The Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988

Class G Electricity Undertakings

Permitted development

G.  Development by statutory undertakers for the supply of electricity for the purposes of their undertaking consisting of—

(a) the laying underground of pipes, cables or any other apparatus, and the construction of shafts and tunnels reasonably necessary in connection with such pipes, cables or apparatus;

(b) the installation in an electric line of feeder or service pillars or transforming or switching stations or chambers;

(c) the installation of service lines to individual consumers from an electric line;

(d) the sinking of boreholes to ascertain the nature of the subsoil and the installation of any plant or machinery reasonably necessary in connection with such boreholes;

(e) the extension or alteration of buildings on operational land;

(f) the erection on operational land of the undertaking of a building solely for the protection of plant or machinery;

(g) any other development carried out in, on, over or under the operational land of the undertaking.

Development not permitted

G.1  Development is not permitted by Class G if—

(a) in the case of any Class G(b) development involving the installation of a chamber for housing apparatus exceeding 29 cubic metres in capacity, that installation would be carried out at or above ground level, or under a highway used by vehicular traffic;

(b) in the case of any Class G(e) development—

(i) the height of the original building would be exceeded,

(ii) the cubic content of the original building would be exceeded by more than 25% (or 10% in the case of any building on article 1(5) land), or

(iii) the floorspace of the original building would be exceeded by more than 1000 square metres (or 500 square metres in the case of any building on article 1(5) land);

(c) in the case of any Class G(f) development, the building would exceed 15 metres in height, or

(d) in the case of any Class G(g) development, it would consist of or include—

(i) the erection of a building, or the reconstruction or alteration of a building where its design or external appearance would be materially affected, or

(ii) the installation or erection by way of addition or replacement of any plant or machinery exceeding 15 metres in height or the height of any plant or machinery replaced, whichever is the greater.

Conditions

G.2  Development is permitted by Class G subject to the following conditions—

(a) in the case of any Class G(d) development, on the completion of that development, or at the end of a period of six months from the beginning of that development (whichever is the sooner) any such plant or machinery shall be removed and the land shall be restored as soon as reasonably practicable to its condition before the development took place,

(b) in the case of any Class G(f) development, approval of details of the design and external appearance of the buildings shall be obtained, before development is begun, from—

(i) in Greater London or a metropolitan county, the local planning authority,

(ii) in a National Park, outside a metropolitan county, the county planning authority,

(iii) in any other case, the district planning authority.