A DATE has been fixed for the public inquiry into plans for a bail hostel.
The Planning Inspectorate said the inquiry into the 25-bed hostel, in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, starts on July 10 in the town's Civic Centre.
It called the inquiry after Chester-le-Street District Council's decision to refuse the Probation Service planning permission. Following a public outcry, council planners rejected the scheme last December, but County Durham Probation Service appealed.
Protestors said the hostel, which could house murderers, rapists or paedophiles, would lead to an increase in local crime and an increase in the fear of crime.
The Probation Service said it wanted to use Chester-le-Street as a test case to prove that local authorities could not refuse planning permission on the grounds of public fear of crime.
It also said a bail hostel was necessary to ease the burden on others, in Teesside and Newcastle. If it loses the public inquiry, it is determined to build it elsewhere in the county.
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