Planning (Wales) Act 2026

Prospective

CHAPTER 2 E+W LAND ADVERSELY AFFECTING AMENITY OF NEIGHBOURHOOD

Maintenance of land notices E+W

214 Power of planning authority to issue maintenance of land notice E+W

(1) A planning authority may issue a maintenance of land notice if it considers that the condition of any land in its area is adversely affecting the amenity of part of its area or of an adjoining area.

(2) But an authority may not issue a notice if it considers that the condition of the land results in the ordinary course of events from operations or use that do not constitute a breach of planning control or a failure to comply with a planning obligation, discontinuance order, prohibition order or protection order.

(3) A maintenance of land notice must—

(a) require steps specified in the notice to be taken to remedy the condition of the land to which it relates,

(b) specify the date on which it is to take effect, and

(c) specify the period within which the steps specified in it must be taken.

(4) The notice takes effect at the beginning of the day specified under subsection (3)(b); but where an appeal is made against the notice under section 215, this is subject to subsection (4)(a) of that section and section 379(4).

(5) Where a planning authority issues a maintenance of land notice, it must serve a copy of the notice on every owner and occupier of the land to which the notice relates.

(6) Each copy of the notice must be served—

(a) before the end of 28 days after the day the notice is issued, and

(b) at least 28 days before the date specified in the notice as the date on which it is to take effect.

(7) Regulations may require a planning authority to include with every copy of a maintenance of land notice served under this section an explanatory note giving information specified in the regulations about the right of appeal under section 215.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 214 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)

Appeals against maintenance of land notices E+W

215 Right to appeal against maintenance of land notice E+W

(1) A person on whom a copy of a maintenance of land notice is served, or any other person who has an interest in the land to which the notice relates, may appeal to the Welsh Ministers against the notice.

(2) An appeal may be made on one or more of the following grounds—

(a) that the condition of the land does not adversely affect the amenity of any part of the area of the planning authority that issued the notice, or of any adjoining area;

(b) that the condition of the land results in the ordinary course of events from operations or use that do not constitute a breach of planning control or a failure to comply with a planning obligation, discontinuance order, prohibition order or protection order;

(c) that the steps required by the notice exceed what is necessary for preventing the condition of the land from adversely affecting the amenity of any part of the planning authority’s area, or of any adjoining area;

(d) that the period within which the notice requires any step to be taken is unreasonably short.

(3) An appeal under this section must be made by serving a notice of appeal on the Welsh Ministers before the date specified in the maintenance of land notice as the date on which it is to take effect.

(4) Where an appeal is made—

(a) the maintenance of land notice has no effect until the appeal is finally determined or withdrawn (see also section 379(4) where proceedings are brought under that section in relation to the notice);

(b) neither the appellant nor any other person is entitled, in any other proceedings started after the making of the appeal, to claim that a copy of the notice was not served on the appellant in accordance with section 214.

(5) Regulations may make provision about—

(a) steps to be taken in connection with making an appeal (including the form and content of a notice of appeal and persons to whom copies of the notice are to be provided);

(b) further information that is to be provided to the Welsh Ministers in connection with an appeal.

Commencement Information

I2 S. 215 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)

216 Determination of appeal E+W

(1) On an appeal against a maintenance of land notice the Welsh Ministers may—

(a) correct any defect, error or misdescription in the notice, or

(b) vary the terms of the notice,

if they are satisfied that the correction or variation will not cause injustice to the appellant or to the planning authority that issued the notice.

(2) Where the Welsh Ministers determine an appeal—

(a) if they allow the appeal, they may quash the maintenance of land notice;

(b) they must give any directions necessary to give effect to their determination.

(3) Chapter 2 of Part 14 makes provision about the procedure for the consideration of appeals against maintenance of land notices (including provision for them to be determined by inspectors).

Commencement Information

I3 S. 216 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)

217 Grounds for appeal not to be raised in other proceedings E+W

(1) This section applies where a copy of a maintenance of land notice has been served on every owner and occupier of the land to which the notice relates in accordance with section 214(5).

(2) The validity of the notice may not be questioned, on either of the grounds specified in subsection (2)(a) and (b) of section 215, in any proceedings except an appeal under that section.

Commencement Information

I4 S. 217 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)

Enforcement of maintenance of land notices E+W

218 Order to permit steps required by maintenance of land notice E+W

(1) An owner of land may apply by way of complaint to a magistrates’ court for an order requiring another person who has an interest in the land to permit the owner to take steps required by a maintenance of land notice.

