Section 1 Removal of surface soil without planning permission to be an offence against this Act.
If—
a person removes surface soil from agricultural land with a view to the sale of that soil, and
the removal of that soil constitutes development within the meaning of F1the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and is carried out without the grant of permission required in that behalf under Part III of that Act, and
the quantity of soil so removed in any period of three months amounts to more than five cubic yards,
he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.
Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the cutting of peat or to the removal of so much surface soil as it is reasonably necessary to remove in the course of cutting turf.
The reference in subsection (1) of this section to agricultural land shall include a reference to land the use of which for agriculture has been discontinued in consequence of the intention to remove surface soil from that land.
The reference in subsection (1) of this section to agricultural land does not include agricultural land in Wales.
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
Words substituted by Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990 (c. 11, SIF 123: 1, 2), s. 4, Sch. 2 para. 3(1)
- F2
S. 1(4) inserted (W.) (10.9.2025) by Legislation (Procedure, Publication and Repeals) (Wales) Act 2025 (asc 3), s. 9(2)(d), Sch. 1 para. 25