Planning
and Building (Covid-19 Bridging Island Plan) (Jersey) Order 2021
Made 22nd March 2021
Coming into
force 23rd March 2021
THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT makes this Order under Articles 3,
4A and 124 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002[1] –
1 Interpretation
In this Order –
“consultation period” is to be construed in accordance with Article 5(2)(d)(iv);
“initial representation” includes –
(a) an amendment lodged by a
Member and treated as a representation under Article 4(1); and
(b) a representation by a
member of the public under Article 6;
“inspector” means a person appointed under Article 7 and
includes, unless otherwise indicated or required by the context, an assistant
inspector designated under Article 7(7) and a substitute appointed under
Article 7(6);
“Law” means the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002[2];
“Member” means a Member of the States Assembly;
“public” means the public of Jersey.
2 Application
This Order applies for the purposes of Part 2 of the Law in
relation to a bridging plan only, and does not modify, derogate from or
supersede a provision of the Planning and Building (Island Plan) (Jersey) Order 2009[3] as that Order applies in relation to all draft Island Plans other
than a bridging plan.
3 Publicity
(1) A requirement in Part 2 of the Law or
in this Order to publicise, or to announce and publish, a document, information
or any other matter is satisfied by –
(a) making electronic copies
of the document, information or matter available for downloading from a
website;
(b) making hard copies of the
document, information or matter available to the public, whether upon request
or by display in places open to the public at reasonable times;
(c) announcing information as
to steps taken under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b); and
(d) circulating information
as to those steps.
(2) Information announced under paragraph (1)(c)
must be announced –
(a) by at least one means
considered, by the person subject to the requirement, to be likely to bring the
information to the attention of the public; and
(b) where a website is used
under paragraph (1)(a), on that website or another website linked to the
first website.
(3) Information must be circulated under
paragraph (1)(d) to –
(a) each Member or member of
the public who has made a representation under Article 6 and who –
(i) has provided an address
for communication, whether postal or electronic, and
(ii) has not subsequently
declined to receive circulated information;
(b) the Minister, if the
person subject to the requirement to circulate information is the inspector;
and
(c) any other person who, by
the time at which the information is to be circulated –
(i) has been invited by the
inspector, under this Order, to contribute in any manner to the examination in
public,
(ii) has agreed to do so, and
(iii) has provided an address
for communication, whether postal or electronic.
(4) Information is circulated under paragraph (1)(d)
by sending it to the address provided by a person for that purpose.
(5) If
a person is subject to a requirement in this Order to announce and publish a
matter other than a document –
(a) that requirement is to be
read as a requirement –
(i) to prepare a document
containing information as to that matter, and
(ii) to announce and publish
that document in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (4); and
(b) the person subject to the
requirement may treat paragraphs (1)(c) and (1)(d) as if they referred to
the information contained in the document under sub-paragraph (a)(i) of this paragraph, rather than to information as to
steps taken under paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b).
(6) A
power or duty under this Order to publicise, or to announce and publish, a
document or to announce or circulate information, is subject to a duty to edit
that document or information to any extent necessary to comply with the Data
Protection (Jersey) Law 2018[4].
4 Representations: general
(1) An
amendment to the draft bridging plan which is lodged by a Member –
(a) must be lodged in
accordance with Article 4A of the Law and with Article 5 or 18 of
this Order, as the case may be; and
(b) if lodged following the
invitation mentioned in Article 5(2)(c), is treated, except where
otherwise indicated or required by the context, as an initial representation
for the purposes of this Order.
(2) A
Member may not lodge an amendment to an amendment except in accordance with
Article 4A of the Law and Article 18 of this Order.
(3) Representations
by members of the public under this Order are only to be submitted by the
following means, namely –
(a) to the Minister, in the
manner required under Article 6;
(b) to the inspector, in the
manner required under Article 10; or
(c) by appearance and being
heard at a thematic hearing under Article 12 or a plenary hearing under
Article 13.
(4) Without
prejudice to paragraph (3), the following are not to be used as a forum
for the submission of representations –
(a) any programme meeting
under Article 9; or
(b) any informal resolution
meeting, administrative meeting, technical seminar or site visit, under Article 11.