(2) The court may make such an order if it is satisfied that the other person is preventing the owner from taking steps required by the maintenance of land notice.

Commencement Information

I5 S. 218 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)

219 Powers to enter land, take steps required by maintenance of land notice and recover costs E+W

(1) If the period within which a maintenance of land notice requires any step to be taken, or a longer period allowed by the planning authority that issued the notice, has ended and the step has not been taken, the planning authority may—

(a) at any reasonable time enter the land to which the notice relates and take the step, and

(b) recover from a person who is then an owner of the land the costs it reasonably incurs in doing so.

(2) If a planning authority seeks to recover costs under subsection (1)(b) from an owner of land who—

(a) is entitled to receive the rack rent of the land merely as agent or trustee for another person (the “principal”), and

(b) does not have, and has not had at any time since the day payment of the costs was demanded, enough money on behalf of the principal to pay the costs in full,

the liability of the agent or trustee is limited to the total amount of money that the agent or trustee has had on behalf of the principal since that day.

(3) If subsection (2) prevents a planning authority recovering the whole of its costs from an agent or trustee, it may recover them from the principal, or partly from the principal and partly from the agent or trustee.

(4) Where a copy of a maintenance of land notice has been served—

(a) costs that an owner or occupier of the land incurs for the purpose of complying with the notice, and

(b) amounts that an owner of the land pays under subsection (1)(b) in respect of costs incurred by the planning authority in taking steps required by the notice,

are to be treated as incurred or paid for the use and at the request of any person who caused or permitted the land to be in the condition in which it was when the notice was issued.

(5) The costs recoverable by a planning authority under subsection (1) are, until recovered, a charge on the land to which the maintenance of land notice relates.

(6) The charge takes effect as a local land charge at the beginning of the day after the day the authority completes the steps to which the costs relate.

(7) Subsection (8) applies where—

(a) a planning authority removes materials from land in the course of taking steps required by a maintenance of land notice, and

(b) the owner of the materials does not, within 3 days after the day they are removed, claim the materials and take them away.

(8) The planning authority—

(a) may sell the materials, and

(b) if it does so, must pay the proceeds to the person who owned the materials, after deducting any costs recoverable by it from the person.

Commencement Information

I6 S. 219 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)

220 Offence of failing to comply with maintenance of land notice E+W

(1) A person on whom a copy of a maintenance of land notice has been served is guilty of an offence if any step required by the notice has not been taken by the end of the period allowed for compliance with the notice.

(2) Subsection (3) applies where proceedings under subsection (1) are brought against a person who has, before the end of the period allowed for compliance with a maintenance of land notice, ceased to be an owner or occupier of the land to which the notice relates.

(3) If the person lays an information to that effect and gives the prosecutor at least 3 clear days’ notice of the person’s intention, the person is entitled to have the subsequent owner or occupier brought before the court in the proceedings.

(4) Subsections (5) and (6) apply where proceedings are brought against a person (the “original defendant”) for an offence under subsection (1), and a subsequent owner or occupier is made a party to the proceedings under subsection (3).

(5) Where—

(a) it is proved that any steps required by the maintenance of land notice have not been taken by the end of the period allowed for compliance with the notice, and

(b) the original defendant proves that any failure to take those steps was due, in whole or in part, to the failure of the subsequent owner or occupier,

the subsequent owner or occupier may be convicted of the offence under subsection (1).

(6) It is a defence for the original defendant to prove—

(a) that any failure to take steps required by the maintenance of land notice was due, in whole or in part, to the failure of the subsequent owner or occupier, and

(b) that the original defendant took all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the notice.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(8) If a person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) does not, as soon as practicable after the conviction, do everything in the person’s power to secure compliance with the maintenance of land notice, the person is guilty of a further offence.

(9) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (8) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one tenth of level 3 on the standard scale for each day on which the failure to take any steps required by the notice continues.

(10) For the purposes of this section the period allowed for compliance with a maintenance of land notice is—

(a) the period specified in the notice as the period within which the steps specified in it must be taken, or

(b) a longer period allowed by the planning authority that issued the notice.

(11) In this section “subsequent owner or occupier” means—

(a) where proceedings have been brought against a person as an owner of land, a person who became an owner of the land on that person ceasing to be an owner;

(b) where proceedings have been brought against a person as an occupier of land—

(i) a person who became an occupier of the land on that person ceasing to be an occupier, or

(ii) if there was no occupier of the land on that person ceasing to be an occupier, a person on whom a copy of the maintenance of land notice was served as an owner of the land.

Commencement Information

I7 S. 220 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 409(2)