Planning Bill

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
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Other Bills before Parliament

Planning Bill

Planning Bill
Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 2 — Pre-application procedure
24

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Local authorities for purposes of section 40(1)(b)
(1)
A local authority is within this section if the land is in the authority’s area.
(2)
A local authority (“A”) is within this section if—
(a)
the land is in the area of another local authority (“B”), and
(b)
any part of the boundary of A’s area is also a part of the boundary of
5
B’s area.
(3)
In this section “local authority” means—
(a)
a county council, or district council, in England,
(b)
a London borough council,
(c)
the Common Council of the City of London,
10
(d)
the Council of the Isles of Scilly,
(e)
a county council, or county borough council, in Wales, or
(f)
a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc.
(Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39).
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Categories for purposes of section 40(1)(d)
15
(1)
A person is within Category 1 if the person is an owner, lessee, tenant
(whatever the tenancy period) or occupier of the land.
(2)
A person is within Category 2 if the applicant, after making diligent inquiry,
knows that the person—
(a)
is interested in the land, or
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(b)
has power—
(i)
to sell and convey the land, or
(ii)
to release the land.
(3)
An expression, other than “the land”, that appears in subsection (2) of this
section and also in section 5(1) of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (c. 56) has
25
in subsection (2) the meaning that it has in section 5(1) of that Act.
(4)
A person is within Category 3 if the applicant thinks that, if the order sought
by the proposed application were to be made and fully implemented, the
person would or might be entitled—
(a)
as a result of the implementing of the order,
30
(b)
as a result of the order having been implemented, or
(c)
as a result of use of the land once the order has been implemented,

to make a relevant claim.
(5)
In subsection (4) “relevant claim” means—
(a)
a claim under section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965
35
(compensation where satisfaction not made for the taking, or injurious
affection, of land subject to compulsory purchase),
(b)
a claim under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973 (c. 26)
(compensation for depreciation of land by emissions caused by use of
public works), or
40
(c)
a claim for nuisance.

Planning Bill
Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 2 — Pre-application procedure
25

43
Timetable for consultation under section 40
(1)
The applicant must, when consulting a person under section 40(1), notify the
person of the deadline for the receipt by the applicant of the person’s response
to the consultation.
(2)
A deadline notified under subsection (1) must not be earlier than the end of the
5
period of 28 days that begins with the day after the day on which the person
receives the consultation documents.
(3)
In subsection (2) “the consultation documents” means the documents supplied
to the person by the applicant for the purpose of consulting the person.
44
Duty to notify Commission of proposed application
10
(1)
The applicant must supply the Commission with such information in relation
to the proposed application as the applicant would supply to the Commission
for the purpose of complying with subsection (1) of section 40 if the applicant
were required by that subsection to consult the Commission about the
proposed application.
15
(2)
The applicant must comply with subsection (1) on or before commencing
consultation under section 40(1).
45
Duty to consult local community
(1)
The applicant must prepare a statement setting out how the applicant proposes
to consult, about the proposed development, people living in the vicinity of the
20
land.
(2)
Before preparing the statement, the applicant must consult each local authority
that is within section 41(1) about what is to be in the statement.
(3)
The deadline for the receipt by the applicant of a local authority’s response to
consultation under subsection (2) is the end of the period of 28 days that begins
25
with the day after the day on which the local authority receives the
consultation documents.
(4)
In subsection (3) “the consultation documents” means the documents supplied
to the local authority by the applicant for the purpose of consulting the local
authority under subsection (2).
30
(5)
In preparing the statement, the applicant must have regard to—
(a)
any response to consultation under subsection (2) that is received by
the applicant before the deadline imposed by subsection (3),
(b)
any guidance given by the Secretary of State (including any guidance
given by the Secretary of State about community involvement in
35
planning), and
(c)
any guidance given by the Commission.
(6)
Once the applicant has prepared the statement, the applicant must publish it—
(a)
in a newspaper circulating in the vicinity of the land, and
(b)
in such other manner as may be prescribed.
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(7)
The applicant must carry out consultation in accordance with the proposals set
out in the statement.