(5) The
Minister and the inspector may provide standard forms to assist the making of
representations to them by members of the public, but the use of such forms is
not required.
(6) A
member of the public submitting a representation may use that
representation –
(a) to comment on the draft
bridging plan, or on any amendment to it proposed by
a Member;
(b) to comment on any
representation already submitted by any other person; and
(c) to supplement or to
replace, but not to repeat substantively, any points made in any earlier
representation submitted by the person submitting the representation.
(7) The
Minister or inspector may invite a person who has submitted an initial representation
to provide in writing, and before such date as the Minister or inspector may
specify, either or both of the following, namely –
(a) further information or
background material relevant to that representation; and
(b) a summary of, or briefing
note on, any argument put forward in that representation.
(8) For
the purpose of paragraph (7) anything provided by the Minister to the
inspector may be treated as an initial representation.
(9) For
the purpose of a requirement to announce and publish a representation, anything
provided in response to an invitation under paragraph (7) is to be treated
as part of the representation to which it relates.
(10) A
member of the public submitting a representation must include in that
representation –
(a) their name and postal
address; and
(b) an indication of whether they
wish to receive circulated information as to documents published in the
examination in public.
(11) If
a member of the public wishes to receive circulated information other than at
the postal address provided under paragraph (10)(a), they may include in
the representation an alternative address for postal or electronic
communication for that purpose.
5 Lodging and announcement of proposals
(1) The
Minister must publicise the Minister’s proposals in respect of the bridging
plan by –
(a) lodging those proposals
in the form of a document that is a draft bridging plan; and
(b) announcing and publishing
the matters listed in paragraph (2).
(2) Those
matters are –
(a) the document mentioned in
paragraph (1)(a);
(b) the fact that the
document has been lodged, the date of lodging, and (if different) the date of
commencement of the consultation period;
(c) an invitation to Members
to submit initial representations, whether by way of lodging proposed
amendments to the draft bridging plan, or in the same manner as members of the
public under sub-paragraph (d);
(d) an invitation to members
of the public to submit initial representations, together with details
of –
(i) the address to which the
representations may be submitted,
(ii) if a facility has been
made available for representations to be posted on a website, the details of
that website,
(iii) the requirements of
Articles 4 and 6 as to the form and content of representations, and
(iv) the date by which
representations must be submitted, being no earlier than the end of the period
of 12 weeks beginning with the date of lodging (the “consultation period”);
and
(e) the Minister’s
appointment of an inspector to conduct an examination in public under Article 7(1).
6 Initial representations
(1) During
the consultation period, any person may submit a representation in respect of
the draft bridging plan (an “initial representation”).
(2) An
initial representation submitted by a member of the public must –
(a) summarise, in not more
than 1,500 words, the key points that the person wishes to make in respect
of the draft bridging plan;
(b) be submitted in writing
to the address or website mentioned in Article 5(2)(d)(i)
and (ii), and by no other means; and
(c) be submitted before the
closing date for representations mentioned in Article 5(2)(d)(iv).
(3) An
initial representation submitted by a Member or by a member of the public may
be accompanied by a supplementary document that –
(a) is concise;
(b) supports any of the key
points summarised in the representation;
(c) does not –
(i) contain any matter which
is not relevant to the representation, or
(ii) repeat any matter in the
representation or in any other document submitted by the person; and
(d) is not vexatious or
abusive.
(4) If,
in the view of the Minister or the inspector, a document does not comply with
paragraph (3), the Minister or inspector may disregard the document in
whole or in part, but in such a case –
(a) must record that the
document has been disregarded and the respect in which it does not comply with
paragraph (3); and
(b) may notify the person who
submitted the document that the document has been disregarded and of the reason
for doing so, and may (if it appears that the document would otherwise be of
value to the examination in public) give that person the opportunity to rectify
the respect in which the document is not compliant.
