Section 16 – Refusal to entertain certain applications for scheduled monument consent
70.Section 16 inserts a new paragraph 2B after paragraph 2A of Schedule 1 to the 1979 Act enabling Scottish Ministers to decline to consider a scheduled monument consent application in two situations. The first is where the application is similar to an application that had been made within the previous two years and Ministers consider there has been no significant change in any material considerations since the similar application was refused. The second is where the application is made while a similar application is under consideration by Ministers. Sub-paragraph (4) clarifies that an application for scheduled monument consent is taken to be similar if the scheduled monument and the works are in the opinion of Scottish Ministers the same or substantially the same.