The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015

Part 8 E+W Miscellaneous

Local development orders E+W

38.—(1) Where a local planning authority propose to make a local development order they must first prepare—

(a) a draft of the order; and

(b) a statement of their reasons for making the order.

(2) The statement of reasons must contain—

(a) a description of the development which the order would permit; and

(b) a plan or statement identifying the land to which the order would relate.

(3) Where a local planning authority have prepared a draft local development order, they must consult, in accordance with paragraph (5), such of the following persons whose interests the authority consider would be affected by the order if made—

(a) if the local planning authority is a London borough council, the Mayor of London;

(b) a local planning authority, county council or parish council any part of whose area is in or adjoins the area of the local planning authority;

[F1 (ba) a neighbourhood forum for a neighbourhood area any part of which is in or adjoins the area of the local planning authority;]

(c) Natural England M1 ;

(d) the Environment Agency M2 ;

(e) the Historic England M3 ;

(f) where the Secretary of State is the highway authority for any highway in the area of the local planning authority, the Secretary of State for Transport;

(g) a strategic highways company M4 any part of whose area is in or adjoins the area of the local planning authority;

(h) any person—

(i) to whom the electronic communications code applies by virtue of a direction given under section 106(3)(a) of the Communications Act 2003 (application of the electronic communications code) M5 ; and

(ii) who owns or controls electronic communications apparatus situated in any part of the area of the local planning authority;

(i) any of the following persons who exercise functions in any part of the area of the local planning authority—

[F2 (i) an integrated care board]

(ii) [F3 NHS England];

(iii) a person to whom a licence has been granted under section 6(1)(b) and (c) of the Electricity Act 1989 (licences authorising supply, etc) M6 ;

(iv) a person to whom a licence has been granted under section 7(2) of the Gas Act 1986 (licensing of gas transporters) M7 ;

(v) a sewerage undertaker;

(vi) a water undertaker;

(j) voluntary bodies some or all of whose activities benefit any part of the local planning authority's area;

(k) bodies which represent the interests of persons who share a protected characteristic M8 in the local planning authority's area;

(l) bodies which represent the interests of persons carrying on business in the local planning authority's area.

(4) The local planning authority must also consult any person with whom they would have been required to consult on an application for planning permission for the development proposed to be permitted by the order.

(5) In consulting in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) the local planning authority must—

(a) send a copy of the draft order and the statement of reasons to the consultees;

(b) specify a consultation period of not less than 28 days; and

(c) take account of all representations received by them during the period specified.

(6) A local planning authority must, during any consultation under paragraphs (3) and (4) —

(a) make a copy of the draft local development order, the environmental statement and statement of reasons available for inspection—

(i) at their principal office during normal working hours; and

(ii) at such other places within their area as they consider appropriate;

(b) publish on their website—

(i) the draft local development order, the environmental statement and the statement of reasons;

(ii) a statement that those documents are available for inspection and the places where and times when they can be inspected; and

(iii) the date by which representations on the draft local development order must be received, which must be not less than 28 days after the date of first publication on the website; and

(c) give notice by local advertisement of—

(i) the draft local development order, the environmental statement and the statement of reasons;

(ii) the availability of those documents for inspection, and the places where and times when they can be inspected; and

(iii) the date by which representations on the draft local development order must be received, which must be not less than 28 days from the date on which the notice was first published.

(7) Where the draft local development order would grant planning permission for development specified in the order, the local planning authority must also give notice of their proposal to make the order—

(a) by site display in at least one place on or near to the site to which the order relates a notice in the appropriate form set out in Schedule 7 or in a form substantially to the same effect, and, subject to paragraph (8), leaving the notice in position for a period of not less than 28 days beginning with the date on which it is first displayed by site display; and

(b) by serving a copy of that notice on every person whom the authority knows to be the owner or tenant of any part of the site whose name and address is known to the authority,

and specifying in the notice a date by which representations on the draft local development order must be received, which must be not less than 28 days from the date on which the notice was displayed by site display or served, as the case may be.

(8) Where the notice referred to in paragraph (7)(a) is, without any fault or intention of the authority, removed, obscured or defaced before the period referred to in that paragraph has elapsed, the authority is treated as having complied with the requirements of that paragraph if they have taken reasonable steps for the protection of the notice, and, if necessary, its replacement.