7 Appointment of inspector etc.
(1) The
Minister must, before the end of the consultation period, appoint a person as
inspector to conduct an examination in public, in which representations are to
be heard in public before the draft bridging plan is debated by the States.
(2) The
Minister may appoint one or more persons as assistant inspectors, to assist the
inspector in the discharge of his or her functions.
(3) The
Minister must set terms of reference for the inspector and assistant
inspectors.
(4) The
Minister may appoint as an inspector or assistant inspector a person who –
(a) does not fall within
paragraph (5); and
(b) appears to the Minister
to have –
(i) qualifications in
planning matters,
(ii) experience in the
conduct of planning inquiries or examinations in public, and
(iii) no prior involvement
directly or indirectly with the preparation of the draft bridging plan.
(5) A
person falls within this paragraph if that person –
(a) is a Member;
(b) holds appointment to any judicial
office in Jersey;
(c) has fallen within any of
sub-paragraphs (a) or (b) at any time within the period of 2 years
before the date of the proposed appointment, other than as an inspector
appointed under this Order or the Planning and Building (Island Plan) (Jersey)
Order 2009[5] or otherwise for the
purposes of Part 7 of the Law;
(d) is providing services to
the States in relation to any function under the Law; or
(e) has a significant direct
or indirect personal or financial interest in any of the matters set out in the
draft bridging plan.
(6) If,
for any reason, the person appointed as inspector ceases to be an inspector
before the inspector’s report is produced under Article 16, the Minister must
appoint another person as inspector in accordance with paragraph (4).
(7) The
Minister may designate one of the assistant inspectors to perform the functions
of the inspector for any period during which the person appointed as inspector
is unable to perform those functions through temporary absence or incapacity.
(8) The
Minister may appoint persons to provide the inspector with advice on any
technical matter arising in the examination in public.
(9) The
Minister must, if the inspector so requests, arrange for the inspector to be
able to control the content of a website which –
(a) is to be used by the
inspector for the purposes of the examination in public;
(b) is to be maintained or
arranged by an administration of the States; and
(c) may include a facility,
subject to the inspector’s control of the content of the website, for members
of the public to submit representations by posting them on the website.
(10) The
Minister must ensure that administrative support is available to the inspector
and any assistant inspectors, including in particular for the purposes of the
maintenance and operation of any website under paragraph (9).
8 Inspector’s general functions
(1) Subject
to the requirements of this Order and of the inspector’s terms of reference,
the inspector may conduct the examination in public in such a manner as the
inspector thinks fit, and in particular may choose –
(a) the topics for
examination;
(b) the persons to be invited
to participate in any part of the examination;
(c) the format and nature of
the examination;
(d) the format of evidence to
be submitted.
(2) If
the inspector considers it just in all the circumstances to do so, the
inspector may, in any particular case or generally –
(a) extend any period within
which anything must or may be done by the inspector under this Order, provided that
the Minister is satisfied that such an extension is consistent with the Law and
with the inspector’s terms of reference; and
(b) disregard any limitation
in this Order on the form or extent, including a limitation as to the number of
words, of a representation.
9 Preliminary matters (draft timetable, programme meeting, etc.)
(1) Before
the examination in public begins, the inspector must –
(a) consider all documents and
information provided to the inspector by the Minister and relating to the draft
bridging plan;
(b) make enquiries as
to –
(i) which persons who have
submitted representations wish to appear and be heard at a plenary hearing,
(ii) which persons who have
submitted representations would wish to appear and be heard at a thematic hearing,
if selected by the inspector, and
(iii) which other persons, whom
the inspector is considering inviting to appear and be heard at a thematic or
plenary hearing, would wish to accept such an invitation;
(c) prepare a draft list
of –
(i) the matters to be
examined at a hearing, with an indication of which, if any, are to be the
subject of any thematic hearing,
(ii) persons who have been
selected or invited and have agreed to appear and be heard at any thematic
hearings, and
(iii) the dates on which hearings
are to be held; and
(d) announce and
publish –
(i) the draft list prepared
under sub-paragraph (c), and
(ii) an invitation to comment
on the draft list, specifying the means by which to do so and any period
following publication of the list in which to do so.
