Hearing Sessions

The hearing sessions for the examination of the Dudley Local Plan will begin at 10am on Tuesday 10 June 2025. The hearing venue is:

Committee Room 1 and 2
The Council House
1 Priory Road
Dudley
DY1 1HF

The Draft Hearing timetable contains information on the time, date and subject of the hearing sessions.

View the draft hearing timetable

There is a limited amount of space for observers at the hearings, the Council cannot allow large numbers of people to attend. Please only come to watch the hearings if it is necessary.

Seats for observers will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
For health and safety reasons, anyone without a seat will be asked to leave and watch the hearings online instead.

If you are part of a large group or do not need to speak, we strongly encourage you to follow the hearings online.

The Programme Officer will share information soon about how to watch the hearings remotely.

Only people listed as participants in the programme are allowed to speak during the hearings. Observers are not allowed to speak as part of the hearings.

If you want to attend as an observer, please let the Programme Officer know which sessions you plan to watch. Do not sit in any reserved seats—these are only for people taking part in the hearing.

The hearings will be shown live using Microsoft Teams.

A link to watch the hearings will be posted on the examination website.

Both short and long term car parks are available in the Town Centre.

The closest long-term parking to the hearing venue is Stafford Street Car Park, Stafford Street, Dudley, DY1 1SB.

The closest short term car parks are either Tower Street Car Park, Tower Street, DY1 1NA or Stafford Street Car Park.

View an interactive parking map for parking locations in Dudley

The Inspector has asked us to remind you about their guidance notes. These explain the role of the Inspector and the purpose of the hearings. The notes alongside the Inspector's Matters, Issues and Questions will help guide the discussion during the sessions.

If you are taking part in the hearings, please check the latest programme to confirm the hearing times. All participants should make sure they are listed as participants for all the sessions they expect to participate in.

If your name is missing, contact the Programme Officer straight away.

You are responsible for checking the timetable and being on time.

The Programme Officer will endeavour to inform the participants of any late changes to the timetable, but it is the responsibility of participants to keep themselves up to date with the arrangements and programme.

You must also be ready to attend Reserve sessions listed in the programme. The Inspector will use these if any earlier sessions run out of time.

All participants need nameplates. Please make sure the Programme Officer has the names of your participant so she can prepare your nameplates in advance.

There is limited space at the hearing table. Only one person per organisation or group can sit there at a time.

A small number of extra seats ("hot seats") will be available for representors who request more than one speaker.

It is intended that hot seats are only available for people who will be speaking. Where possible it is suggested that support staff are kept to a minimum due to limited observer seating.

If other colleagues wish to view proceedings it is suggested they should watch the livestream instead.

Please tell the Programme Officer the names of all your participants, including hot seaters.

The hearings will take place in Committee Rooms 1 and 2. If you are listed as a participant or hot seater, a nameplate will be placed at your seat. This is your assigned seat—please do not move it or sit anywhere else.

The Planning Inspectorate has produced a short guide for anyone taking part in a Local Plan Examination for the first time:

Local plans guide to taking part in examinations (opens new window)

The hearing venue is close to the Town Centre. There are several places nearby to buy food.

There is an accessible entrance from the street level to the right of the main entrance of the Council House. There is also an accessible lift and adapted toilets on the ground floor.

Hearing loop systems are installed in the hearing room.

If you have any specific needs, please tell the Programme Officer as soon as possible.

Plug sockets are attached to the tables where participants taking part in the Examination will be seated.  There are only a few plug sockets located on the walls in the hearing rooms. Please make sure any devices you need are fully charged before the session..