(1)In this Part—
“Crown land” means land in which there is a Crown interest or a Duchy interest;
“Crown interest” means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department;
“Duchy interest” means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster or belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall;
“private interest” means an interest which is neither a Crown interest nor a Duchy interest.
(2)For the purposes of this Part “the appropriate authority”, in relation to any land—
(a)in the case of land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate, means the Crown Estate Commissioners;
(b)in relation to any other land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, means the government department having the management of that land;
(c)in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, means the Chancellor of the Duchy;
(d)in relation to land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, means such person as the Duke of Cornwall, or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall, appoints;
(e)in the case of land belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, means that department.
(3)If any question arises as to what authority is the appropriate authority in relation to any land, that question shall be referred to the Treasury, whose decision shall be final.
(4)A person who is entitled to occupy Crown land by virtue of a licence in writing shall be treated for the purposes of section 296(1)(c), so far as applicable to Parts III, VII and VIII, and sections 294(2) to (7), 295, 299 and 300 as having an interest in land and references in section 299 to the disposal of an interest in Crown land, and in that section and sections 294(2) and 300 to a private interest in such land, shall be construed accordingly.
(1)No enforcement notice shall be issued under section 172 in respect of development carried out by or on behalf of the Crown after 1st July 1948 on land which was Crown land at the time when the development was carried out.
(2)The following provisions of this section apply to development of Crown land carried out otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown at a time when no person is entitled to occupy it by virtue of a private interest.
(3)Where—
(a)it appears to a local planning authority that development to which this subsection applies has taken place in their area, and
(b)they consider it expedient to do so having regard to the provisions of the development plan and to any other material considerations,
they may issue a notice under this section (a “special enforcement notice”).
(4)No special enforcement notice shall be issued except with the consent of the appropriate authority.
(5)A special enforcement notice shall specify—
(a)the matters alleged to constitute development to which this section applies; and
(b)the steps which the authority issuing the notice require to be taken for restoring the land to its condition before the development took place or for discontinuing any use of the land which has been instituted by the development.
(6)A special enforcement notice shall also specify—
(a)the date on which it is to take effect (“the specified date”), and
(b)the period within which any such steps as are mentioned in subsection (5)(b) are to be taken.
(7)A special enforcement notice may specify different periods for the taking of different steps.
(1)Not later than 28 days after the date of the issue of a special enforcement notice and not later than 28 days before the specified date, the local planning authority who issued it shall serve a copy of it—
(a)on the person who carried out the development alleged in the notice;
(b)on any person who is occupying the land when the notice is issued; and
(c)on the appropriate authority.
(2)The local planning authority need not serve a copy of the notice on the person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) if they are unable after reasonable enquiry to identify or trace him.
(3)Any such person as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b) may appeal against the notice to the Secretary of State on the ground that the matters alleged in the notice—
(a)have not taken place, or
(b)do not constitute development to which section 294 applies.
(4)A person may appeal against a special enforcement notice under subsection (3) whether or not he was served with a copy of it.
(5)The provisions contained in or having effect under sections 174(3) to (5), 175(1) to (4) and 176(1) to (4) shall apply to special enforcement notices issued by local planning authorities and to appeals against them under subsection (3) as they apply to enforcement notices and to appeals under section 174.
(6)The Secretary of State may by regulations apply to special enforcement notices and to appeals under subsection (3) such other provisions of this Act (with such modifications as he thinks fit) as he thinks necessary or expedient.
(1)Notwithstanding any interest of the Crown in Crown land, but subject to the following provisions of this section—
(a)a plan approved, adopted or made under Part II of this Act or Part II of the 1971 Act may include proposals relating to the use of Crown land;
(b)any power to acquire land compulsorily under Part IX may be exercised in relation to any interest in Crown land which is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown;
(c)any restrictions or powers imposed or conferred by Part III, VII or VIII, by the provisions of Part VI relating to purchase notices, or by any of the provisions of sections 266 to 270, shall apply and be exercisable in relation to Crown land, to the extent of any interest in it for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown.
(2)Except with the consent of the appropriate authority—
(a)no order or notice shall be made, issued or served under any of the provisions of section 102, 103, 172, 198, 199 or 215 or Schedule 9 or under any of those provisions as applied by any order or regulations made under Part VIII, in relation to land which for the time being is Crown land;
(b)no interest in land which for the time being is Crown land shall be acquired compulsorily under Part IX.
(3)No purchase notice shall be served in relation to any interest in Crown land unless—
(a)an offer has been previously made by the owner of that interest to dispose of it to the appropriate authority on equivalent terms, and
(b)that offer has been refused by the appropriate authority.
(4)In subsection (3) “equivalent terms” means that the price payable for the interest shall be equal to (and shall, in default of agreement, be determined in the same manner as) the compensation which would be payable in respect of it if it were acquired in pursuance of a purchase notice.
