§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the(a) duration and (b) cost of the inquiry into objections to the East Lothian Local Plan; if he will compensate East Lothian Council for the costs of the inquiry; and if he will make it his policy to require objectors with financial interests in proposed developments to contribute to the costs of inquiries. [84088]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe duration of the East Lothian Local Plan Inquiry is estimated to be 17 weeks, with less than 2 weeks to run.
It is long established practice for parties to local inquiries to meet their own costs, except where unreasonable behaviour by another party justifies an award of expenses. Accordingly, the Secretary of State has no plans to compensate the Council for their costs.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.