Town and Country Planning Act 1971

Power to require information as to building contracts

5 (1) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that, in accordance with planning permission granted before 5th November 1964, operations for the erection on land in Greater London of a building containing office premises, or for the extension of a building on land in Greater London by the addition of office premises, have been begun on or after that date (whether before or after the passing of this Act) or had been begun but not completed before that date or are about to begin, and no office development permit in respect of the erection or extension of that building has been issued, the Secretary of State may serve on any person who is—

(a) the applicant on whose application the planning permission was granted; or

(b) the owner of the land ; or

(c) the person carrying out or about to carry out the operations,

a notice under this paragraph requiring him to furnish to the Secretary of State such information, and to produce for examination on behalf of the Secretary of State documents in that person's custody or under his control of any such description, as may be specified in the notice for the purpose of enabling the Secretary of State to ascertain whether a building contract for the erection or extension of the building was made before 5th November 1964 and who is the owner of the land.

(2) A notice under this paragraph may require the information to which it relates to be furnished within such time as may be specified in the notice, and may require the documents to which it relates to be produced at such time and place as may be so specified:

Provided that the time specified in such a notice for furnishing any information or producing, any document shall not be earlier than the end of the period of twenty-eight days- after the service of the notice.

(3) If any person on whom a notice is served under this paragraph fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed by the notice, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 ; and if any such person—

(a) in furnishing any information required by the notice, makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular ; or

(b) produces for examination in accordance with the notice a document which to his knowledge has been wilfully falsified,

he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.