Local Review Bodies - practical considerations for determining reviews, written submissions, site inspections and Hearings
This workshop covers the practicalities of handling reviews and the procedures for obtaining further information prior to a Local Review Body decision. It assumes that participants will be familiar with the more general background to Local Review Bodies and how they operate; and in many cases will have attended the TRA workshop "Local Review Bodies – key principles of their operation and how councillors should conduct themselves".
It is expected that the most popular way of handling Reviews will be by written submission and site inspection but some cases may need to be handled through a Hearing and site inspection. These may be quite complex and place members of the Review Body under new and unaccustomed pressures. For this reason, it is essential that they are properly trained in the conduct of reviews by this method.
All Reviews will require careful handling in order to avoid any legal or other challenges. This workshop will explore some of the practicalities including procedures and the gathering and assessing of written and oral evidence in order to come to a clear and reasoned decision based on sound and defensible planning reasons.
The workshop will be run by two TRA presenters. If the authority has run LRB Workshop 1, it is likely that one of the presenters will have been involved in that workshop to ensure continuity and the input of relevant local arrangements.
Specific content includes:
- practical considerations in relation to the type of applications to be reviewed and identifying the matters to be covered
- how to obtain further information or clarification
- whether an Assessor is needed and their role in a Hearing
- conduct in reviewing written submissions
- evaluation of written submissions - what to take into account, what to ignore, what is important
- practical considerations before and during a Hearing
- the significance of a structured discussion in a Hearing and how to handle it
- evaluation of oral evidence in a Hearing, the need for/role of cross examination and how it should be conducted
- conduct of site inspections/what to focus on during site inspections
- risks associated with site inspections and how to avoid them
- how the Review Body makes decisions and the risks involved
- the practical implications of making a decision: the statement of reasons, the use of conditions, s75 and Good Neighbour Agreements.
The workshop will involve structured discussion based on case studies. It will focus on the good practice knowledge and the range of skills which members of the Local Review Body require in order to participate confidently and competently, making their decisions of high quality, robust/defensible and immune from challenge.