article 17.
(5) A site visit shall be
treated as a part of the inquiry, for the purposes of this Order and by the
inspector and all parties, and in particular the inspector shall regulate the
conduct of the site visit in accordance with the powers conferred by Article 14.[39]
17 Inspector’s
report
(1) When the inspector has
concluded the inquiry the inspector shall –
(a) collate
and summarize for the Minister the evidence submitted to the inquiry; and
(b) prepare
and send to the Minister a report setting out the inspector’s findings
and the grounds for them.[40]
(2) If the terms of
reference require the inspector to draw conclusions or make recommendations, the
inspector shall include them in the report.
18 Minister’s
power to direct that inquiry be re-opened
(1) The Minister may direct
the inspector to re-open the public inquiry if, before the Minister determines
the application, it appears to the Minister –
(a) that
there are material considerations that either are not mentioned in the
inspector’s report or are insufficiently considered in that report; or
(b) that
the report contains any technical information that is incorrect in a material
particular.[41]
(2) The inspector shall
comply with a direction under paragraph (1) and, in doing so, may make
such arrangements as he or she thinks fit for further public inquiry into the
application.
19 Publication
of inspector’s report
As soon as is practicable after the Minister has determined the
application, the Minister shall –
(a) publish the
inspector’s report and the determination;
(b) arrange for a copy of
the inspector’s report to be made available for inspection by the public,
during normal office hours, without charge; and
(c) circulate to eligible
persons details as to how and where the report and determination may be
inspected.[42]
20 Submission,
circulation and publication of documents[43]
(1) A person may make any
submission under this Order by, as specified in the announcement –
(a) sending
it to the postal address given for the inspector; or
(b) transmitting
it to the address given for the inspector for electronic communications.[44]
(2) A requirement in this
Order to circulate a document to any person is satisfied –
(a) by
sending a paper copy to the postal address provided by the person for the
purpose; or
(b) by
transmitting the document to an address for electronic communications provided
by the person for the purpose.[45]
(3) A reference in this
Order to publication of a document or any matter is to publication in such a
manner as is best likely to bring the matter to the attention of those persons
to whom the matter is required or permitted to be published, including by
publication on a website or using any electronic means.[46]
21 [47]
22 Citation
This Order may be cited as the Planning and Building (Public
Inquiries) (Jersey) Order 2008.