§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to amend the Town and Country Planning Acts to place a reasonable time limit or control on the length of public inquiries for major engineering projects.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneNo. The length of a public inquiry depends on the amount of controversy over the proposed development, and the complexity of the issues. If a time limit were imposed, there would be a danger that some parties would not have a proper opportunity to present their case, and the inquiry would not then fulfil its purpose of ensuring that the Secretary of State was fully informed on all the material issues before reaching his decision. Inspectors already have powers to exclude evidence or argument that is repetitious, irrelevent or obstructive, and to ensure that the inquiry runs as smoothly speedily and efficiently as possible. We are now developing a code of practice for the pre-inquiry stages of major inquiries which should assist them in this task.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list showing the duration of the six longest major public inquiries which have been held under the Town and Country Planning Act since 1979.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneFully comprehensive records of the duration of such inquiries do not exist, but the following table has been compiled from the best information available:
570W
Inquiry into Starting Date No. of Sitting Days Stansted-Heathrow 5th Terminal Proposals 29.9.1981 258 Coin Street Redevelopment (2nd inquiry) 7.4.1981 88 Vale of Belvoir Coalfield Proposal 30.10.1979 84 Coin Street Redevelopment(1st inquiry) 22.5.1979 83 Gatwick 2nd Terminal Proposal 29.1.1980 75 Alexandra Palace Redevelopment 16.2.1982 69