Planning Bill
Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 3 — Assistance for applicants and others
26

46
Duty to publicise
(1)
The applicant must publicise the proposed application in the prescribed
manner.
(2)
Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1) must, in particular, make
provision for publicity under subsection (1) to include a deadline for receipt by
5
the applicant of responses to the publicity.
47
Duty to take account of responses to consultation and publicity
(1)
Subsection (2) applies where the applicant—
(a)
has complied with sections 40(1), 45 and 46(1), and
(b)
proposes to go ahead with making an application for an order granting
10
development consent (whether or not in the same terms as the
proposed application).
(2)
The applicant must, when deciding whether the application that the applicant
is actually to make should be in the same terms as the proposed application,
have regard to any relevant responses.
15
(3)
In subsection (2) “relevant response” means—
(a)
a response from a person consulted under section 40(1) that is received
by the applicant before the deadline imposed by section 43 in that
person’s case,
(b)
a response to consultation under section 45(7) that is received by the
20
applicant before any applicable deadline imposed in accordance with
the statement prepared under section 45, or
(c)
a response to publicity under section 46 that is received by the applicant
before the deadline imposed in accordance with section 46(2) in relation
to that publicity.
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Chapter 3
Assistance for applicants and others
48
Advice for potential applicants and others
(1)
The Commission may give advice to an applicant or potential applicant, or to
others, about—
30
(a)
applying for an order granting development consent;
(b)
making representations about an application, or a proposed
application, for such an order.
(2)
The Commission may not under subsection (1) give advice about the merits of
any particular application, or proposed application, for such an order.
35
(3)
The Secretary of State may, if the Secretary of State thinks it appropriate to do
so in connection with securing propriety in the giving of advice under
subsection (1), by regulations make provision about the giving of advice under
that subsection (but not about what the advice is to be).
(4)
In particular, regulations under subsection (3) may make provision that has the
40
effect that—
(a)
a person’s request for advice under subsection (1), or

Planning Bill
Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 3 — Assistance for applicants and others
27

(b)
advice given under subsection (1) to a person,

must be, or may be, disclosed by the Commission to persons other than that
person or to the public generally.
49
Obtaining information about interests in land
(1)
Where a person is applying, or proposes to apply, for an order granting
5
development consent, subsection (2) applies for the purpose of enabling the
person (“the applicant”) to comply with provisions of, or made under, Chapter
2 of this Part or Chapter 1 of Part 6.
(2)
The Commission may authorise the applicant to serve a notice on a person
mentioned in subsection (3) requiring the person (“the recipient”) to give to the
10
applicant in writing the name and address of any person the recipient believes
is one or more of the following—
(a)
an owner, lessee, tenant (whatever the tenancy period) or occupier of
the land;
(b)
a person interested in the land;
15
(c)
a person having power—
(i)
to sell and convey the land, or
(ii)
to release the land.
(3)
The persons are—
(a)
an occupier of the land;
20
(b)
a person who has an interest in the land as freeholder, mortgagee or
lessee;
(c)
a person who directly or indirectly receives rent for the land;
(d)
a person who, in pursuance of an agreement between that person and
a person interested in the land, is authorised to manage the land or to
25
arrange for the letting of it.
(4)
A notice under subsection (2) must—
(a)
be in writing,
(b)
state that the Commission has authorised the applicant to serve the
notice,
30
(c)
specify or describe the land to which the application, or proposed
application, relates,
(d)
specify the deadline by which the recipient must give the required
information to the applicant, and
(e)
draw attention to the provisions in subsections (6) to (9).
35
(5)
A deadline specified under subsection (4)(d) in a notice must not be earlier than
the end of the 14 days beginning with the day after the day on which the notice
is served on the recipient of the notice.
(6)
A person commits an offence if the person fails without reasonable excuse to
comply with a notice under subsection (2) served on the person.
40
(7)
A person commits an offence if, in response to a notice under subsection (2)
served on the person—
(a)
the person gives information which is false in a material particular, and
(b)
when the person does so, the person knows or ought reasonably to
know that the information is false.
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Planning Bill
Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 3 — Assistance for applicants and others
28

(8)
If an offence under this section committed by a body corporate is proved to
have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable
to any neglect on the part of—
(a)
a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body,
(b)
a person purporting to act in any such capacity, or
5
(c)
in a case where the affairs of the body are managed by its members, a
member of the body,

that person, as well as the body, is guilty of that offence and liable to be
proceeded against accordingly.
(9)
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary
10
conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(10)
In subsections (2) and (3) “the land” means—
(a)
the land to which the application, or proposed application, relates, or
(b)
any part of that land.
(11)
Any other expression that appears in either of paragraphs (b) and (c) of
15
subsection (2) and also in section 5(1) of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965
(c. 56) has in those paragraphs the meaning that it has in section 5(1) of that Act.
50
Rights of entry
(1)
Any person duly authorised in writing by the Commission may at any
reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying and taking levels
20
of it in connection with—
(a)
an application for an order granting development consent, whether in
relation to that or any other land, that has been accepted by the
Commission,
(b)
a proposed application for an order granting development consent, or
25
(c)
an order granting development consent that includes provision
authorising the compulsory acquisition of that land or of an interest in
it.
(2)
Authorisation may be given by the Commission under subsection (1)(b) in
relation to any land only if it appears to the Commission that—
30
(a)
the proposed applicant is considering a distinct project of real
substance genuinely requiring entry onto the land,
(b)
the proposed application is likely to seek authority to compulsorily
acquire the land, and
(c)
the proposed applicant has complied with section 40(1) in relation to
35
the proposed application.
(3)
Subject to subsections (9) and (10), power conferred by subsection (1) to survey
land includes power to search and bore for the purpose of ascertaining the
nature of the subsoil or the presence of minerals or other matter in it.
(4)
A person authorised under subsection (1) to enter any land—
40
(a)
must, if so required, produce evidence of the person’s authority, and
state the purpose of the person’s entry, before so entering,
(b)
may not demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied
unless 14 days’ notice of the intended entry has been given to the
occupier, and
45

