The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends, in relation to Wales, articles 1, 22, 23 and 25 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 (“the 1995 Order”).

The amendments made by this Order to article 22 of the 1995 Order (written notice to be given by the local planning authority when a decision or determination relating to a planning application is made) requires the local planning authority to provide additional information relating to policies and proposals in the development plan relevant to the decision (article 3).

The amendments made by this Order to article 23 of the 1995 Order (procedure for commencing an appeal) give to the National Assembly for Wales an express discretion to treat notice of appeal as not having been given within the relevant time limit if the documents which are required to be served together with the necessary form are not provided within that time limit (article 4).

The main changes to article 25 of the 1995 Order (register of applications) are necessary in order to require the local planning authority, in addition to the details already recorded in the register of applications, to include in the register the information set out in article 5 of this Order, being:

(a) in Part I, details of any planning obligation, section 278 agreement entered into or proposed in respect of an application for planning permission or application for the approval of reserved matters and of any other relevant planning obligation or section 278 agreement in respect of the land the subject of the application; and

(b) in Part II, details of any planning obligation and section 278 agreement entered into in connection with a planning decision by a local planning authority or the National Assembly for Wales, and of any other planning obligation or section 278 agreement taken into account when making the decision together with particulars of any modification or discharge of any such planning obligation or section 278 agreement.

The following matters are to be noted in relation to the amendments which have been made for England—

• The definitions of “planning obligation” and “section 278 agreement” were inserted into article 1 of the 1995 Order in relation to England by The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Amendment) (England) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/828).

• A new article 22(1) was inserted for England into the 1995 Order by The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/2047). However, article 22(1) of the 1995 Order remains in force in its original form in relation to Wales and the amendments made by this Order thus have effect in relation to the original article 22(1) of the 1995 Order.

• The new paragraph (4) which is inserted into article 23 of the 1995 Order is the same as the paragraph (4) which was inserted for England by The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2000 (S.I. 2000/1627).

• The amendments made by article 5 of this Order are the same as those which were made for England by S.I. 2002/828, but do not contain the further amendments which were made for England by The Town and Country Planning (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/956).