Appeal Public Inquiry

Final Decision

The final decision has been made to allow the development
Click here to download the inspector report (pdf 1.5 mb)

Appeal Parties

The Planning inspector hearing this case | John Woolcock

London Concrete | Russell Harris QC - Opening statement
Haringey | James Maurici - Opening statement

Rule 6 participants:
GreenN8 | Kulrag Dassaur - GreenN8's Barrister Nick Flynn - GreenN8's lawyer
Parkside Resident association | Cheryl Walton
GreenN4&N15 | Mario Petro

Hearing Dates

Public Inquiry - Wood Green Civic Centre:

December 2005

• Tue 13.12.05 - PI Hearing
• Wed 14.12.05 - PI Hearing
• Thurs 15.12.05 - PI Hearing
• Fri 16.12.05 - PI Hearing

January 2006

• Tue 10.1.06 - PI Hearing
• Wed 11.1.06 - PI Hearing

February 2006

• Mon 13.2.06 -Local site visit 12:30 - 17:00
• Tue 14.2.06 - London concrete site visit 9:30 18:00
• Wed 15.2.06 -
  9:30 am - 1:00 pm Morning session
  2:00 pm - 3:30/4:00 pm Afternoon session
  7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Evening session. Residents are invited to talk at this session.
• Thurs 16.2.06 - PI Hearing - Wood Green Civic Centre
• Fri 17.2.06 - PI Hearing - Wood Green Civic Centre

March 2006

• Mon 20.3.06 Final session10:00 - 17:00 -Wood Green Civic Centre
  included: Discussion on conditions and Closing arguments.

Day one | 13.12.05

Many people turned up to witness the beginning of the appeal. It started on time and the gallery of Haringey Civic Centre was packed. Both MP's and many local councillors were present at the openings.

After a house keeping exercise came the opening statements:
John Woodcock Planning inspector hearing this case
Russell Harris QC London Concrete's Barrister Opening statement
James Maurici Haringey's Barrister Opening statement

The order of the inquiry was set to hear the case in the following order:

• Haringey
• GreenN8
• Residents
• GreenN8
• GreenN4&N15
• GreenN8
• Mp's and GLA member
• Parkside resident association
• London concrete
• Residents
• London concrete
• Closing statements

Haringey's first witness was Daniele Fiumicelli Haringey expert witness on noise and vibration. After Fiumicelli presented his summery of proof of evidence and answering few leading questions from Maurici, he was crossed examined by Harris.

Haringey's Second witness was David Gurtler Haringey expert witness on Employment and lose of amenity. After Gurtler presented his summery of proof of evidence and answering few leading questions from Maurici, he too was cross examined by Harris. This cross examination was not concluded and was to follow the next morning.

An evening session was arranged and set to take place on Wed. evening to allow non rule 6 residents to make their presentations before the inspector.

The Appeal Process

London Concrete have now appealed to the Secretary of State twice. On both time they have appealed on grounds of non-determination of their planning application to build a concrete plant in N8.

The planning inspectorate have confirmed to Haringey that the appeal will involve a public inquiry and is expected to be held between the 13th-16th of December 2005 at the Wood Green Civic Centre.

London Concrete have now withdrew their first appeal and are proceeding with the 2nd appeal - ref: APP/Y5420/A05/1189822

deadline for comments on this appeal is 15th of November

The inspector hearing this case is John Woolcock
The inspector’s case officer is Stephen Lansdown

Planning inspectorate publication
All Planning inspectorate publications are available on line from here

 “Guide to taking part in planning appeals- If you want to comment on someone else’s appeal”  Is available from here

Pre-inquiry and inquiry procedure                                                         
Nick and Rachel have kindly prepared the document below which outline the pre-inquiry and inquiry procedure.

1. pre-inquiry and inquiry procedure

1.1 Haringey Council should notify GN8 that a second appeal has been made in the next few weeks.  
1.2 Haringey Council and London Concrete must both send by 15 November 2 copies of their statement of case to the Inspectorate. Both parties are also entitled to receive copies of the other party’s statement of case.
1.3 GN8 have sent their statement of case regarding the first appeal, however, they must send in their statement of case with regard to the second appeal  They should do this by 15 November.  GN8 should also receive a copy of London Concrete and Haringey Council’s statement of case from the Inspectorate.
1.4 London Concrete and Haringey may comment on each others statements of case.  GN8 cannot see such comments.  However, GN8 may itself comment on another party’s statement of case.  To do so, it must send 3 copies of its written comments to the Inspectorate by 6 December.  The Inspectorate will then send GN8’s comments to London Concrete and Haringey Council.
1.5 The Inspector may send GN8 a written statement requesting additional information on certain matters.  The Inspector may also decide to hold a pre-inquiry meeting if (i) s/he thinks the inquiry may last for more than 8 days or (ii) if it appears necessary to him/her.  If the Inspector does decide to hold a pre-inquiry meeting then GN8 will receive written notification 2 weeks before the date of the meeting.
1.6 GN8 will receive written notification of the date, time and place decided by the Inspector for the holding of the inquiry.
1.7 The Inspectorate may require Haringey Council to:
* publish a notice of the inquiry in one or more local newspapers at least 2 weeks before the date of the inquiry; or
* post a notice of the inquiry in a conspicuous place near the land.
1.8 If Haringey Council are required to place a notice in the newspaper or near the land, the notice must contain:
* clear statement of the date, time and place of the inquiry;
* a written description of the land;
* a brief description of the subject matter of the appeal; and
* details of where and when copies of the local planning authority’s documents regarding the appeal (i.e. statements of case) can be accessed.

