Town and Country Planning Act 1971

6 (1) A local planning authority, before preparing a development plan relating to any land in a county district, or proposals for alterations or additions to any such plan, shall consult with the council of that district, and shall, before submitting any such plan or proposals to the Secretary of State, give to that council an opportunity to make representations with respect thereto and shall consider any representations so made.

(2) Provision may be made by regulations under this Act with respect to the form and content of development plans, and with respect to the procedure to be followed in connection with title preparation, submission, approval, making and amendment of such plans ; and such regulations shall in particular make provision for securing—

(a) that notice shall be given by advertisement in the London Gazette, and in at least one newspaper circulating in the area concerned, of the submission to the Secretary of State of any such plan, or of proposals for the amendment of any such plan, and of any proposal by the Secretary of State to make or amend such a plan, and of the place or places where copies of the plan or proposals as so submitted, or of any such proposal of the Secretary of State, may be inspected;

(b) that objections and representations duly made in accordance with the regulations shall be considered, and that such local inquiries or other hearings as may be prescribed shall be held, before such a plan is approved, made or amended by the Secretary of State ; and

(c) that copies of any such plan as approved or made by the Secretary of State, including any amendments thereof, shall be available for inspection by the public, and that copies thereof (including reproductions, on such scale as may be appropriate, of any relevant maps) shall be available for sale to the public at a reasonable cost.

(3) If, as the result of any objections or representations considered, or local inquiry or other hearing held, in connection with a development plan or proposals for amendment of such a plan submitted to or prepared by the Secretary of State under this Schedule, the Secretary of State is of opinion that the local planning authority, or any other authority or person, ought to be consulted before he decides whether to approve or make the plan, either with or without modifications, or to amend the plan, as the case may be, he shall consult that authority or person but shall not be under any obligation to consult any other authority or person, or to afford any opportunity for further objections or representations, or to cause any further local inquiry or other hearing to be held.

(4) Subject to the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the Secretary of State may give directions to any local planning authority, or to local planning authorities generally—

(a) for formulating the procedure for the carrying out of their functions under the preceding provisions of this Schedule ;

(b) for requiring them to give him such information as he may require for the purpose of the exercise of any of his functions under those provisions.