The Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988

Class C

Permitted development

C.  The carrying out with the prior approval of the mineral planning authority of development required for the maintenance or safety of a mine or a disused mine or for the purposes of ensuring the safety of the surface of the land at or adjacent to a mine or a disused mine.

Development not permitted

C.1.  Development is not permitted by Class C if it is carried out by the British Coal Corporation, or any lessee or licensee of theirs.

Prior approvals

C.2—(1) The prior approval of the mineral planning authority to development permitted by Class C is not required if—

(a) the external appearance of the mine or disused mine at or adjacent to which the development is to be carried out would not be materially affected;

(b) no building, plant, machinery, structure or erection—

(i) would exceed a height of 15 metres above ground level, or

(ii) where a building, plant or machinery is rearranged, replaced or repaired, would exceed a height of 15 metres above ground level or the height of what was replaced, rearranged or repaired, whichever is the greater; and

(c) the development consists of the extension, alteration or replacement of an existing building, within the limits set out in paragraph (3) below.

(2) The approval referred to in Class C shall not be refused or granted subject to conditions unless the authority are satisfied that it is expedient to do so because—

(a) the proposed development would injure the amenity of the neighbourhood and modifications could reasonably be made or conditions reasonably imposed in order to avoid or reduce that injury, or

(b) the proposed development ought to be, and could reasonably be, sited elsewhere.

(3) The limits referred to in paragraph C.2(1)(c) are—

(a) that the cubic content of the building as extended, altered or replaced does not exceed that of the existing building by more than 25%, and

(b) that the floor area of the building as extended, altered or replaced does not exceed that of the existing building by more than 1,000 square metres.

Interpretation of Part 19

D.1  An area of land is an approved site for the purposes of Part 19 if—

(a) it is identified in a grant of planning permission or any instrument by virtue of which planning permission is deemed to be granted, as land which may be used for development described in this Part; or

(b) in any other case, it is land immediately adjoining an active access to an underground mine which, on the date of coming into force of this order, was in use for the purposes of that mine, in connection with the purposes described in paragraph A.1(b)(i) or (ii) or paragraph B.1(b)(i) to (iii) above.

D.2.  For the purposes of Part 19—

“active access” means a surface access to underground workings which is in normal and regular use for the transportation of minerals, materials, spoil or men;

“ancillary mining land” means land adjacent to and occupied together with a mine at which the winning and working of minerals is carried out in pursuance of planning permission granted or deemed to be granted under Part III of the Act;

“minerals” includes coal won or worked by virtue of section 36(1) of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946(1), but not any other coal;

“the prior approval of the mineral planning authority” means prior written approval of that authority of detailed proposals for the siting, design and external appearance of the proposed building, plant or machinery as erected, installed, extended or altered;

“underground mine” is a mine at which minerals are worked principally by underground methods.

(1)

1946 c. 59.