Part 6, Chapter 5: Decisions on applications
Section 103: Cases where Secretary of State is, and meaning of, decision-maker
185.Subsection (1) of this section provides that the Secretary of State has the function of deciding an application for an order granting development consent where he receives a report from the Panel or a single Commissioner. Subsection (2) defines the expression “decision-maker” in relation to an application for the purposes of the Act as meaning the Panel, the Council or the Secretary of State when it or she is responsible for deciding the application.
Section 104: Decisions of Panel and Council
186.This section provides that where a Panel or the Council is responsible for deciding an application for an order granting development consent, it must have regard to:
any relevant national policy statement;
any local impact report submitted by a relevant local authority
any matters prescribed in relation to development of that description; and
any other matters which the Panel or Council considers are both important and relevant to its decision.
187.Subsection (3) provides that the Panel or Council must decide the application in accordance with any relevant national policy statement, except to the extent that one of the exceptions in sub-sections (4) to (8) applies.
Section 105: Decisions of Secretary of State
188.This section provides that where it is the Secretary of State who decides an application for an order granting development consent, she must have regard to any local impact report submitted by a relevant local authority; any matters prescribed and any other matters which the Secretary of State thinks are both important and relevant to her decision.
Section 106: Matters that may be disregarded when deciding application
189.This section provides that a person deciding an application for an order granting development consent may disregard a representation that he considers is vexatious or frivolous. Representations may also be disregarded if it is considered that they relate to the merits of policy set out in a national policy statement or to compensation payable on the compulsory acquisition of land or of an interest in or right over land.
Section 107: Timetable for decisions
190.This section specifies that the decision-maker is under a duty to decide an application for a development consent order within a period of three months. This period starts from the end of the examination (if the decision-maker is the Panel or Council), from the day the Secretary of State receives the Commission’s report (if the decision-maker is the Secretary of State by virtue of section 103(1)) or from the deadline for completion of the Secretary of State’s examination of the application under section 113(2)(a) (if the decision-maker is the Secretary of State by virtue of section 113(2)(b)). Subsection (3) allows the appropriate authority to extend this deadline.