Third Party Appeals under the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 (FOI)

​​Request

Questions Re Third Party Appeals under the PLANNING and BUILDING ( Jersey ) Law 2002

1. Please advise the current Planning Appeal charges applied to Third Parties pursuing an appeal through the Planning Tribunal?

2. From year 2018 /19/20/21/22./23/2024 please advise the gross annual actual cost of the years mentioned of Planning Appeals?

3. What is the cost of engaging a UK Planning Inspector to hear and determine a Third Party Appeal?

4. What expenses are paid ie Flights/ Hotels / transport ( hire Car ) dining etc to UK Inspectors whilst in Jersey..

5. A Third Party appealing a Planning Decision after paying the Public Appeal Charge are appellants liable to any other costs incurred by the Planning Tribunal in engaging an independent Planning Inspector?

6. Can the Planning Tribunal reject third party applications for an appeal if seen to be hopeless or vexatious etc ?

7. Has any appellant been fined or censored for cancelling at a late stage in the appeal process for any infractions of the above 2002 Planning Appeal Law 

Response

1. 

The information requested is exempt under Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the information is accessible on www.gov.je ​and can be found in the link below:

Judicial Greffe Appeals A Brief Guide 2024.pdf​

2. 

The four full time staff, the offices, IT infrastructure, meeting rooms and the two hearing rooms at the Tribunal Service’s International House office support all the different tribunals which are within the remit of the service - Employment and Discrimination, Mental Health Review, Planning, Social Security, Charity, Health and Safety and the Commissioners of Appeal for Tax; in addition, the service manages the registration of Trade Unions and Employer Associations. The meeting and hearing rooms are also available for use without cross charge by other divisions of the Judicial Greffe or other Departments and may be used for a fee by third parties.

Given the shared nature of the infrastructure outlined above, information is not held separately in our records of the specific overhead costs which are incurred by the Planning tribunal which administers Planning Appeals.

While the costs of the planning inspectors are accounted for separately, the fact that the Planning tribunal shares its infrastructure with all the other services supported by the Tribunal Service office means that records are not held which show the gross annual actual cost of the Planning Appeals. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 therefore applies.

3. 

The marginal cost, ignoring the overheads of the Tribunal Service, of engaging an Inspector is determined by a day rate which is paid pro rata in half or full days plus expenses. The current day rate is £383.25 gross. On a single visit an inspector will hear a mixture of appeals and we do not hold records separating out the costs of third party appeals.

4. 

Inspectors are reimbursed for all reasonably and properly documented expenses they incur performing their duties as an Inspector.

5. 

The Appellant only has to pay the required fee to the Planning tribunal.

6. 

Part 7 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002​ which makes provisions for planning appeals includes the procedures to be followed by the Judicial Greffier in administering the Planning tribunal. There is no provision in the Law defining a hopeless or vexatious appeal or allowing the Greffier to identify or reject such appeals.

7. 

The Planning tribunal is a creature of statute and that means that it can only exercise those powers which are set out in the statute. There is no provision in the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002​ for any fine or censure of an Appellant who withdraws an appeal.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.​