(9) Paragraph (10) applies where any notice of the proposal has been—

(a) published on the authority's website or by local advertisement in accordance with paragraph (6);

(b) given by site display under paragraph (7)(a); or

(c) served on an owner of the land or a tenant under paragraph (7)(b).

(10) A local planning authority must, in considering what modifications should be made to the draft local development order or whether such an order should be adopted, take into account any representations made in relation to that order and received by the authority by the date specified on the website or in the notices, in accordance with paragraph (6) or (7) as the case may be, as the date by which representations should be made (or, if the dates on the website or in the notices differ from each other, the latest of such dates).

(11) A local planning authority must send a copy of—

(a) the local development order,

(b) the statement of reasons relating to the making of that order, and

(c) any environmental statement relating to that order prepared in accordance with regulation 29(4)(a) of the 2011 Regulations M9 , to the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than 28 days, after the local planning authority has adopted the order.

(12) A local development order must not be made so as to grant planning permission—

(a) for development affecting a listed building, or

(b) for development which is Schedule 1 development within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the [F4 2017] Regulations (interpretation).

(13) Where a local planning authority revoke a local development order the authority must—

(a) publish on their website a statement that the local development order has been revoked;

(b) give notice of the revocation by local advertisement; and

(c) give written notice of the revocation to every person whom the local planning authority consulted under paragraphs (3) or (4) before making the order.

(14) In this article, a requirement to give notice by local advertisement is a requirement to publish the notice in as many newspapers as will secure that the press coverage (taken as a whole) extends to the whole of the area to which the local development order relates.

Textual Amendments

F1 Art. 38(3)(ba) inserted (1.10.2016) by The Neighbourhood Planning (General) and Development Management Procedure (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/873), regs. 1(1), 3(3) (with reg. 4(7))

F2 Words in art. 38 substituted (1.7.2022) by The Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential and Related Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/634), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 1

F3 Words in Order substituted (6.11.2023) by The Health and Care Act 2022 (Further Consequential Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1071), reg. 1(1), Sch. para. 1

F4 Word in art. 38(12)(b) substituted (16.5.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(8) (with regs. 47, 70)

Marginal Citations

M1 See section 1 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c. 16).

M2 See section 1(1) of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25).

M3 See section 32 of the National Heritage Act 1983 (c. 47). This body is also known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England.

M4 A body appointed under section 1 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 (c. 7).

M5 2003 c. 21.

M6 1989 c. 29; section 6 was substituted by section 30 of the Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27), subsection (1)(b) was substituted by section 136(1) of the Energy Act 2004 (c. 20) and subsection (1)(c) was amended by section 197(9) of, and Part 1 of Schedule 23 to, the Energy Act 2004.

M7 1986 c. 44; section 7 was substituted by section 5 of the Gas Act 1995 (c. 45) and subsection (2) was amended by sections 3(2) and 76 of, and paragraphs 1 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 to, the Utilities Act 2000 and by S.I. 2011/2704.

M8 See sections 4 to 12 of the Equality Act 2010 (c.15).

M9 S.I. 2011/1824, amended by S.I. 2012/637, 2013/2140 and 2013/2879.

Certificate of lawful use or development E+W

39.—(1) An application for a certificate under section 191(1) or 192(1) of the 1990 Act (certificates of lawfulness of existing or proposed use or development) M10 must be made on a form published by the Secretary of State (or on a form substantially to the same effect) and must, in addition to specifying the land and describing the use, operations or other matter in question in accordance with those sections, include the particulars specified or referred to in the form.

(2) An application to which paragraph (1) applies must be accompanied by—

(a) a plan identifying the land to which the application relates drawn to an identified scale and showing the direction of North;

(b) such evidence verifying the information included in the application as the applicant can provide; and

(c) a statement setting out the applicant's interest in the land, the name and address of any other person known to the applicant to have an interest in the land and whether any such other person has been notified of the application.

(3) Where an application for a certificate under section 192(1) of the 1990 Act is made in respect of Crown land M11 , it must, in addition to the documents required by paragraph (2), be accompanied by—

(a) a statement that the application is made in respect of Crown land; and

(b) where the application is made by a person authorised in writing by the appropriate authority, a copy of that authorisation.

