Planning Bill

House of Lords

Session 2007 - 08
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Other Bills before Parliament

Planning Bill

Planning Bill
Part 1 — The Infrastructure Planning Commission
1

A
Bill
[AS AMENDED IN COMMITTEE]
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
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Commissioners in connection with the performance of the Commission’s
functions.
(2)
The code must include—

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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.
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(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.
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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.
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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
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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—
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(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
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development.
(6)
A national policy statement must give reasons for the policy set out in the
statement.
(7)
The Secretary of State must—
(a)
arrange for the publication of a national policy statement, and
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(b)
lay a national policy statement before Parliament.
(8)
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.
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Review
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(1)
The Secretary of State must review each national policy statement whenever
the Secretary of State thinks it appropriate to do so.

Planning Bill
Part 2 — National policy statements
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(2)
After completing a review 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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(3)
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.
(4)
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.
(5)
Subsections (3) and (4) 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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(6)
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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7
Consultation and publicity
(1)
This section sets out the consultation and publicity requirements referred to in
sections 5(4) and 6(4).
(2)
The Secretary of State must carry out such consultation, and arrange for such
publicity, as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate in relation to the
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proposal.

This is subject to subsections (4) and (5).
(3)
In this section “the proposal” means—
(a)
the statement that the Secretary of State proposes to designate as a
national policy statement for the purposes of this Act, or
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(b)
(as the case may be) the proposed amendment.
(4)
The Secretary of State must consult such persons, and such descriptions of
persons, as may be prescribed.
(5)
If the policy set out in the proposal identifies one or more locations as suitable
(or potentially suitable) for a specified description of development, the
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Secretary of State must ensure that appropriate steps are taken to publicise the
proposal.
(6)
The Secretary of State must have regard to the responses to the consultation
and publicity in deciding whether to proceed with the proposal.
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Consultation on publicity requirements
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(1)
In deciding what steps are appropriate for the purposes of section 7(5), the
Secretary of State must consult—
(a)
each local authority that is within subsection (2) or (3), and

Planning Bill
Part 2 — National policy statements
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(b)
the Greater London Authority, if any of the locations concerned is in
Greater London.
(2)
A local authority is within this subsection if any of the locations concerned is
in the authority’s area.
(3)
A local authority (“A”) is within this subsection if—
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(a)
any of the locations concerned 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
B’s area.
(4)
In this section “local authority” means—
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(a)
a county council, or district council, in England,
(b)
a London borough council,
(c)
the Common Council of the City of London,
(d)
the Council of the Isles of Scilly,
(e)
a county council, or county borough council, in Wales, or
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(f)
a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc.
(Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39).
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Parliamentary requirements
(1)
This section sets out the parliamentary requirements referred to in sections 5(4)
and 6(4).
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(2)
The Secretary of State must lay the proposal before Parliament.
(3)
In this section “the proposal” means—
(a)
the statement that the Secretary of State proposes to designate as a
national policy statement for the purposes of this Act, or
(b)
(as the case may be) the proposed amendment.
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(4)
Subsection (5) applies if, during the relevant period—
(a)
either House of Parliament makes a resolution with regard to the
proposal, or
(b)
a committee of the House of Commons makes recommendations with
regard to the proposal.
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(5)
The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a statement setting out the
Secretary of State’s response to the resolution or recommendations.
(6)
The relevant period is the period specified by the Secretary of State in relation
to the proposal.
(7)
The Secretary of State must specify the relevant period in relation to the
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proposal on or before the day on which the proposal is laid before Parliament
under subsection (2).
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Sustainable development
(1)
This section applies to the Secretary of State’s functions under sections 5 and 6.
(2)
The Secretary of State must, in exercising those functions, do so with the
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objective of contributing to the achievement of sustainable development.