Examination Hearings

 

A public Examination into the soundness of the West of Bewbush Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) commenced on Tuesday 20 January 2009 at Crawley Town Hall, The Boulevard, Crawley.

 

The Examination concluded hearing sessions finished on Wednesday 4 February 2009. The Councils received the Inspector’s Report on Thursday 9 April 2009, which formally closed the Examination.

 

The draft Programme of Hearings and list of the Issues for Examination are available on the Draft Programme page.

 

Information and guidance on assessing the soundness of the JAAP can be found on the Planning Inspectorate website.

 

Note from the Inspector re: Tests of Soundness:

When the West of Bewbush Joint Area Action Plan (the JAAP) was submitted, PPS12 (2004): Local Development Frameworks was in force, but in June 2008 it was replaced by PPS12 (2008): Local Spatial Planning, which is a material consideration. Although the tests of soundness are now presented in a different and simpler way, they cover the same matters as before. The revised PPS12 requires that to be sound the JAAP should be justified, effective and consistent with national policy, along with a continuing requirement for it to satisfy the legal/procedural requirements and to be in conformity with regional planning policy. Justified means that the JAAP should be founded on a robust and credible evidence base, and the most appropriate strategy when considered against the reasonable alternatives. Effective means that the JAAP should be deliverable, flexible and able to be monitored. Given that the former 2004 PPS12 was replaced some seven months ago and that the 2008 PPS12 tests are effectively the same, the Inspector has decided to apply the revised tests to his Examination of the JAAP.

 

The Inspector:

In accordance with Section 20 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Secretary of State has appointed Inspector David R. Vickery DipT&CP MRTPI to conduct the Examination to determine whether the JAAP is sound. The Inspector will examine the representations and prepare a report, which will be binding on the Councils.

 

The Programme Officer:

Pauline Butcher has been appointed as Programme Officer for the Examination and will deal with all the procedural, administrative and programming matters of the Examination, under the direction of the Inspector.

 

Pauline’s contact details are:

 

The Programme Officer  

4th Floor

Town Hall

The Boulevard

Crawley

RH10 1UZ

 

Tel: (01293) 438228

 

Email: Pauline.Butcher@crawley.gov.uk

 

Location of the Examination Hearing:

The Examination Hearing was held in the Committee Rooms at Crawley Town Hall.