(5)The rights conferred by the provisions of Chapter II of Part VI shall be exercisable by a person who (within the meaning of those provisions) is an owner-occupier of a hereditament or agricultural unit which is Crown land, or is a resident owner-occupier of a hereditament which is Crown land, in the same way as they are exercisable in respect of a hereditament or agricultural unit which is not Crown land, and those provisions shall apply accordingly.
(1)The appropriate authority and the local planning authority for the area in which any Crown land is situated may make agreements for securing the use of the land, so far as may be prescribed by any such agreement, in conformity with the provisions of the development plan applicable to it.
(2)Any such agreement may contain such consequential provisions, including provisions of a financial character, as may appear to be necessary or expedient having regard to the purposes of the agreement.
(3)An agreement made under this section by a government department shall not have effect unless it is approved by the Treasury.
(4)In considering whether to make or approve an agreement under this section relating—
(a)to land belonging to a government department, or
(b)to land held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department,
the department and the Treasury shall have regard to the purposes for which the land is held by or for the department.
(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section—
(a)where there is a Crown interest in any land, the provisions of sections 109 to 113 and Part V and the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990 in so far as they relate to those sections or that Part, or to Part VII or sections 166 to 168 of the 1971 Act, shall have effect in relation to any private interest or Duchy interest as if the Crown interest were a private interest; and
(b)where there is a Duchy interest in any land, those provisions shall have effect in relation to that interest, and to any private interest, as if the Duchy interest were a private interest.
(2)References in this Act to claims established under Part VI of the 1947 Act include references to claims so established in accordance with arrangements made under section 88(2) of that Act (which provided for the application of Part VI of that Act to Duchy interests and for the payment of sums in lieu of development charges in respect of such interests); references to development charges include references to sums determined in accordance with such arrangements to be appropriate in substitution for development charges; and references to the amount of an established claim or of a development charge shall be construed accordingly.
(3)Where, in accordance with an agreement under section 297, the approval of a local planning authority is required in respect of any development of land in which there is a Duchy interest, the provisions of this Act referred to in subsection (1)(a) shall have effect in relation to the withholding of that approval, or the giving of it subject to conditions, as if it were a refusal of planning permission or, as the case may be, a grant of planning permission subject to conditions.
(1)This section has effect for the purpose of enabling Crown land, or an interest in Crown land, to be disposed of with the benefit of planning permission or a determination under section 64.
(2)Notwithstanding the interest of the Crown in the land in question, an application for any such permission or determination may be made by—
(a)the appropriate authority; or
(b)any person authorised by that authority in writing;
and, subject to subsections (3) to (5), all the statutory provisions relating to the making and determination of any such application shall accordingly apply as if the land were not Crown land.
(3)Any planning permission granted by virtue of this section shall apply only—
(a)to development carried out after the land in question has ceased to be Crown land; and
(b)so long as that land continues to be Crown land, to development carried out by virtue of a private interest in the land.
(4)In relation to any application made by virtue of this section for any determination under section 64, subsection (1) of that section shall have effect as if for the reference to an application for planning permission being required there were substituted a reference to such an application being required in the event of the proposed operations or change of use being carried out or made otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown.
(5)The Secretary of State may by regulations—
(a)modify or exclude any of the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (2) in their application by virtue of that subsection and any other statutory provisions in their application to permissions or determinations granted or made by virtue of this section;
(b)make provision for requiring a local planning authority to be notified of any disposal of, or of an interest in, any Crown land in respect of which an application has been made by virtue of this section; and
(c)make such other provision in relation to the making and determination of applications by virtue of this section as he thinks necessary or expedient.
(6)This section shall not be construed as affecting any right to apply for any such permission or determination as is mentioned in subsection (1) in respect of Crown land in a case in which such an application can be made by virtue of a private interest in the land.
(7)In this section “statutory provisions” means provisions contained in or having effect under any enactment.
(1)A local planning authority may make a tree preservation order in respect of Crown land in which no interest is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, if they consider it expedient to do so for the purpose of preserving trees or woodlands on the land in the event of its ceasing to be Crown land or becoming subject to a private interest.
(2)No tree preservation order shall be made by virtue of this section except with the consent of the appropriate authority.
(3)A tree preservation order made by virtue of this section shall not take effect until the first occurrence of a relevant event.
(4)For the purposes of subsection (3), a relevant event occurs in relation to any land if it ceases to be Crown land or becomes subject to a private interest.
(5)A tree preservation order made by virtue of this section—
(a)shall not require confirmation under section 199 until after the occurrence of the event by virtue of which it takes effect; and
(b)shall by virtue of this subsection continue in force until—
(i)the expiration of the period of six months beginning with the occurrence of that event; or
(ii)the date on which the order is confirmed,
whichever first occurs.
(6)Where a tree preservation order takes effect in accordance with subsection (3), the appropriate authority shall as soon as practicable give to the authority who made the order a notice in writing of the name and address of the person who has become entitled to the land in question or to a private interest in it.
(7)The procedure prescribed under section 199 in connection with the confirmation of a tree preservation order shall apply in relation to an order made by virtue of this section as if the order were made on the date on which the notice under subsection (6) is received by the authority who made it.
