4.—(1) On receipt by the Minister of an application for his consent under section 22(1) of the Act to the placing of an electric line across land a date, time and place for the hearing shall be fixed and may be varied by the Minister, who shall give not less than 21 days notice in writing of such date, time and place to every objector and to the electricity authority:
(i)with the consent in writing of the objectors and of the electricity authority the Minister may give such lesser period of notice as may be agreed and in that event he may specify a date for service of the statement referred to in the next following paragraph later than the date prescribed in that paragraph;
(ii)where it becomes necessary or desirable to vary the time or place fixed for the hearing, the Minister shall give such notice of the variation as may appear to him to be reasonable in the circumstances.
(2) Not later than 14 days before the date of the hearing (except where the Minister specifies a later date under proviso (i) to the last foregoing paragraph) the electricity authority shall, unless it has already done so, serve on each objector a written statement of its reasons for the proposed placing of the electric line and shall supply a copy of the statement to the Minister.
(3) Where a government department has expressed in writing to the electricity authority a view in support of the proposed placing of the electric line and the electricity authority proposes to rely on such expression of view in its submissions at the hearing, the authority shall include it in the statement referred to in the last foregoing paragraph and shall send a copy of its statement to the government department concerned.
(4) Where the electricity authority intends to refer to or put in evidence at the hearing documents (including maps, photographs and plans), the authority's statement shall, unless the authority has already furnished each objector with copies of such documents, be accompanied by a list of such documents, together with a notice stating the times and place at which the documents may be inspected by any objector; and the electricity authority shall afford every objector a reasonable opportunity to inspect and, where practicable, to take copies of the documents.