Default powers exercisable by county council

7A

In this Schedule—

• “upper-tier county council” means a county council for an area for which there is also a district council;

• “lower-tier planning authority”, in relation to an upper-tier county council, means a district council which is the local planning authority for an area within the area of the upper-tier county council.

7B

If the Secretary of State—

a

thinks that a lower-tier planning authority are failing or omitting to do anything it is necessary for them to do in connection with the preparation, revision or adoption of a development plan document, and

b

invites the upper-tier county council to prepare or revise the document,

the upper-tier county council may prepare or revise (as the case may be) the development plan document.

7C

1

This paragraph applies where a development plan document is prepared or revised by an upper-tier county council under paragraph 7B.

2

The upper-tier county council must hold an independent examination.

3

The upper-tier county council—

a

must publish the recommendations and reasons of the person appointed to hold the examination, and

b

may also give directions to the lower-tier planning authority in relation to publication of those recommendations and reasons.

4

The upper-tier county council may—

a

approve the document, or approve it subject to specified modifications, as a local development document, or

b

direct the lower-tier planning authority to consider adopting the document by resolution of the authority as a local development document.

7D

1

Subsections (4) to (7C) of section 20 apply to an examination held under paragraph 7C(2)—

a

with the reference to the local planning authority in subsection (7C) of that section being read as a reference to the upper-tier county council, and

b

with the omission of subsections (5)(c), (7)(b)(ii) and (7B)(b).

2

The upper-tier county council must give reasons for anything they do in pursuance of paragraph 7B or 7C(4).

3

The lower-tier planning authority must reimburse the upper-tier county council—

a

for any expenditure that the upper-tier county council incur in connection with anything which is done by them under paragraph 7B and which the lower-tier planning authority failed or omitted to do as mentioned in that paragraph;

b

for any expenditure that the upper-tier county council incur in connection with anything which is done by them under paragraph 7C(2).

4

In the case of a joint local development document or a joint development plan document, the upper-tier council may apportion liability for the expenditure on such basis as the council considers just between the authorities for whom the document has been prepared.