26 March 2010
The Planning and Environment Department has announced that Mr Chris Shepley CBE has been appointed as the independent planning inspector for the forthcoming planning inquiry into the draft Island Plan.
The draft Island Plan consultation closes on 31 March 2010 and the Planning and Environment Department has been making preparations for the next stage of the process. This involves setting up an independent public enquiry – called an Examination in Public – at which the policies and proposals of the draft Island Plan, together with all of the representations received during the 6 month consultation period, will be rigorously scrutinised and tested by an independent planning inspector. This is the first time that an Island Plan will go through this process.
Mr Shepley will bring a considerable wealth of planning experience and knowledge to the role of Planning Inspector, having previously held the post of Plymouth’s City Planning Officer and Chief Planning Inspector and Chief Executive of Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales: he is also a past-president of the Royal Town Planning Institute; was awarded a CBE in 2000; and is a highly respected figure within the planning profession. Mr Shepley has worked in Jersey before, having carried out the Island’s first ever public planning inquiry into the Esplanade Quarter development in 2008.
“I am delighted to announce that Chris Shepley has been appointed to carry out this hugely significant piece of work,” said Planning and Environment Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Scate. “He has experience of Jersey’s unique planning system and knowledge of some of the planning issues that we face here in the Island. He has a sharp mind and is able to get the essence of issues very quickly. The high respect with which he is held and his own professional integrity will ensure that the draft Plan and the objections to it will be thoroughly and independently scrutinised. This will help the Minister to decide what changes he might make before it is lodged in the States later this year,” added the Mr Scate.
The deadline for submissions on 31 March 2010 and if people have not submitted comments before this date their views will not be considered by the Inspector at the Examination in Public.
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