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Planning Bill


Planning Bill
Part 1 — The Infrastructure Planning Commission

1

 

A

Bill

[AS AMENDED ON REPORT]

To

Establish the Infrastructure Planning Commission and make provision about

its functions; to make provision about, and about matters ancillary to, the

authorisation of projects for the development of nationally significant

infrastructure; to make provision about town and country planning; to make

provision about the imposition of a Community Infrastructure Levy; and for

connected purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and

consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present

Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Part 1

The Infrastructure Planning Commission

1       

The Infrastructure Planning Commission

(1)   

There is to be a body corporate called the Infrastructure Planning Commission

(in this Act referred to as “the Commission”).

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(2)   

The Commission’s functions are those conferred on it by or under this or any

other Act.

(3)   

Schedule 1 is about the Commission.

2       

Code of conduct

(1)   

The Commission must issue a code about the conduct expected of

10

Commissioners in connection with the performance of the Commission’s

functions.

(2)   

The code must include—

 

HL Bill 94                                                                                              

54/3

 
 

Planning Bill
Part 1 — The Infrastructure Planning Commission

2

 

(a)   

provision requiring each Commissioner to disclose financial and other

interests in accordance with the procedure established under section 3,

and

(b)   

such other provision as the Secretary of State may direct.

(3)   

The Commission must arrange for the code to be published.

5

(4)   

The Commission—

(a)   

must keep the code under review, and

(b)   

may from time to time revise it or replace it.

(5)   

References in this Act to the code of conduct issued under this section include

the code as revised or replaced under this section.

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(6)   

A failure to observe any provision of the code does not of itself make a

Commissioner liable to any criminal or civil proceedings.

3       

Register of Commissioners’ interests

(1)   

The Commission must establish a procedure for the disclosure and registration

of financial and other interests of Commissioners.

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(2)   

The Commission must arrange for the register entries to be published.

4       

Fees

(1)   

The Secretary of State may make regulations providing for the charging of fees

by the Commission in connection with the performance of any of its functions.

(2)   

Regulations under subsection (1) may in particular make provision—

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(a)   

about when a fee (including a supplementary fee) may, and may not,

be charged;

(b)   

about the amount which may be charged;

(c)   

about what may, and may not, be taken into account in calculating the

amount charged;

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(d)   

about who is liable to pay a fee charged;

(e)   

about when a fee charged is payable;

(f)   

about the recovery of fees charged;

(g)   

about waiver, reduction or repayment of fees;

(h)   

about the effect of paying or failing to pay fees charged;

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(i)   

for the supply of information for any purpose of the regulations.

(3)   

The regulations may provide for the amounts of fees to be calculated by

reference to costs incurred by the Commission—

(a)   

in the performance of any of its functions, and

(b)   

in doing anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or

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incidental to, the performance of any of its functions.

 
 

Planning Bill
Part 2 — National policy statements

3

 

Part 2

National policy statements

5       

National policy statements

(1)   

The Secretary of State may designate a statement as a national policy statement

for the purposes of this Act if the statement—

5

(a)   

is issued by the Secretary of State, and

(b)   

sets out national policy in relation to one or more specified descriptions

of development.

(2)   

In this Act “national policy statement” means a statement designated under

subsection (1) as a national policy statement for the purposes of this Act.

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(3)   

Before designating a statement as a national policy statement for the purposes

of this Act the Secretary of State must carry out an appraisal of the

sustainability of the policy set out in the statement.

(4)   

A statement may be designated as a national policy statement for the purposes

of this Act only if the consultation and publicity requirements set out in section

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7, and the parliamentary requirements set out in section 9, have been complied

with in relation to it.

(5)   

The policy set out in a national policy statement may in particular—

(a)   

set out, in relation to a specified description of development, the

amount, type or size of development of that description which is

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appropriate nationally or for a specified area;

(b)   

set out criteria to be applied in deciding whether a location is suitable

(or potentially suitable) for a specified description of development;

(c)   

set out the relative weight to be given to specified criteria;

(d)   

identify one or more locations as suitable (or potentially suitable) or

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unsuitable for a specified description of development;

(e)   

identify one or more statutory undertakers as appropriate persons to

carry out a specified description of development;

(f)   

set out circumstances in which it is appropriate for a specified type of

action to be taken to mitigate the impact of a specified description of

30

development.

(6)   

If a national policy statement sets out policy in relation to a particular

description of development, the statement must set out criteria to be taken into

account in the design of that description of development.

(7)   

A national policy statement must give reasons for the policy set out in the

35

statement.

(8)   

The reasons must (in particular) include an explanation of how the policy set

out in the statement takes account of Government policy relating to the

mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change.

(9)   

The Secretary of State must—

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(a)   

arrange for the publication of a national policy statement, and

(b)   

lay a national policy statement before Parliament.

 
 

Planning Bill
Part 2 — National policy statements

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(10)   

In this section “statutory undertakers” means persons who are, or are deemed

to be, statutory undertakers for the purposes of any provision of Part 11 of

TCPA 1990.

6       

Review

(1)   

The Secretary of State must review each national policy statement whenever

5

the Secretary of State thinks it appropriate to do so.

(2)   

A review may relate to all or part of a national policy statement.

(3)   

In deciding when to review a national policy statement the Secretary of State

must consider whether—

(a)   

since the time when the statement was first published or (if later) last

10

reviewed, there has been a significant change in any circumstances on

the basis of which any of the policy set out in the statement was

decided,

(b)   

the change was not anticipated at that time, and

(c)   

if the change had been anticipated at that time, any of the policy set out

15

in the statement would have been materially different.

(4)   

In deciding when to review part of a national policy statement (“the relevant

part”) the Secretary of State must consider whether—

(a)   

since the time when the relevant part was first published or (if later) last

reviewed, there has been a significant change in any circumstances on

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the basis of which any of the policy set out in the relevant part was

decided,

(b)   

the change was not anticipated at that time, and

(c)   

if the change had been anticipated at that time, any of the policy set out

in the relevant part would have been materially different.

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(5)   

After completing a review of all or part of a national policy statement the

Secretary of State must do one of the following—

(a)   

amend the statement;

(b)   

withdraw the statement’s designation as a national policy statement;

(c)   

leave the statement as it is.

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(6)   

Before amending a national policy statement the Secretary of State must carry

out an appraisal of the sustainability of the policy set out in the proposed

amendment.

(7)   

The Secretary of State may amend a national policy statement only if the

consultation and publicity requirements set out in section 7, and the

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parliamentary requirements set out in section 9, have been complied with in

relation to the proposed amendment.

(8)   

Subsections (6) and (7) do not apply if the Secretary of State thinks that the

proposed amendment (taken with any other proposed amendments) does not

materially affect the policy as set out in the national policy statement.

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(9)   

If the Secretary of State amends a national policy statement, the Secretary of

State must—

(a)   

arrange for the amendment, or the statement as amended, to be

published, and

(b)   

lay the amendment, or the statement as amended, before Parliament.

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