(2) The
inspector may, if the inspector considers it necessary to do so, make
arrangements to hold a programme meeting.
(3) The
purpose of a programme meeting is to discuss the draft list published under paragraph (1)(c)
and to assist the inspector in deciding on the timetable under paragraph (6).
(4) If
a programme meeting is held, it must be held in such a way as to be accessible
to the public, and the inspector must announce and publish –
(a) the date, time and
purpose of the programme meeting;
(b) if the meeting is held
either wholly or partly online, details of the website or link by means of
which the meeting may be accessed; and
(c) the address of the venue,
if any, at which the meeting may be attended.
(5) If
no programme meeting is to be held, the inspector may announce and publish
guidance as to how members of the public may make submissions to the inspector
in respect of the draft list and the timetable.
(6) The
inspector must produce a timetable (and, if a programme meeting is held, must
do so after that meeting) having regard to any time limits imposed in respect
of the draft bridging plan by Article 4A of the Law, and showing –
(a) the closing date or dates
by which any further representations under Article 10 must be submitted,
and the maximum number of words to be used in such a representation;
(b) in respect of any
administrative meeting, technical seminar or site visit –
(i) the date and time,
(ii) the venue,
(iii) whether it is public or
private, and
(iv) if it is private, the
persons invited;
(c) the date, time and venue
for each hearing, and whether it is to be thematic or plenary; and
(d) in respect of each
thematic hearing, the matters to be examined and the persons to appear and be
heard.
(7) The
inspector must announce and publish –
(a) the timetable; and
(b) an invitation to persons who
have submitted initial representations during the consultation period, to
submit further representations to the inspector, with details of –
(i) a postal address and an
address for electronic communications, to which the representations may be sent
or transmitted,
(ii) if a facility has been
made available for the public to post representations on a website, the details
of that website, and
(iii) the requirements of
Articles 4 and 10 as to the submission of such representations.
(8) The
inspector –
(a) may revise the timetable
if the inspector considers it expedient to do so; and
(b) must announce and publish
any revision to the timetable.
10 Further
representations
(1) After
publication of the timetable, further representations may be submitted in
accordance with this Article, by –
(a) a Member, or member of
the public, who has submitted an initial representation; and
(b) any other person invited
by the inspector to do so.
(2) A
representation under this Article (a “further representation”) must relate to –
(a) a matter in relation to
which the inspector has invited the representation;
(b) a matter which has
previously been raised by a representation in respect of the draft bridging
plan; or
(c) if a thematic or plenary
hearing is to be held, a matter to be addressed at the hearing, irrespective of
whether the person making it is to appear and be heard at that hearing.
(3) A
further representation –
(a) must be submitted –
(i) in writing, to the
address or website mentioned in Article 9(7)(b)(i)
and (ii), and by no other means, and
(ii) before the date
specified in the timetable in respect of the hearing for which it is submitted;
(b) must be material –
(i) to the draft bridging
plan, if submitted in respect of a plenary hearing, or
(ii) to the matters to be
examined at the thematic hearing in respect of which it is submitted;
(c) must raise any
substantial point on which that person may intend to expand by appearing and
being heard at any hearing;
(d) must not exceed the
maximum number of words specified in the timetable for the hearing in respect
of which it is submitted; and
(e) may be accompanied by a
supplementary document that –
(i) is concise,
(ii) supports points made in
the representation that it accompanies, and
(iii) does not contain any
matter that is not relevant to those points.
(4) Despite
paragraph (1) the inspector may accept a representation submitted by a person
not mentioned in that paragraph, if the inspector considers that the
representation is material to the draft bridging plan or to the matters to be
examined at a thematic hearing.
(5) If
the inspector receives a representation which the inspector considers to be
material under paragraph (4), but which does otherwise not comply with a
provision of paragraph (2) or (3), the inspector may require the
representation to be resubmitted, in such form and complying with such
provisions of those paragraphs as the inspector may reasonably require.
(6) The
inspector must, within such period prior to a hearing as the inspector
considers expedient, announce and publish any further representations and
supplementary documents submitted or treated as submitted in respect of that
hearing.