(1)A local planning authority in whose area any Crown land is situated may agree with the appropriate authority that subsection (2) shall apply to such use of land by the Crown as is specified in the agreement, being a use resulting from a material change made or proposed to be made by the Crown in the use of the land.
(2)Where an agreement is made under subsection (1) in respect of any Crown land, then, if at any time the land ceases to be used by the Crown for the purposes specified in the agreement, this Act shall have effect in relation to any subsequent private use of the land as if—
(a)the specified use by the Crown had required planning permission, and
(b)that use had been authorised by planning permission granted subject to a condition requiring its discontinuance at that time.
(3)The condition referred to in subsection (2) shall not be enforceable against any person who had a private interest in the land at the time when the agreement was made unless the local planning authority by whom the agreement was made have notified him of the making of the agreement and of the effect of that subsection.
(4)An agreement made under subsection (1) by a local planning authority shall be a local land charge, and for the purposes of the [1975 c. 76.] Local Land Charges Act 1975 the local planning authority by whom such an agreement is made shall be treated as the originating authority as respects the charge constituted by the agreement.
(5)In this section “private use” means use otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown, and references to the use of land by the Crown include references to its use on behalf of the Crown.
(1)This section applies where during the war period—
(a)works not complying with planning control were carried out on land, or
(b)a use of land not complying with planning control was begun by or on behalf of the Crown.
(2)Subject to subsection (4), if at any time after the end of the war period there subsists in the land a permanent or long-term interest which is neither held by or on behalf of the Crown nor subject to any interest or right to possession so held, the planning control shall, so long as such an interest subsists in the land, be enforceable in respect of those works or that use notwithstanding—
(a)that the works were carried out or the land used by or on behalf of the Crown, or
(b)the subsistence in the land of any interest held by or on behalf of the Crown in reversion (whether immediate or not) expectant on the termination of that permanent or long-term interest.
(3)A person entitled to make an application under this subsection with respect to any land may apply at any time before the relevant date to an authority responsible for enforcing any planning control for a determination—
(a)whether works on the land carried out, or a use of the land begun, during the war period fail to comply with any planning control which the authority are responsible for enforcing, and
(b)if so, whether the works or use should be deemed to comply with that control.
(4)Where any works on land carried out, or use of land begun, during the war period remain or continues after the relevant date and no such determination has been given, the works or use shall by virtue of this subsection be treated for all purposes as complying with that control unless steps for enforcing the control have been begun before that date.
(5)Schedule 15 shall have effect for the purpose of making supplementary provision concerning the enforcement of breaches of planning control to which this section applies and the making and determination of applications under subsection (3).
(6)In this section and that Schedule—
“authority responsible for enforcing planning control” means, in relation to any works on land or use of land, the authority empowered by virtue of section 75 of the 1947 Act or of paragraph 34 of Schedule 24 to the 1971 Act (including that paragraph as it continues in effect by virtue of Schedule 3 to the [1990 c. 9.] Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990) to serve an enforcement notice in respect of it or the authority who would be so empowered if the works had been carried out, or the use begun, otherwise than in compliance with planning control;
“the relevant date”, in relation to any land, means the date with which the period of five years from the end of the war period ends, but for the purposes of this definition any time during which, notwithstanding subsection (2), planning control is unenforceable by reason of the subsistence in or over the land of any interest or right to possession held by or on behalf of the Crown shall be disregarded;
“owner” has the same meaning as in the [1985 c. 68.] Housing Act 1985 and “owned” shall be construed accordingly;
“permanent or long-term interest”, in relation to any land, means the fee simple in the land, a tenancy of the land granted for a term of more than ten years and not subject to a subsisting right of the landlord to determine the tenancy at or before the expiration of ten years from the beginning of the term, or a tenancy granted for a term of ten years or less with a right of renewal which would enable the tenant to prolong the term of the tenancy beyond ten years;
“tenancy” includes a tenancy under an underlease and a tenancy under an agreement for a lease or underlease, but does not include an option to take a tenancy and does not include a mortgage;
“war period” means the period extending from 3rd September 1939 to 26th March 1946;
“works” includes any building, structure, excavation or other work on land.
(7)References in this section and that Schedule to non-compliance with planning control mean—
(a)in relation to works on land carried out, or a use of land begun, at a time when the land was subject to a resolution to prepare a scheme under the [1932 c. 48.] Town and Country Planning Act 1932, that the works were carried out or the use begun otherwise than in accordance with the terms of an interim development order or of permission granted under such an order;
(b)in relation to works on land carried out, or a use of land begun, at a time when the land was subject to such a scheme, that the works were carried out or the use begun otherwise than in conformity with the provisions of the scheme;
and references in this Act to compliance with planning control shall be construed accordingly.
(8)References in this section and that Schedule to the enforcement of planning control shall be construed as references to the exercise of the powers conferred by section 75 of the 1947 Act or by paragraph 34 of Schedule 24 to the 1971 Act (including that paragraph as it continues in effect by virtue of Schedule 3 to the [1990 c. 9.] Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990).