Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997

21 Power of Secretary of State to make regulations as to structure and local plans

(1) Without prejudice to the previous provisions of this Part, the Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to—

(a) the form and content of structure and local plans, and

(b) the procedure to be followed in connection with their preparation, submission, withdrawal, approval, adoption, making, alteration, modification, repeal and replacement.

(2) In particular any such regulations may—

(a) provide for the publicity to be given to the report of any survey carried out by a planning authority under section 4;

(b) provide for the notice to be given of, or the publicity to be given to—

(i) matters included or proposed to be included in any such plan,

(ii) the approval, adoption or making of any such plan or any alteration, modification, repeal or replacement of it, or

(iii) any other prescribed procedural step,

and for publicity to be given to the procedure to be followed as mentioned in subsection (1)(b);

(c) make provision with respect to the making and consideration of representations with respect to matters to be included in, or objections to, any such plan or proposals for its alteration, modification, repeal or replacement;

(d) without prejudice to paragraph (b), provide for notice to be given to particular persons of the approval, adoption, alteration or modification of any plan, if they have objected to the plan and have notified the planning authority of their wish to receive notice, subject (if the regulations so provide) to the payment of a reasonable charge for receiving it;

(e) require or authorise a planning authority to consult, or consider the views of, other persons before taking any prescribed procedural step;

(f) require a planning authority, in such cases as may be prescribed or in such particular cases as the Secretary of State may direct, to provide persons on request by them with copies of any plan or document which has been made public for the purpose mentioned in section 8(1)(a) or 12(1)(a) or has been made available for inspection under section 8(4) or 12(3), subject (if the regulations so provide) to the payment of a reasonable charge;

(g) provide for the publication and inspection of any structure plan or local plan which has been approved, adopted or made, or any document approved, adopted or made altering, repealing or replacing any such plan, and for copies of any such plan or document to be made available on sale.

(3) Such regulations may extend throughout Scotland or to specified areas only and may make different provisions for different cases.

(4) Subject to the previous provisions of this Part and to any such regulations, the Secretary of State may give directions to any planning authority, or to planning authorities generally—

(a) for formulating the procedure for the carrying out of their functions under this Part;

(b) for requiring them to give him such information as he may require for carrying out any of his functions under this Part.

(5) Subject to section 237, a structure plan or local plan or any alteration, repeal or replacement thereof shall become operative on a date appointed for the purpose in the relevant notice of approval, resolution of adoption or notice of the making, alteration, repeal or replacement of the plan.