The approval of plans and projects - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 368

document. This acts as a restraining influence on members not wilfully refusing an
application recommended for approval by the officer (since the arguments presented
could be utilised by the applicant subsequently on appeal).
Any applicant who has a proposal refused or not decided on within the prescribed
period can appeal to the Secretary of State. (The only restraints on making an appeal are
the costs and delay incurred.) In practice most appeals are dealt with entirely by Planning
Inspectors. Occasionally their reports are referred to senior civil servants for decision,
particularly where the interpretation of national policy is involved, and even more rarely
to the Secretary of State herself. Most appeals are dealt with by written representations,
some by hearings (involving a round-table discussion led by the Inspector) and a very
small proportion by public inquiry - the most costly and time consuming method (see
next section). On the basis of the evidence presented, the outcome of an appeal may be
to confirm, overturn or amend the authority's original decision.
22.4 Public inquiries
Public inquiries are held to enable objections to development applications and scheme
orders to be heard by an independent Inspector and for applicants or promoters to put
their case and cross-examine objectors. Inspectors write a report of proceedings with
recommendations to the relevant Minister (Government department) in whose name
the final decision is made to approve, with or without conditions, or to reject.
Historically some of the biggest transport proposals other than roads have been
approved by Acts of Parliament - either as local authority or private member's bills
or as hybrid bills (where supported by the Government). In these cases assessment
is undertaken by select committees in both Houses of Parliament who hear evidence
from petitioners requesting changes to the proposal. This procedure was used in
connection with the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Technically it is
still available although in practice it has been superseded by orders made under the
Transport and Works Acts as far as light rail and similar local schemes are concerned.
In future schemes relating to the national rail network in England will be subject to a
new procedure of 'development consent' explained in the next section.
Major infrastructure projects generally are otherwise considered as a development
proposal of national or regional significance. Currently these are 'called in' by the
Secretary of State (DCLG) or equivalent Ministers in Wales and Scotland rather than
determined by the local planning authority and are automatically subject to a public
inquiry (ODPM 2005c).
More generally transport proposals which require the granting of statutory orders
may be subject to a public inquiry. They include:
• road schemes under the 1980 Highways Act together with orders for the
compulsory purchase of land or alterations to existing rights of way
• traffic regulation orders under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984
• new rail or light rail schemes under the Transport & Works Act 1992 in England
and Wales or Transport and Works (Scotland) Act 2007
• the introduction of road user or workplace parking charges under the Transport
Act 2000.
These orders are made by the Secretary of State (DfT) in England and by equivalent
Welsh and Scottish Ministers.