Welcome to Knowsley MBC
Frequently asked questions
Your Kirkby, your future, your questions answered
We have compiled a series of frequently asked questions based on points already being raised by the public.
- Will there be further meetings prior to the start of the public inquiry itself?
- When will the inquiry itself be taking place?
- Who will be running the inquiry?
- Who will be making the final decision?
- Who can speak at the inquiry?
- When will the decision be made?
- How final is the decision?
- What next?
- Who do I contact for more information?
1. Will there
be further meetings prior to the start of the public inquiry
itself?
Yes. There will be a second pre inquiry meeting to be held at
11.30am on Wednesday 5 November 2008 at the Kirkby Civic Suite on
Cherryfield Drive. This meeting will discuss final programming
details and any outstanding matters.
The Public Inquiry will be chaired by a Government Planning
Inspector and will be held in public. It will allow members of the
public and organisations with an interest in the matter to give
written or oral evidence.
The Inquiry will be held in the Knowsley area.
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2. When will the inquiry itself be
taking place?
The Public Inquiry will begin on Tuesday 18 November 2008. It will run from Tuesday to Friday each week beginning at 10am for approximately 6 weeks (4 weeks prior to Christmas and 2 weeks after). At least one evening session will also take place during the course of the inquiry. The date is to be confirmed.
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3. Who will be running the
inquiry?
The inquiry inspector is Wendy Burden, a chartered town planner.
She will be responsible for hearing from all parties with support
from 2 assistant inspectors and a programme officer. The inspector
and her colleagues are independent and impartial with no interest
in the outcome.
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4. Who will be making the final
decision?
Once she has heard from all parties, the inspector will submit her
recommendations to the Secretary of State for Local Government and
Communities who makes the final decision.
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5.Who can speak at the
inquiry?
Anyone with an interest in the proposals either as a group or individual has the opportunity to speak at the Inquiry. Interested parties have already formally registered their intention to be involved but anyone else wanting to speak should contact Yvonne Parker, the Programme Officer outlining the matters which they would like to raise or attend the inquiry on the opening day.
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6. When will the decision be
made?
When the inquiry closes, the inspector will write up her
recommendations and submit these to the Secretary of State. The
report and findings will then be considered in detail and a final
decision made some time after that. There is no deadline for this,
although most cases are determined within approx 12 weeks from the
close of the inquiry.
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7. How final is the
decision?
The Minister’s decision is final. Only if there are major problems with the process of the inquiry can a judicial review be called. This is highly unlikely and research shows that this happens in less than one per cent of cases.
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8. What
next?
If the plan is given the go ahead, work is expected to start on
the development soon after. The minister may, however, also decide
to impose additional conditions setting out certain things that
must be done in order for the development to go ahead. In this case
some time may be taken to fulfil these conditions before beginning
work.
If proposals are rejected, then there is no alternative plan at
present the council will, however, continue to seek regeneration
for Kirkby town centre.
9. Who do I contact for more information?
Yvonne Parker (Programme Officer)
c/o KMBC
Kirkby Municipal Buildings
Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby
L32 1TX
Email: programme.officer@ntlworld.com
Telephone: 07813 334305
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Last updated 10 November 2008
