Hi there boys and girls!
Everything in the Wealden garten is wosy, always was and always will be! Whoopee!
A little chat to-day about your pre inquiry statement ( if you get one ). This should enable you to assess the Council's arguments and formulate your response.

Let us see what Inspector Johnson had to say about an inquiry over land adjacent to Goldings Farm, Turners Green, Three Cups in 1995. "Their refusal to submit a statement of case in response to your client's appeal, in breach of procedural requirements, is an important aspect of their unreasonable approach to this case. In the absence of such a statement, the decision in this case was hampered, not least because there was no fully reasoned argument from them as to why they did not consider the new access to be permitted development".

Let us move up the spectrum from no notice to sixteen hours notice. Ken Kates fell out with one of Amnesian's Masonic mates, ( unwise choice if we may say so Sir! ), and put in an ammendment to the Local Plan. Their objection was due to be heard on October 5th 1990 at 10 a.m. The Council's document SW174 was received when he arrived home from work at 19.30hrs. the evening before. It was 39 pages long. It contained 7 major points of contention. Upon asking the Inspector he found that the D. of E. had received their copy 8 weeks previously.

In one of Horrid Mr. H's little spats the Council's statement of case arrived late - and without the appendices. He received a gracious invitation to collect them from Slime Grove.

And at the Bushy Wood stables inquiry ( in December 1997 ) senior Inspector Vickery had this to say to nice Mr. Scarpa "..Can I just say for the benefit of people who don't know that, prior to 1988 what Mr. Scarpa is describing actually happened, which is that proofs of evidence were exchanged, sometimes at the last moment, between Council and Appellants. It was found that this made inquiries difficult to handle and Inspectors were faced on the morning of the inquiry with documents such as this, which made their task, and that is after all what the inquiry is about, to help the Inspector to come to a fair decision on the proposals, it made their task very difficult in the time if not impossible. So in 1988 the Inquiry Procedures Rules were ... changed, in order to outlaw the practice of exchange of proofs of evidence and instead proofs of evidence were required to be exchanged three weeks before the date of the inquiry irrespective of whether or not ..the opposing side had sent their Proof of Evidence in. Failure to do that could open the Council or the appellant to an award of costs." So 11 years after the rule change, dear old Wealden had not quite got the hang of it because they were still exchanging documentsand the appellant had only "got the appendices yesterday."

Well, what is the upshot of all of this? You could write to Councillors, but bear in mind that they may never get the letter if you use the Council's internal mail ( because the executive may deem your letter "abusive" ). You may find yourself 'phoning the case officer having sent in your proof and received nothing. Check with nice Mr. Brooks at the DETR in Bristol to see if they have received theirs. You will generally find at this stage that your case officer has mysteriously gone into "in a meeting" mode. The Action Group can help firstly by witnessing this petty evasion, then accompanying you up to Slime Grove and and recording you saying that you will not budge until you have received your proof, and then, if the case officer slips out the back, following him home so you can make your request face to face to him on his doorstep. We can wear sandwich boards explaining to his neighbours just why we are there and hand them leaflets. We can have the digital recorders running in case his fertile imagination comes up with something which never happened ( and then D.C. Bebb nips round from Haywards Heath nick for a quiet word in your shell like ). Individually it is very difficult to counter misfeasance in public office, but as a Group..... The question is:- 'Does civic disobedience justify civil disobedience?'

Thank you for reading this, and an even bigger thank you for sponsoring it so generously. If you did not, we would have nothing to write about! And if you are feeling left out - please e-mail us.







*This late service "tough luck, loose your appeal" technique has been used on an awful lot of people.
If Wealden have not sent you their appeal evidence papers at least 21 days before the Appeal hearing date, demand the hearing is adjourned and walk out.
The planning Inspector will have little choice, you are entitled to a fair hearing, and the Wonders of Wealden will have shot themselves in the foot.