Scottish Government

Covering Letter and Respondee Information Form

Invitation to inform and comment

Introduction

1

Building on the strengths of what we do now

3

Wider application of these proposals

7

Our objectives

9

Keeping the best and improving the rest

10

The public local inquiry as a process

11

The right to appeal

13

The right to a planning inquiry in an appeal

15

Improvements that could be made before the appeal inquiry starts

20

The decision of the planning authority and grounds of appeal

21

Incomplete appeals

26

Reducing the time taken to process the appeal and the adversarial context

27

Notice of an intention to take part in a planning inquiry

29

Guidance to the parties to a planning inquiry

32

Sisted appeals

36

Recovery of abortive costs

37

Improvements that could be made once the planning inquiry has started

Planning inquiries that are delayed by argument about procedure

38

Programming the evidence

40

Delay due to the unavailability of key individuals

41

The adversarial approach

42

Reducing the adversarial context - hearings

45

Improvements in procedure after the planning inquiry has closed

New evidence after the inquiry

48

Proposals for major infrastructure projects in Scotland

50

Consideration by the Scottish Executive after the inquiry

53

The public examination of objections to strategic development plans

54

Local plan inquiries

56

Planning appeals, call-ins and local plan inquiries

60

Conclusions

61

Summary of main suggestions

List of questions

References