At the last hearing session the Inspector will indicate when they expect to be in a position to deliver the report. The Inspector's report is binding.
If necessary, the Inspector may be asked by the planning authority to suggest modifications to the Local Plan in order to address any issues or soundness or procedural requirements that are identified during the examination. If the Inspector recommends substantial changes to the Plan then the authority may need to consult on these proposed changes for a six-week period and any comments received during this time will then be considered by the Inspector before the final report is issued. It is possible that the Inspector may also request a further hearing session to consider any representations.
If the Inspector identifies any fundamental issues with the Local Plan they may find it to be ‘unsound’ and recommend that the Plan should not be adopted. The authority will then need to consider whether to withdraw the Plan and prepare a new document. If the planning authority withdraw the plan then they may decide to make modifications to the existing document to address the Inspectors concerns, however they will still need to reconsult on the modified plan before resubmitting it for a new examination.