Rights of Way Inspectors
TRAINING NOTES SECTION 1
March 2016
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE
Introduction
1.1 These guidance notes are intended to provide Inspectors who are new to
The Inspectorate and/or new to Rights of Way casework with assistance to
help them deal with the relevant casework effectively and with
consistency. Although the guidance provided is up-to-date at the time of
publication, you should be aware that policies, guidance and legislation
can change over time. Regard should always be had, therefore, to up-to-
date advice in the Knowledge Library.
1.2 These notes do not provide policy advice nor do they seek to interpret
Government policy. In addressing policy issues you will be expected to
have regard to the most up-to-date policy guidance produced by the
relevant Government Department. In the event that there appears to be
a discrepancy between the advice in these notes and the national
guidance, the latter will be conclusive as the original policy source.
1.3 Although the Training Manual relates specifically to work carried out in
England, the general approaches and principles are also relevant to Wales.
However there are differences between the planning systems in Wales and
England and you may need to seek advice from the Planning Inspectorate
team in Wales if you carry out any work in Wales.
The Planning Inspectorate
1.4 The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) is an Executive Agency of the
Department for Communities and Local Government. The main work is
the processing of planning and enforcement appeals and holding inquiries
into local development plans and Local Development Frameworks. The
Inspectorate also deals with a wide variety of other planning related
casework including listed building consent appeals, advertisement
appeals, and reporting on planning applications called in for decision by
the Department for Communities and Local Government (in Wales, the
Welsh Assembly Government). The Inspectorate also deals with various
compulsory purchase orders, rights of way cases and cases arising from
the Environmental Protection and Water Acts and the Transport and
Training Notes – Section 1: Introduction to PINS
March 2016
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Works Act and other Highways Legislation. In addition the Inspectorate
processes applications for awards of costs which may arise from any of
these.
1.5 The work of the Planning Inspectorate also includes national infrastructure
planning under the Planning Act 2008 process as amended by the
Localism Act 2011 and the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. National
Infrastructure (NI) projects are large scale proposals that support the
economy and vital public services, including railways, energy generation
stations, harbours and airports. This casework is managed by the Major
Applications & Plans Division.
The Inspectorate’s Mission, Values and Objectives
1.6 The Inspectorate’s Mission, Values and Corporate Objectives for 2015 –
2018 are set out in the Strategic Plan 2015-2018.
The Inspectorate’s Mission is:
To hold the confidence of Ministers and the public and to use our expertise
and experience to play a key role in positive planning for England and
Wales, fulfilling our purpose by focusing on customer service, our people
and the prudent use of public money
Our Values are:
• Fairness;
• Openness;
• Impartiality.
We will achieve our Mission by ensuring that in dealing with planning and
other casework we fol ow these Values and that our decisions and reports
will take account of:
• published national and local policies;
• relevant planning issues and material considerations; and
• the views of all parties
Our Corporate Objectives are:
• to maintain and enhance the reputation of the Inspectorate and achieve
the highest quality standards in all our work;
• to make the most productive use of all our resources to deliver efficient
and effective customer service on all our casework;
• to work with our sponsors, customers and partners to deliver the Local
Plan process;
• to maintain and develop a well-trained, skilled, diverse. involved and
motivated workforce responsive to changing business needs;
• to align business and financial planning to meet our objectives and provide
a value for money, quality service with minimum environmental impact
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In working towards meeting our objectives we will ensure the privacy of
all personal data supplied to us
Workload
1.7 During the year 2013/2014, PINS issued just over 20,000 decisions. In
the same period 113 Public Path Orders and 53 Definitive Map Modification
Orders were submitted for confirmation, plus 32 schedule 14 appeals.
1.8 PINS also deals with highways related matters and a small number of
cases under other legislation. These include various road proposals; cycle
track orders; tramway and light railway schemes; river navigation and
barrage orders; compulsory purchase orders; Crown Development (e.g.
prisons). The Inspectorate is specifically responsible for Access casework
(resulting from Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000) and
Rights of Way.
Staffing and Organisation
1.9 The Planning Inspectorate is organised into six Directorates; Major
Applications & Plans; Casework; People and Change; Knowledge and
Professional Standards; Finance; and Wales. The Director of Casework is
responsible for all of PINS casework with work carried out by the Rights of
Way Inspectors falling under the Head of Enforcement, Costs & Decisions
and Specialist Casework. The rest of PINS work is delivered by the five
remaining Directorates; this includes the administrative staff who provide
a full range of support services to Inspectors including the allocating
cases, arranging site visits, inquiries and hearings; issuing stationery;
organising training courses etc.
1.10 The Inspectorate has been based in Temple Quay House since April 2001.
The Director for Wales is based at the HQ in Cardiff. We have a workforce
of nearly 800 salaried staff. This includes over 260 full time Inspectors,
augmented by use of over 120 contract and fee paid Inspectors.
About Enforcement, Costs & Decisions and Specialist Casework
1.11 Overall management of the Directorate of Casework is in the hands of the
Director, Phil Hammond, with Stuart Reid as Group Manager for all
Inspectors within the Enforcement and Specialist Casework Group. The
majority of Inspectors dealing with rights of way casework fall within Sub-
Group ENS5 with
as the Sub-Group Leader. Rights of
Way casework is dealt with in procedure teams managed by a Higher
Executive Officer (HEO) – Annie Owen.
is responsible for
the allocation of work to Inspectors on Rights of Way (Chart). The current
PINS Organisational Chart (‘family tree’) can be found on PINS
net
, http://pinsnet.pins.local/information/human_resources_information/o
rganisation_chart/Org_chart.pdf. Details of the rights of way procedure
teams can also be found at Annex 1.1 (A).
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1.12 The rights of way casework team is responsible for all administrative
needs in respect of rights of way casework.
Inspectors must not
communicate directly with any party involved in any case. All pre
and post-event correspondence and other communication is conducted via
the office.
1.13 A list of abbreviations/acronyms commonly used in PINS is attached as
Annex 1.2 and further abbreviations/acronyms may be found on the PINS
Glossary on the front page of PINS net.
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Document Outline