Duty to respond to consultation
Duty to respond to consultation
229.—(1) This section applies to a prescribed requirement to consult any person or body (the consultee) which exercises functions for the purposes of any statutory provision.
(2) A prescribed requirement to consult is a requirement—
(a)with which the council or the Department must comply before granting any permission or consent under or by virtue of this Act; and
(b)which is prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.
(3) The consultee must give a substantive response to any consultation mentioned in subsection (2) before the end of—
(a)the period prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, or
(b)such other period as is agreed in writing between the consultee and the council or the Department (as the case may be).
(4) The Department may also prescribe—
(a)the procedure to be followed for the purposes of this section;
(b)the information to be provided to the consultee for the purposes of the consultation;
(c)the requirements of a substantive response.
(5) Anything prescribed for the purposes of subsections (1) to (4) must be prescribed by development order.
(6) A development order may—
(a)require consultees to give the Department a report as to their compliance with subsection (3);
(b)specify the form and content of the report;
(c)specify the times at which the report is to be made.