A PUBLIC inquiry, which had been postponed twice and was expected to last days was halted after half-an-hour yesterday.

The inquiry, which had been postponed twice because of the poor health of appellant Brent Stephenson, was expected to last at least two days.

But it finished 30 minutes after it was opened, when both parties agreed that the matter could be dealt with in writing.

Mr Stephenson is appealing against Teesdale District Council's decision to refuse planning permission to convert Central Buildings, at Staindrop, into an antiques centre.

Mr Stephenson, who attended the hearing at Barnard Castle attached to an intravenous drip, had also appealed against an enforcement notice regarding the removal of a storage trailer on the same site. He later withdrew that appeal.

Mr Stephenson told planning inspector James Griffiths that he had been discharged from hospital to go to the hearing, because he had been advised that if he did not turn up he would lose the appeal.

But he then told the inquiry that he was not well enough to conduct his case and asked for an adjournment to allow written representations to be made.

Barrister Richard Merritt, acting on behalf of Teesdale District Council, told the inspector that it had always been the council's view that the matter should have been dealt with by written representations.

That view was backed by the authority's head of planning, Ken Hughes.

Mr Griffiths gave Mr Stephenson until January 10 to submit any further written comments he wished to make, adding a seven-day period for the council to respond.

Mr Merritt made an application for partial costs incurred due to the cancelling of yesterday's inquiry, which he felt had not been done with reasonable notice.

But Mr Stephenson said that in this case they were not entitled to costs because he had asked for an adjournment on November 18 and had been told it would not be allowed.

He said: "I was not aware until the last couple of days that I could ask for a change of procedure."