(4) Where such an application specifies two or more uses, operations or other matters, the plan which accompanies the application must indicate to which part of the land each such use, operation or matter relates.

(5) Where an application is made using electronic communications to transmit a form to the local planning authority, the applicant is taken to have agreed—

(a) to the use of such communications by the local planning authority for the purposes of the application;

(b) that the applicant's address for those purposes is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with, the application; and

(c) that the applicant's deemed agreement under this paragraph subsists until notice is given in writing of the withdrawal of the applicant's consent to the use of electronic communications under article 46.

(6) Articles 11(1) and 34(8) apply to an application for a certificate to which paragraph (1) applies as they apply to an application for planning permission.

(7) When the local planning authority receive an application which complies with the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4) and any fee required to be paid with respect to the application, they must, as soon as reasonably practicable, send to the applicant an acknowledgement of the application in the terms (or substantially in the terms) set out in Schedule 1.

(8) Where, after sending an acknowledgement as required by paragraph (7), the local planning authority consider that the application is invalid they must, as soon as reasonably practicable, notify the applicant that the application is invalid.

(9) The local planning authority may by notice in writing require the applicant to provide such further information as may be specified to enable them to deal with the application.

(10) Where a valid application has been received, the local planning authority must give the applicant written notice of their decision within—

(a) the period of 8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following that on which the application is received; or

(b) unless the applicant has already given notice of appeal to the Secretary of State, within such extended period as may be agreed in writing between the applicant and the authority.

(11) Where a fee due in respect of an application has been paid by a cheque which is subsequently dishonoured—

(a) sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (10) has effect as if, for “the application is received”, there were substituted “ the authority are satisfied that they have received the full amount of the fee ”; and

(b) sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph has effect as if, at the end, there were added “ once the authority are satisfied that they have received the full amount of the fee ”.

(12) In this article, “valid application” means an application which—

(a) complies with the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4); and

(b) is accompanied by the appropriate fee,

and a valid application is taken to have been received when the application and all of the documents, particulars or evidence referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4) have been lodged with the appropriate authority mentioned in article 11(1) and the fee has been paid.

(13) Where an application is refused, in whole or in part (including a case in which the authority modify the description of the use, operations or other matter in the application or substitute an alternative description for that description), the notice of decision must state clearly and precisely the authority's full reasons for their decision and include a statement to the effect that if the applicant is aggrieved by the decision the applicant may appeal to the Secretary of State under section 195 of the 1990 Act (appeals against refusal or failure to give decision on application) M12 .

(14) A certificate under section 191 or 192 of the 1990 Act must be in the form set out in Schedule 8 or in a form substantially to the same effect.

(15) Where a local planning authority propose to revoke a certificate issued under section 191 or 192 of the 1990 Act in accordance with section 193(7) of the 1990 Act (certificates under sections 191 and 192: supplementary provisions) M13 , they must, before they revoke the certificate, give notice of that proposal to—

(a) the owner of the land affected;

(b) the occupier of the land affected;

(c) any other person who will in their opinion be affected by the revocation; and

(d) in the case of a certificate issued by the Secretary of State under section 195 of the 1990 Act, the Secretary of State.

(16) A notice issued under paragraph (15) must invite the person on whom the notice is served to make representations on the proposal to the authority within 14 days of service of the notice and the authority must not revoke the certificate until all such periods allowed for making representations have expired.

(17) An authority must give written notice of any revocation under section 193(7) of the 1990 Act to every person on whom notice of the proposed revocation was served under paragraph (15).

Marginal Citations

M10 Sections 191 and 192 were substituted by section 10(1) of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 34) and section 191 has been amended by section 124(3) of the Localism Act 2011 (c. 20). There are other amendments to section 191 which are not relevant to this Order.

M11 For the definition of “Crown land” see section 293 of the 1990 Act.

M12 Section 195 was amended by paragraph 32 of Schedule 7 to the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 34) and paragraphs 1 and 3 of Schedule 11 to the Planning Act 2008 (c. 29) and is to be amended by paragraphs 1 and 7 of Schedule 10 to the Planning Act 2008 on a date to be appointed).

M13 Section 193 was substituted by section 10(1) of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 34).