Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011

Requirement of hazardous substances consent

108.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the presence of a hazardous substance on, over or under land requires the consent of the council (in this Act referred to as “hazardous substances consent”) unless the aggregate quantity of the substance—

(a) on, over or under the land;

(b) on, over or under other land which is controlled by the same person and which, in all the circumstances (including in particular the purpose for which the land and the land mentioned in paragraph (a) is used), forms with the land so mentioned a single establishment;

(c) on, over or under other land which is within 500 metres of the land mentioned in paragraph (a) and controlled by the same person; or

(d) in or on a structure controlled by the same person any part of which is within 500 metres of the land mentioned in paragraph (a),

is less than the controlled quantity.

(2) A quantity of a substance which falls within more than one paragraph of subsection (1) shall only be counted once.

(3) The temporary presence of a hazardous substance while it is being transported from one place to another is not to be taken into account unless—

(a) it is unloaded; or

(b) it is present on, over or under land in respect of which there is a hazardous substances consent for any substance, or in respect of which (not taking into account the quantity of the substance being transported) there is required to be such a consent for any substance.

(4) The Department—

(a) must by regulations specify—

(i) the substances that are hazardous substances for the purposes of this Act;

(ii) the quantity which is to be the controlled quantity of any such substance;

(b) may by regulations provide that hazardous substances consent is not required or is only required—

(i) in relation to land of prescribed descriptions;

(ii) by reason of the presence of hazardous substances in prescribed circumstances;

(c) may by regulations provide that, except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, all hazardous substances falling within a group specified in the regulations are to be treated as a single substance for the purposes of this Act.

(5) Regulations which—

(a) are made by virtue of paragraph (a)(i) of subsection (4); or

(b) are made by virtue of paragraph (a)(ii) of that subsection and reduce the controlled quantity of a substance,

may make such transitional provision as appears to the Department to be appropriate.

(6) Bodies corporate which are inter-connected for the purposes of the Fair Trading Act 1973 (c. 41) are to be treated as being one person for the purposes of this section and sections 109 to 117 and 162.