Town and Country Planning Act 1971

Revocation or modification of planning permission

45 Power to revoke or modify planning permission

(1) if it appears to the local planning authority, having regard to the development plan and to any other material considerations, that it is expedient to revoke or modify any permission to develop land granted on an application made under this Part of this Act, the authority, subject to the following provisions of this section, may by order revoke or modify the permission to such extent as (having regard to those matters) they consider expedient.

(2) Except as provided in section 46 of this Act, an order under this section shall not take effect unless it is confirmed by the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State may confirm any such order submitted to him either without modification or subject to such modifications as he considers expedient.

(3) Where a local planning authority submit an order to the Secretary of State for his confirmation under this section, the authority shall serve notice on the owner and on the occupier of the land affected and on any other person who in their opinion will be affected by the order; and if within such period as may be specified in that notice (not being less than twenty-eight days from the service thereof) any person on whom the notice is served so requires, the Secretary of State, before confirming the order, shall afford to that person and to the local planning authority an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose.

(4) The power conferred by this section to revoke or modify permission to develop land may be exercised—

(a) where the permission relates to the carrying out of building or other operations, at any time before those operations have been completed;

(b) where the permission relates to a change of the use of any land, at any time before the change has taken place:

Provided that the revocation or modification of permission for the carrying out of building or other operations shall not affect so much of those operations as has been previously carried out.

46 Unopposed revocation or modification

(1) The following provisions shall have effect where the local planning authority have made an order under section 45 of this Act but have not submitted the order to the Secretary of State for confirmation by him, and—

(a) the owner and the occupier of the land and all persons who in the authority's opinion will be affected by the order have notified the authority in writing that they do not object to the order; and

(b) it appears to the authority that no claim for compensation is likely to arise under section 164 of this Act on account of the order.

(2) The authority shall advertise in the prescribed manner the fact that the order has been made, and the advertisement shall specify—

(a) the period (not being less than twenty-eight days from the date on which the advertisement first appears) within which persons affected by the order may give notice to the Secretary of State that they wish for an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose; and

(b) the period (not being less than fourteen days from the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection) at the expiration of which, if no such notice is given to the Secretary of State, the order may take effect by virtue of this section and without being confirmed by the Secretary of State.

(3) The authority shall also serve notice to the same effect on the persons mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section, and the notice shall include a statement to the effect that no compensation is payable under section 164 of this Act in respect of an order under section 45 of this Act which takes effect by virtue of this section and without being confirmed by the Secretary of State.

(4) The authority shall send a copy of any advertisement published under subsection (2) of this section to the Secretary of State, not more than three days after the publication.

(5) If within the period referred to in subsection (2) (a) of this section no person claiming to be affected by the order has given notice to the Secretary of State as aforesaid, and the Secretary of State has not directed that the order be submitted to him for confirmation, the order shall, at the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (2)(b) of this section, take effect by virtue of this section and without being confirmed by the Secretary of State as required by section 45(2) of this Act.

(6) This section does not apply to an order revoking or modifying a planning permission granted or deemed to have been granted by the Secretary of State under this Part of this Act or under Part IV or V thereof; nor does it apply to an order modifying any conditions to which a planning permission is subject by virtue of section 41 or 42 of this Act.