2 Proofs of Evidence

2.1 London Concrete, Haringey Council and GN8 may send evidence to the Inspector to support their arguments.  This must be done 4 weeks before the date of the inquiry i.e. by 15 November.  Further requirements are:
* 3 copies of the proof of evidence to the Inspectorate;
* a copy to each statutory authority;
* if the evidence exceeds 1500 words, a written summary of the evidence.
2.2 If GN8 do provide a summary, it is this summary which will be read out at the inquiry, not the original proof of evidence.  If the proof of evidence refers to any other documents, these documents must also be sent to the Inspectorate.
2.3 The Inspector will send GN8’s proof of evidence to Haringey Council and London Concrete. GN8 may request an inspection of any proofs of evidence sent by Haringey Council or any evidence which has been sent to Haringey Council by London Concrete.  

3 Statement of Common Ground

London Concrete and Haringey Council must prepare a Statement of Common Ground. GN8 can ask for a copy of this statement by writing to Haringey Council.

4 Appearances at the inquiry

4.1 People entitled to appear at the inquiry are:
* London Concrete
* Haringey Council
* GN8 by virtue of their status as an action group and because they have sent their statement of case to the Inspectorate
4.2 Any of the parties may elect a representative to appear on their behalf.  It is recommended that GN8 chooses a representative to ensure that all arguments are put forward in a clear and methodical manner and within the time scale allotted to them by the Inspector, however, this is not a legal requirement.
5 Procedure at the inquiry
At the beginning of the inquiry, the Inspector will set out the main issues to discuss.  Haringey Council will be the first to speak, followed by London Concrete.  GN8 will appear at a suitable time to be decided by the Inspector.

6 Cross-examination

6.1 GN8 can call for someone to give evidence.  If you do decide to do this, London Concrete and Haringey Council are allowed to cross-examine.  At the discretion of the inspector GN8 can cross-examine any person giving evidence on behalf of London Concrete or Haringey Council.
6.2 If GN8 have submitted a written summary of their evidence and they choose to read this out at the inquiry, they may still be cross-examined on the full proof of evidence.  GN8 can avoid this by telling the Inspector that they only wish to rely on the contents of the summary.

7 Site Inspections

The Inspector may make an unaccompanied inspection of the land, before or during an inquiry without telling London Concrete, Haringey Council or GN8.  Haringey Council or London Concrete can request the Inspector to make a site inspection, however GN8 does not have the power to request such an inspection.

8 Procedure post-inquiry

If the inspector thinks it appropriate, an inquiry may be re-opened and the inspector must reopen an inquiry where requested to do so by Haringey Council or London Concrete.  If an inquiry is reopened, the Inspector shall send GN8 a written statement of the matters to be discussed and ask if they would like to submit further evidence on these new matters.

9 Notification of a decision

The inspector will notify in writing all those who appeared at the inquiry of his/her decision and reasons for it.  After notification, GN8 can apply in writing to inspect any document mentioned in the notification.

10 GN8’s pre-inquiry action-list:

(1)    Send 3 copies of the statements of case regarding the second appeal to the Inspector and a copy to each statutory party by 15 November.
(2)    Decide whether to comment on another party’s statement of case.  If GN8 do wish to comment, send these comments to the Inspectorate by 6 December.
(3)    Decide whether to submit proof(s) of evidence e.g. independent expert reports.
(4)    If proof of evidence is to be submitted, send 3 copies to the inspectorate and a copy to each of the statutory parties by 15 November.
(5)    If the proof of evidence is longer than 1500 words, a summary must also be sent.
(6)    Decide if they want a representative to appear on their behalf.

11 What GN8 should receive or can request between now and the inquiry:

(1)    Notification of London Concrete’s second appeal from Haringey Council.
(2)    By 15 November, GN8 should receive London Concrete and Haringey Council’s statement of case.
(3)    May receive written request from Inspector requiring more information on certain points within GN8’s statement of case.
(4)    May receive notification of pre-inquiry meeting 2 weeks before the meeting is scheduled indicating the date, time and place.
(6)    Haringey Council may be required to place notice of the inquiry in a local newspaper or on the land in question.
(7)    May request a copy of Haringey Council or London Concrete’s proof of evidence by writing to Haringey Council.
(8)    May request a copy of statement of common ground prepared by Haringey Council and London Concrete from Haringey Council.