11 Inspector’s
powers to hold meetings, site visits etc.
(1) The
inspector may invite any 2 or more of the persons listed in paragraph (3)
to discuss at an informal resolution meeting any issue to be aired at a
hearing.
(2) The
purpose of an informal resolution meeting is to seek to resolve, narrow or
clarify any disagreement on the issue among any of the persons invited, before
the hearing at which the issue is to be aired.
(3) The
persons are –
(a) any person who has
submitted an initial representation in respect of the issue;
(b) the Minister; and
(c) any other person whom the
inspector believes could usefully contribute to the meeting.
(4) An
informal resolution meeting must be held in private and in the absence of the
inspector, and no record need be kept of it.
(5) The
inspector may, if the inspector thinks fit, hold one or more administrative
meetings, technical seminars or site visits.
(6) The
purposes for which an administrative meeting may be held are –
(a) to discuss the conduct of
the examination in public with invited persons or with any persons who wish to
participate in the examination;
(b) to review the timetable;
or
(c) any other purpose related
to the arrangements for the examination.
(7) Paragraph (6)(b)
does not constrain the inspector’s power under Article 9(8) to revise the
timetable without first holding an administrative meeting.
(8) An
administrative meeting may be held in public or in private.
(9) The
purpose of a technical seminar is to provide technical information relevant to
the examination in public to persons who wish to participate in the
examination.
(10) A
technical seminar must be held in public.
(11) An
administrative meeting or technical seminar may take place at any time between
the programme meeting and the final plenary hearing.
(12) The
inspector must cause a record to be made of any administrative meeting or
technical seminar.
(13) The
purpose of a site visit is for the inspector to see any land specifically
referred to in the draft bridging plan or in any representation.
(14) The
inspector may make a site visit either unaccompanied or accompanied, and at any
reasonable time determined by the inspector.
(15) If
the inspector arranges to make a site visit accompanied by any person, the
inspector is not required to defer the visit in the event that the person is
not present at the time appointed for the visit.
12 Thematic
hearings
(1) If
an inspector considers that a separate hearing would assist the examination of
any matter relevant to the examination in public, the inspector may hold one or
more thematic hearings on the matter.
(2) If
the inspector holds a thematic hearing, the inspector must invite, to appear
and be heard at that hearing –
(a) the Minister; and
(b) such other persons as
appear to the inspector to be likely to be able to contribute usefully to the
examination of the subject matter of that hearing.
(3) In
considering the persons to be invited under paragraph (2)(b), the
inspector must have particular regard to –
(a) any person who has submitted
an initial representation which appears to the inspector to be relevant to the
subject matter of the hearing; and
(b) any person who has
submitted a further representation under Article 10 in respect of that
hearing.
13 Plenary
hearing
(1) The
inspector must hold at least one plenary hearing.
(2) If
a thematic hearing is held, the final hearing in the examination in public must
be a plenary hearing.
(3) Subject
to paragraphs (4) to (6), the inspector may invite any person to appear
and be heard at any plenary hearing.
(4) The
inspector must invite the Minister to appear and be heard at every plenary
hearing.
(5) A
person who has submitted a further representation under Article 10 is
entitled to appear and be heard at the final plenary hearing, unless –
(a) the representation was
submitted in respect of a thematic hearing;
(b) the person has appeared
and been heard at a previous plenary hearing; or
(c) the inspector considers
that nothing in the person’s representation needs to be heard in public at the final
plenary hearing, and the inspector notifies the person accordingly.
(6) In
considering the persons to be invited under paragraph (3), the inspector must
have particular regard to any person who has submitted an initial
representation appearing to the inspector to be relevant to any matter to be considered
in the plenary hearing.
(7) If,
before the end of the final plenary hearing, the inspector believes that it may
be expedient, in the Inspector’s report under Article 16, to recommend an
amendment to the draft bridging plan which has not been raised in a
representation, the inspector –
(a) must consider how best to
obtain representations on the potential amendment;
(b) may invite any person to
provide evidence or opinion as to that amendment, in such form as the inspector
may consider appropriate; and
(c) may adjourn and reconvene
the examination in public for the purpose of obtaining and considering any
representations, evidence or opinion under this paragraph.
