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Advice to Kevin Keddie

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Enquiry

From
Kevin Keddie
Date advice given
27 November 2014
Enquiry type
Email

Protocol for the meeting on Thursday 4th December 2014-11

  1. Mr Jowsey will wish to speak and hand over letters to the three panellists.
  2. I, Kevin Keddie, Mr Jowsey?s assistant, would like to speak and hand over papers to the panellists.
  3. Mr Jowsey is a private individual and therefore does not wish for his name and address the be made public knowledge. When presenting papers and speaking to the panellists can he please leave these details out of the public domain.
  4. I, Kevin Keddie, am also a private individual and ask for my name and address to be kept out of the public domain.
  5. Do we start the proceedings by being asked questions by the panellists and then present our case?
  6. Are Forewinds being represented by a professional body such as a solicitor or barrister?
  7. Will Forewinds be questioning either Mr Jowsey or myself?
  8. Can we question Forewinds?
  9. Or do both parties just present their cases?
  10. We have been informed that the panellists (being planning inspectors), have three months to put in their report to the Secretary of State. The Secretary will then make a final decision after a further three months.
  11. At the end of the three months is the file with the decision and recommendations available for Mr Jowsey to see.
  12. Or is it a case that the Secretary of State will inform us of the decision before Forewinds and is so how much time will Mr Jowsey have before Forewinds are informed?
  13. Once they have made a decision can it then be challenged?
  14. Mr Jowsey has spent a great amount of time and expense getting involved in this matter, even just coming here today, are there any expenses that we would be able to claim?

Advice given

Thank you for your email, I have responded to the points in the order you raise them;

(1) Noted, it will be at the Examining Authority?s (ExA) discretion whether to accept them on the day (2) Noted, as above in point (1)
(3) As this is an open and transparent process, we are unable to withhold the publication of material showing the name of the sender however I can confirm all other personal details will be redacted and not placed in the public domain, please do note the hearing will be recorded and the audio recording will be published to the website (4) As above in point (3) (5) The process is inquisitorial so the ExA will be asking you questions to which you will then be able to answer/present your case as necessary. Please note, should matters be raised which are not within the ExA?s remit, the ExA will alert parties to this so the discussion can be brought back to the matters relevant to the hearing (6) We have not yet received an attendance list from Forewind however based on past experience they do generally bring a solicitor and barrister (7) There will be no cross examination unless there is a formal request which the ExA accepts or whereby they feel it is necessary however this is not common practice meaning only the ExA will be asking Mr Jowsey questions (8) As there will be no formal cross examination (unless the ExA considers it necessary) you will also not be able to ask the developer direct questions as these will need to be directed to the ExA. There is however often an opportunity before the hearing commences and during the break for parties to talk with the developer so if Mr Jowsey or yourself wishes to speak with Forewind separately, the developer will usually have a representative available on the day (9) As above in point (7) and (8) (10) This is correct, the deadline for the ExA?s recommendation to the Secretary of State is 5 February 2015 and then Secretary of State will have a further three months to make a decision (11) The recommendation will not be in the public domain until after the Secretary of State has made its decision (12) The decision will be sent back to the Planning Inspectorate who will then notify all parties, including Forewind and a copy will be published to the website (13) This number appears to be missing (14) There will be a challenge period of 6 weeks following the issue of decision (15) When applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) are examined, some parties may incur significant costs when they take part in the process. In planning decisions, the general rule is that each party bears its own costs: you do not have to pay another party?s costs if you ?lose?. The same applies to examinations into NSIP applications. Guidance issued by the Secretary of State; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awards-of-costs-examinations-of-applications-for-development-consent-orders explains in detail how such an application for an award of costs will be treated, and gives examples of unreasonable behaviour. It also gives examples of good practice which will help avoid the risk of other parties obtaining an award.

In addition to the above, you may find it useful to watch this short video on how the process in general works; http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/

I will be also be available before the start of the hearing if you wish to discuss this in more detail, alternatively as we just discussed on the telephone I will be back in the office on Monday morning.