Part IIIU.K. General Planning Control

Applications for planning permissionS

22 Form and content of applications.S

[F1(1)]Any application to a. . . F2 planning authority for planning permission shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under this Act [F3or by a development order], and shall include such particulars, and be verified by such evidence, as may be required [F4by—

(a)the regulations; or

(b)the development order; or

(c)directions given by the planning authority under the said regulations or the said development order.]

[F5(2)In subsection (1) above “planning authority” includes a regional planning authority.]

[F623 Publication of notices of applications.S

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, [F7regulations under this Act or]a development order may provide, either in relation to applications generally or in relation to applications of a class or classes prescribed in the order, that—

(a)any such application shall have been notified to such persons or classes of person, and in such manner, as may be so prescribed;

(b)any such application shall have been advertised, either in a local newspaper or on the land to which the application relates, or both, in such a manner and for such a period or on such a number of occasions as may be so prescribed;

(c)any newspaper advertisement required by virtue of paragraph (b) above shall be placed by the planning authority to whom the application is made;

(d)the planning authority may recover from the applicant the cost incurred by them in arranging any such advertisement;

(e)any such application shall be accompanied by such certificates as to compliance with the requirements of provisions made under paragraphs (a) and (b) above as may be so prescribed;

(f)the applicant shall furnish, at such time and to such persons as may be so prescribed, such information with respect to the application as may be so prescribed;

(g)no such application shall be entertained unless such further conditions as to payment as may be so prescribed have been complied with;

(h)no such application shall be determined until after the expiry of any period which may be so prescribed.

(2)The applications mentioned in subsection (1) above are—

(a)applications for planning permission;

(b)applications for an approval required by a development order; or

(c)applications for any consent, agreement or approval required by a condition imposed on a grant of planning permission.

(3)If any person knowingly or recklessly—

(a)issues a notification; or

(b)makes advertisement (other than newspaper advertisement); or

(c)supplies a certificate,

which purports to comply with provisions made under subsection (1) above but which contains a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence, and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F8level 3 on the standard scale].]

[F9(4)A planning authority shall not entertain any application for planning permission unless any requirements imposed by virtue of this section have been satisfied.

(5)Proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought at any time within the period of two years following the commission of the offence.]

24 Notification of applications to owners and agricultural tenants. S

(1)Without prejudice to section 23 of this Act, a. . . F10 planning authority shall not entertain any application for planning permission unless it is accompanied by one or other of the following certificates signed by or on behalf of the applicant, that is to say—

[F11(a)a certificate stating that at the beginning of a period of 21 days ending with the date of the application, no person (other than the applicant) was the owner of any of the land to which the application relates;]

(b)a certificate stating that the applicant has given the requisite notice of the application to all the persons (other than the applicant) who, at the beginning of the period of twenty-one days ending with the date of the application, were owners of any of the land to which the application relates, and setting out the names of those persons, the addresses at which notice of the application was given to them respectively, and the date of service of each such notice;

(c)a certificate stating that the applicant is unable to issue a certificate in accordance with either of the preceding paragraphs, that he has given the requisite notice of the application to such one or more of the persons mentioned in the last preceding paragraph as are specified in the certificate (setting out their names, the addresses at which notice of the application was given to them respectively, and the date of the service of each such notice), that he has taken such steps as are reasonably open to him (specifying them) to ascertain the names and addresses of the remainder of those persons and that he has been unable to do so;

[F12(cc)in the case of an application for planning permission for development consisting of the winning and working of minerals by underground mining operations, a certificate stating—

(i)that the applicant has given the requisite notice of the application to such one or more of the persons mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection as are specified in the certificate, and setting out the names of those persons, the addresses at which notice of the application was given to them respectively, and the date of service of each such notice;

(ii)that there is no person mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection whom the applicant knows to be such a person and whose name and address is known to the applicant but to whom he has not given the requisite notice of the application; and

(iii)that he has complied with subsection (2A) of this section and when he did so;]

(d)a certificate stating that the applicant is unable to issue a certificate in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection, that he has taken such steps as are reasonably open to him (specifying them) to ascertain the names and addresses of the persons mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection and that he has been unable to do so.

[F13(1A)Subject to subsection (1B) of this section, subsection (1) of this section shall have effect as respects notice of an application for planning permission for development consisting of the winning and working of minerals as if any person entitled to an interest in a mineral in the land to which the application relates were an owner of the land.

(1B)Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect as provided by subsection (1A) of this section in relation to a person entitled to an interest in—

(a)oil, gas or coal; or

(b)gold or silver.]

(2)Any such certificate as is mentioned in paragraph (c) [F14, paragraph (cc)] or paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall also contain a statement that the requisite notice of the application, as set out in the certificate, has on a date specified in the certificate (being a date not earlier than the beginning of the period mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection) been published in a local newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land in question is situated.