14 Conduct
of hearings
(1) A
hearing must be held in such a way as to be accessible to the public, and the
inspector must announce and publish the date, time and purpose of the hearing
and –
(a) if the hearing is held
either wholly or partly online, details of the website or link by means of
which the hearing may be accessed; or
(b) if the hearing is not held
online, the address of the venue at which the hearing may be attended.
(2) A
person may appear at a hearing in person, or through his or her officer (in the
case of the Minister) or representative, and references in this Order to a
person appearing are to be construed accordingly.
(3) The
inspector may, subject to any conditions which the inspector considers
appropriate –
(a) allow a person appearing
at a hearing to be accompanied by any person having technical knowledge of a
matter to be considered in that hearing; and
(b) allow the person having
that knowledge to speak at that hearing either in place of or in addition to
the person appearing.
(4) The
inspector must not allow any cross-examination at a hearing.
(5) The
inspector must cause a record to be made of a hearing.
15 Inspector’s
power to exclude, etc.
(1) In
this Article “session” means a programme meeting, administrative meeting,
technical seminar or hearing.
(2) Paragraph (3)
applies if the inspector considers that a person is behaving in a disruptive
manner when appearing or present at a session.
(3) The
inspector may require the person to leave the session and may further –
(a) refuse to permit the
person to return to the session or to any later session; or
(b) permit the person to
return to the session, or to any or all of the later sessions, only on
conditions specified by the inspector.
(4) The
inspector may adjourn and reopen a session at any time to deal with any
disruption, or for any other purpose.
16 Inspector’s
report
(1) Following
the conclusion of the hearings and any site visit the inspector must –
(a) collate, for the purpose
of the inspector’s report to the Minister under sub-paragraph (c), all
representations made in the examination in public;
(b) consider whether the draft
bridging plan complies with Article 4(3) of the Law and, if not, what
amendments if any should be made to it; and
(c) prepare and submit to the
Minister a report in writing as to the draft bridging plan and the
consideration of it in the examination in public.
(2) The
inspector’s report must –
(a) include, but need not be
confined to –
(i) the main issues raised by
the representations and in the examination in public, and
(ii) the results of the inspector’s
considerations under paragraph 1(b) and (c); and
(b) otherwise comply with the
inspector’s terms of reference, which may include provision specifying a date
by which the report must be submitted, provision as to the format of the report
and as to submission of a draft of the report for checking for factual or
typographic errors.
17 Minister’s power to re-open examination in public
(1) The
Minister may direct the inspector to re-open the examination in public if it
appears to the Minister that –
(a) there are material
considerations, other than the Minister’s policy, which are either not mentioned,
or insufficiently considered, in the inspector’s report; or
(b) the report contains any
technical information which is incorrect in a material particular.
(2) The
inspector must comply with a direction under paragraph (1) and, in doing
so, may make such arrangements as the inspector thinks fit for further conduct
of the examination.
18 Minister
to publish inspector’s report, further amendments etc.
(1) As
soon as practicable after receiving it, the Minister must announce and publish
the inspector’s report and must present the report to the States.
(2) If,
having considered the report, it seems to the Minister that the draft bridging
plan should be amended in any respect, the Minister may –
(a) lodge an amendment to the
draft bridging plan accordingly; and
(b) lodge an amendment to an
amendment lodged by any other Member.
(3) Following
publication of the inspector’s report, a Member other than the Minister may lodge
an amendment to the draft bridging plan, or an amendment to a previously lodged
amendment, relating to any substantive issue in respect of the draft bridging
plan which has already been considered, whether during the consultation
process, during the examination in public, or in the inspector’s report.
19 Citation and commencement
This Order may be cited as the Planning and Building (Covid-19
Bridging Island Plan) (Jersey) Order 2021 and comes into force on the day after
it is made.
Deputy J.H. Young of St. Brelade
Minister for the Environment