Planning Bill
Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 3 — Assistance for applicants and others
29

(c)
must comply with any other conditions subject to which the
Commission’s authorisation is given.
(5)
A person commits an offence if the person wilfully obstructs a person acting in
the exercise of power under subsection (1).
(6)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) is liable on summary
5
conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(7)
Where any damage is caused to land or chattels—
(a)
in the exercise of a right of entry conferred under subsection (1), or
(b)
in the making of any survey for the purpose of which any such right of
entry has been conferred,
10

compensation may be recovered by any person suffering the damage from the
person exercising the right of entry.
(8)
Any question of disputed compensation under subsection (7) must be referred
to and determined by the Lands Tribunal.
(9)
No person may carry out under subsection (1) any works authorised by virtue
15
of subsection (3) unless notice of the person’s intention to do so was included
in the notice required by subsection (4)(b).
(10)
The authority of the appropriate Minister is required for the carrying out under
subsection (1) of works authorised by virtue of subsection (3) if—
(a)
the land in question is held by statutory undertakers, and
20
(b)
they object to the proposed works on the ground that execution of the
works would be seriously detrimental to the carrying-on of their
undertaking.
(11)
In subsection (10)—
“the appropriate Minister” means—
25
(a)
in the case of land in Wales held by water or sewerage
undertakers, the Welsh Ministers, and
(b)
in any other case, the Secretary of State;
“statutory undertakers” means persons who are, or who are deemed to be,
statutory undertakers for the purposes of any provision of Part 11 of
30
TCPA 1990.
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Rights of entry: the Crown
(1)
Subsections (1) to (3) of section 50 apply to Crown land subject to subsections
(2) and (3) of this section.
(2)
A person must not enter Crown land unless the person (“P”) has the
35
permission of—
(a)
a person appearing to P to be entitled to give it, or
(b)
the appropriate Crown authority.
(3)
In section 50(3), the words “Subject to subsections (9) and (10)” must be
ignored.
40
(4)
Subsections (4) to (6) and (9) to (11) of section 50 do not apply to anything done
by virtue of subsections (1) to (3) of this section.

Planning Bill
Part 6 — Deciding applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 1 — Handling of application by Commission
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Part 6
Deciding applications for orders granting development consent
Chapter 1
Handling of application by Commission
52
Acceptance of applications
5
(1)
The following provisions of this section apply where the Commission receives
an application that purports to be an application for an order granting
development consent.
(2)
The Commission must, by the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the
day after the day on which it receives the application, decide whether or not to
10
accept the application.
(3)
The Commission may accept the application only if the Commission
concludes—
(a)
that it is an application for an order granting development consent,
(b)
that it complies with section 35(3) (form and contents of application)
15
and with any standards set under section 35(5),
(c)
that development consent is required for any of the development to
which the application relates,
(d)
that the application gives reasons for each respect in which any
applicable guidance given under section 35(4) has not been followed in
20
relation to it, and
(e)
that the applicant has, in relation to a proposed application that has
become the application, complied with Chapter 2 of Part 5 (pre-
application procedure).
(4)
The Commission, when deciding whether it may reach the conclusion in
25
subsection (3)(e), must have regard to any adequacy-of-consultation
representation received by it from a local-authority consultee.
(5)
In subsection (4)—
“local-authority consultee” means—
(a)
a local authority consulted under section 40(1)(b) about a
30
proposed application that has become the application, or
(b)
the Greater London Authority if consulted under section
40(1)(c) about that proposed application;
“adequacy-of-consultation representation” means a representation about
whether the applicant complied, in relation to that proposed
35
application, with the applicant’s duties under sections 40, 45 and 46.
(6)
If the Commission accepts the application, it must notify the applicant of the
acceptance.
(7)
If the Commission is of the view that it cannot accept the application, it must—
(a)
notify that view to the applicant, and
40
(b)
notify the applicant of its reasons for that view.
(8)
If in response the applicant modifies (or further modifies) the application,
subsections (2) to (7) then apply in relation to the application as modified.