[F15(2A)In an order to comply with this subsection—

(a)the applicant must post the requisite notice of the application, sited so as to be easily visible to and legible by members of the public, in at least one place in the district of the planning authority to which the application is being made; and

(b)the notice must be in position for not less than 7 days during the period of 21 days prior to the making of the application.

(2B)At any time before [F16determining] an application for planning permission for development consisting of the winning and working of minerals the planning authority dealing with the application may in writing direct the applicant to post copies of the said notice in such places in its district not exceeding 4 in number as may be specified in the direction.

(2C)Where any such direction as is mentioned in subsection (2B) above has been given the planning authority shall not grant the application until the applicant has furnished to the authority a certificate stating—

(a)that he has complied with the direction; and

(b)that any notice required by the direction has been in position for not less than 7 days in the period of 21 days prior to the date on which he lodged the certificate with the planning authority.

(2D)The applicant shall not be treated as unable to comply with subsection (2A) or (2C) of this section if the notice or, as the case may be, any copy thereof is, without any fault or intention of his, removed, obscured or defaced before the seven days referred to in subsections (2A)(b) or (2C)(b) of this section have elapsed, so long as he has taken reasonable steps for its protection and, if need be, replacement; and if he has cause to rely on this subsection, his certificate under subsection (1)(cc) of this section shall state the relevant circumstances.

(2E)The notice required by subsection (2A) of this section shall (in addition to any other matters required to be contained in it) name a place within the area of the planning authority to whom the application is made where a copy of the application for planning permission, and of all plans and other documents submitted with it, will be open to inspection by the public at all reasonable hours during such period as may be specified in the notice, being a period of not less than 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice is first posted.]

(3)In addition to any other matters required to be contained in a certificate issued for the purposes of this section, every such certificate shall contain one or other of the following statements, that is to say—

(a)a statement that none of the land to which the application relates constitutes or forms part of an agricultural holding;

(b)a statement that the applicant has given the requisite notice of the application to every person (other than the applicant) who, at the beginning of the period of twenty-one days ending with the date of the application, was a tenant of any agricultural holding any part of which was comprised in the land to which the application relates, and setting out the name of each such person, the address at which notice of the application was given to him, and the date of service of that notice.

(4)Where an application for planning permission is accompanied by such a certificate as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b), (c) [F17, (cc) or (d) or (2C)] of this section, or by a certificate containing a statement in accordance with subsection 3(b) of this section, the. . . F10 planning authority shall not determine the application before the end of the period of twenty-one days beginning with the date appearing from the certificate to be the latest of the dates of service of notices as mentioned in the certificate, or the date of publication [F18or, as the case may be, posting] of a notice as therein mentioned, whichever is the later.

(5)If any person issues any certificate which purports to comply with the requirements of this section and which contains a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly issues a certificate which purports to comply with those requirements and which contains a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F19level 3 on the standard scale].

(6)Any certificate issued for the purposes of this section shall be in such form as may be prescribed by a development order; and any reference in any provision of this section to the requisite notice, where a form of notice is prescribed by a development order for the purposes of that provision, is a reference to a notice in that form.

(7)In this section “owner” in relation to any land means any person [F20who under the Lands Clauses Acts would be enabled to sell and convey the land to the promoters of [F21an undertaking] and any person entitled to possession of the land as lessee under a lease the unexpired period of which is not less than seven years], and “agricultural holding” has the same meaning as in the M1Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949.

25 Publicity for applications affecting conservation areas.S

(1)This section applies where an application for planning permission for any development of land is made to a. . . F22 planning authority and either—

(a)the development would, in the opinion of the authority, affect the character or appearance of a conservation area;. . . F23

[F24(aa)the development would, in the opinion of the authority, affect the selling of a listed building; or]

(b). . . F25

(2)The. . . F22 planning authority shall—

(a)publish in a local newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land is situated; and

(b)for not less than seven days display on or near the land,

a notice indicating the nature of the development in question and naming a place within the locality where a copy of the application, and of all plans and other documents submitted with it, will be open to inspection by the public at all reasonable hours during the period of twenty-one days beginning with the date of publication of the notice under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(3)The application shall not be determined by the. . . F22 planning authority before both the following periods have elapsed, namely—

(a)the period of twenty-one days referred to in subsection (2) of this section; and

(b)the period of twenty-one days beginning with the date on which the notice required by that subsection to be displayed was first displayed.

[F26(4)Where an application for planning permission is dealt with by a regional planning authority by virtue of section 179 of the M2Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, subsection (3) above shall apply as if the reference therein to “the planning authority” were a reference to the regional planning authority.]