The Countryside Access (Appeals Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2002

Part IV APPEALS DETERMINED FOLLOWING A HEARING

Application

10.  Regulations 11 to 16 apply to appeals which are to be determined following a hearing.

Exchange of evidence

11.  Regulation 8 is to apply to an appeal to be determined following a hearing as it does to an appeal to be determined on the basis of written representations.

Date and notification of a hearing

12.—(1) The National Assembly must:

(a) as soon as practicable, notify the appellant, the respondent, any person who has made representations in relation to the appeal and any other person as it thinks fit, of the name of the appointed person who will conduct the hearing;

(b) as soon as practicable after any change in the identity of the appointed person, give notification of that change to those persons entitled to be notified in accordance with sub-paragraph (a), unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so before the hearing is held, in which case the name of the appointed person and the fact of that person’s appointment must be announced at the commencement of the hearing;

(c) unless the National Assembly agrees a lesser period of notice with the appellant and the respondent, give not less than 4 weeks' written notice to the appellant, the respondent, any interested person and such other persons as it thinks fit of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing; and

(d) not less than 2 weeks before the date fixed for the holding of a hearing, publish a notice of the hearing in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land is situated.

(2) Every notice of a hearing given in accordance with paragraph (1)(c) or published in accordance with paragraph (1)(d) must contain:

(a) a statement of the date, time and place of the hearing and of the powers enabling the National Assembly to determine the appeal in question;

(b) a written description of the land sufficient to identify its location and extent;

(c) a brief description of the subject matter of the appeal; and

(d) details of where and when copies of documents relevant to the appeal may be inspected.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the National Assembly may vary the date fixed for the holding of the hearing, whether or not the date as varied is within the period otherwise required by that paragraph and paragraph (1)(c) and (d) apply to a variation of a date as they applied to the date originally fixed.

(4) The National Assembly may vary the time or place fixed for the holding of the hearing and must give such notice of any variation as appears to it to be reasonable.

Rights of attendance at and participation in a hearing

13.  The appellant and the respondent are entitled to attend and take part in a hearing, and the appointed person may permit any other persons to do so (whether on their own behalf or on behalf of any other person).

Procedure at a hearing

14.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in these Regulations, the appointed person may determine the procedure at a hearing.

(2) A hearing is to take the form of a discussion led by the appointed person and cross-examination is not to be permitted unless the appointed person considers that it is required to ensure proper examination of the issues relevant to the appeal.

(3) An appointed person who considers that cross-examination is required under paragraph (2) must consider, after consulting the appellant and the respondent, whether the hearing should be closed and an inquiry held instead.

(4) At the start of the hearing, the appointed person must identify the issues which appear to the appointed person to be the main issues to be considered at the hearing and any matters on which the appointed person requires further explanation from any person entitled or permitted to take part.

(5) Nothing in paragraph (4) is to preclude any person entitled or permitted to take part in the hearing from referring to issues which they consider relevant to the consideration of the appeal but which were not issues identified by the appointed person pursuant to that paragraph.

(6) A person entitled to take part in a hearing may, subject to the foregoing and paragraphs (7) and (8), call evidence but, the calling of evidence is otherwise to be at the appointed person’s discretion.

(7) The appointed person may refuse to permit the giving of oral evidence or the presentation of any other matter which the appointed person considers to be irrelevant or repetitious but, where the appointed person refuses to permit the giving of oral evidence, the person wishing to give the evidence may submit any evidence or other matter in writing to the appointed person before the close of the hearing.

(8) The appointed person may:

(a) require any person attending or taking part in a hearing who, in the opinion of the appointed person, is behaving in a disruptive manner to leave; and

(b) refuse to permit that person to return or permit that person to return only on such conditions as the appointed person may specify,

but any such person may submit any evidence or other matter in writing to the appointed person before the close of the hearing.

(9) The appointed person may allow any person to alter or add to a statement so far as may be necessary for the purposes of the hearing, but the appointed person must (if necessary by adjourning the hearing) give every other person entitled to take part in and who is actually taking part in the hearing an adequate opportunity of considering any fresh matter or document.

(10) The appointed person may proceed with a hearing in the absence of any person entitled to take part in it.

(11) The appointed person may take into account any written representation or evidence or any other document which the appointed person has received from any person before a hearing opens or during the hearing provided that the appointed person discloses it at the hearing.

(12) The appointed person may from time to time 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 to be required.

Decision after a hearing

15.—(1) The appointed person may disregard any written representations, evidence or other documents received after the hearing has closed.

(2) If, after the close of the hearing, the appointed person proposes to take into consideration any new evidence or any new matter of fact (not being a matter of government policy) which was not raised at the hearing and which the appointed person considers to be material to the decision, the appointed person must not do so without first:

(a) notifying persons entitled to take part in the hearing (whether or not they attended the hearing) of the matter in question; and

(b) affording them an opportunity of making written representations or of asking for the re-opening of the hearing,

provided such written representations or request to re-open the hearing are received by the National Assembly within 3 weeks of the date of the notification.

(3) An appointed person may cause a hearing to be re-opened and the appointed person must do so if asked by the appellant or the respondent in the circumstances and within the period mentioned in paragraph (2) and where a hearing is re-opened:

(a) the appointed person must send to the persons entitled to take part in the hearing and who took part in it a written statement of the matters with respect to which further evidence is invited; and

(b) regulation 12(1)(c) and (d) are to apply as if the references to a hearing were references to a re-opened hearing.

Notification of decision

16.—(1) The decision of the appointed person, and the reasons for it, must be notified in writing to:

(a) the appellant;

(b) the respondent;

(c) any other person who, having taken part in the hearing, has asked to be notified of the decision.

(2) Any person entitled to be notified of the decision under paragraph (1) may apply to the National Assembly, in writing, for an opportunity to inspect any documents listed in the notification and the National Assembly must afford that person that opportunity.

(3) Any person making an application under paragraph (2) must ensure that it is received by the National Assembly within 6 weeks of the date of the decision on the appeal.