Amendment of the requirement to register applications in relation to the new preliminary assessment
609.Paragraph 4 inserts new subsections (4A) and (4B) into section 53B of the 1981 Act. Under this new provision the Secretary of State may by regulations provide that the duty to keep a register of applications in subsection (1) does not apply, or does not apply to any prescribed description of such applications, unless the authority serves notice under paragraph 2(4)(b) of Schedule 13A to the Act (preliminary assessment and notice of applications: England).
610.This measure will enable the Secretary of State to provide that applications are not required to be registered unless they have passed the new preliminary assessment procedure and notice has been served on every owner and occupier of any land to which the application relates. The burden on an authority of having to register an application which does not satisfy the preliminary assessment test is therefore removed. An explanation of the new preliminary assessment procedure is given below in the commentary on paragraph 6 of this Schedule.