Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017

Development of new towns by local authorities

16 Development of new towns by local authorities

(1) The New Towns Act 1981 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 1 insert—

“1A Local authority to oversee development of new town

(1) This section applies where the Secretary of State is considering designating an area of land in England as the site of a proposed new town in an order under section 1.

(2) The Secretary of State may, in an order under section 1, appoint one or more local authorities to oversee the development of the area as a new town.

(3) But a local authority may only be appointed if the area of land mentioned in subsection (1) is wholly or partly within the area of the local authority.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about how a local authority is to oversee the development of an area as a new town.

(5) Regulations under subsection (4) may, for example—

(a) provide that a local authority is to exercise specified functions under this Act which would otherwise be exercisable by the Secretary of State, the appropriate Minister or the Treasury;

(b) provide that a local authority is to exercise such functions subject to specified conditions or limitations;

(c) provide that specified functions under this Act may be exercised only with the consent of a local authority;

(d) make provision about the membership of a corporation established under section 3, including the proportion of the members of the corporation who may be members of or employed by a local authority;

(e) modify provisions of this Act;

(f) make different provision for different purposes;

(g) make incidental, supplementary or consequential provision.

(6) In subsection (5)(a) the reference to “functions” does not include a power to make regulations or other instruments of a legislative character.

(7) Where two or more local authorities are appointed in an order containing provision by virtue of subsection (2), the Secretary of State may in that order provide—

(a) that a specified function is to be exercised by a specified local authority, or

(b) that a specified function is to be exercised by two or more specified local authorities jointly.

(8) In this section—

• “local authority” means—

  (a)

  a district council,

  (b)

  a county council, or

  (c)

  a London borough council;

• “specified” means specified in—

  (a)

  an order containing provision by virtue of subsection (2), or

  (b)

  regulations under subsection (4).”

(3) In section 77 (regulations and orders)—

(a) in subsection (2), after “which” insert “, subject to subsection (2A),”, and

(b) after subsection (2) insert—

“(2A) A statutory instrument containing regulations under section 1A(4) may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”