Following discussion and agreement by the relevant participants, the hearing programme has been amended to so that the discussions relating to Matter 6 (Policies DM1 to 16, excluding DM9) will now be held after the four sessions already programmed for 30 June and 1 July. This will enable the hearings to be carried out over just two weeks instead of the initially programmed three.
The revised documents are:
The Council submitted a Statement of Common Ground between the Council and National Highways (EX/SoCG/01).
On 23 June 2026, the Inspector opened the hearings into the St. Cuthbert’s Garden Village Local Plan where the Council read out its opening statement (EX/CC/30).
The Inspector has published the agendas for each of the hearing days. It should be noted that these could be subject to change and so people are advised to check this latest news section regularly for updates.
The Council has requested that the following documents bee added to the examination library.
The Inspector has published a draft Hearing Programme (v.4) (EX/INS/04b) which now contains participants for each session.
The Inspector would also like to remind everyone that the deadline for the submission of statements in relation to the Matters, Issues and Questions (MIQs) is 5pm Friday 5th June 2026. He would also like to draw attention the document EX/INS/03b which provides guidance on the preparation of statements, in particular:
There is no need for any party to repeat in detail anything which is already before me – a summary or cross-reference is preferable. Similarly, there is no absolute requirement for representors to submit additional written statements if there is nothing to add to what was in the original representation. Not submitting a written statement does not preclude those who have a right to speak from attending the hearing.
A separate statement must be submitted for each Matter that contains a question or questions that you wish to respond to. Each statement must:
• Include your name and Matter number (see EX/INS/03a) in the top right corner of each page.
• Answer each question that you wish to respond to separately with clear reference to the relevant question number.
• Include a word count at the bottom of the final page.
The Council has submitted further documents for inclusion in the examination library:
The Inspector has published documents in relation to the upcoming examination hearings which are due to commence at 9.30 on Tuesday 22 June 2026 at Cumberland Council Offices at Civic Centre, Rickergate, Carlisle, CA3 8QG.
The Council submitted further documents to the examination:
The inspector has published two new documents, which have been added to the Examination Library
EX/INS/01 - Inspector's Guidance Note
EX/INS/02 - Inspector's Preliminary Questions to the Council
The Inspector has requested that the Council responds to him by midday on 13 February 2026. Please note that representors are not being asked to respond at this stage.