The Infrastructure Planning (Decisions) Regulations 2010
S.I. 2010/305 · Made 11 February 2010 · Extends to England, Wales and Scotland
Infrastructure Planning
Made 11th February 2010
Coming into force 1st March 2010
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 104(2)(c) and 105(2)(b) of the Planning Act 2008f1, makes the following Regulations, a draft of which has been laid before Parliament in accordance with section 232(7) of that Act and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament:C1
Annotations to the whole text
Modifications
- C1
Regulations applied (with modifications) (1.10.2011) by The Infrastructure Planning (Changes to, and Revocation of, Development Consent Orders) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2055), regs. 1, 47(8)
Footnotes
- f1
-
2008 c.29. For the meaning of “prescribed”, see section 235.
Contents
- 1Citation and commencement
- 2Interpretation
- 3Listed buildings, conservation areas and scheduled monuments
- 3ADeemed consents under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009
- 4Deemed consents under section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949
- 5Deemed licences under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985
- 6Hazardous substances
- 7Biological diversity
- Signature
- Explanatory note
1Citation and commencementI1
These Regulations may be cited as the Infrastructure Planning (Decisions) Regulations 2010 and shall come into force on 1st March 2010.
2InterpretationI1
In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Planning Act 2008;
“application” means an application under the Act for an order granting development consent;
“conservation area” means an area for the time being designated under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (designation of conservation areas)f1 F1, in Scotland under section 61 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservations Areas)(Scotland) Act 1997 F2and in Wales under section 158 of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023;
“hazardous substances” are those defined as such by regulation 3 of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 1992f2 and in Scotland by regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Regulations 1993f3;
“listed building” has the same meaning as that given by section 1 of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (listing of buildings of special architectural or historic interest) F3, in Scotland in section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservations Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 F4and in Wales under section 76 of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023; and
“scheduled monument” means a monument included in the schedule of monuments compiled by the Secretary of State under section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 f4 F5and in Wales under section 3 of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023.
3Listed buildings, conservation areas and scheduled monumentsI1
When deciding an application which affects a listed building or its setting, the F1Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of preserving the listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.
When deciding an application relating to a conservation area, the Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area.
When deciding an application for development consent which affects or is likely to affect a scheduled monument or its setting, the Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of preserving the scheduled monument or its setting.
3ADeemed consents under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009F1
This regulation applies in relation to an application where the F2Secretary of State is considering whether to include in an order granting development consent a provision deeming a marine licence to have been issued under Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, by virtue of section 149A of the Act.
When deciding an application to which this regulation applies, the Secretary of State must have regard to—
the need to protect the environment,
the need to protect human health, and
the need to prevent interference with legitimate uses of the sea.
4Deemed consents under section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949I1
When deciding an application to which this regulation applies, the Secretary of State must have regard to—
whether the development (whether being carried out or subsequently) causes or is likely to result in obstruction or danger to navigation; and if so,
the nature and extent of any such obstruction or danger to navigation.
5Deemed licences under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985I1
This regulation applies in relation to an application where the F1Secretary of State is considering whether to include in an order granting development consent a provision deeming a licence to have been issued under Part 2 of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985f1, by virtue of section 149 of the Act.
When deciding an application to which this regulation applies, the Secretary of State must have regard to the need to—
protect the marine environment, the living resources which it supports and human health; and
prevent interference with legitimate uses of the sea.
Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2), where it appears to the Secretary of State that the application has been made with the view to the disposal of substances or articles, the Secretary of State must have regard to the practical availability of any alternative methods of dealing with those substances or articles.
6Hazardous substancesI1
When deciding an application in respect of development that would involve the presence of a hazardous substance on, over or under land to which section 12(2B) of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990f1 applies (deemed hazardous substances consent: government authorisation) or for Scotland to which section 10(2B) of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997f2 applies, the F1Secretary of State must have regard to—
any current or contemplated use of the land to which the application relates;
the way in which other land in the vicinity is being used or is likely to be used; and
any planning permission or development consent that has been granted for development of that other land in the vicinity.
7Biological diversityI1
When deciding an application for development consent the F1Secretary of State must have regard to the United Nations Environmental Programme Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992f1 and where the application is for development in Scotland the F2Secretary of State must also have regard to any strategy designated under section 2(1) of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004f2.
Signature
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State
Ian Austin
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Department for Communities and Local Government
11th February 2010
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
The Planning Act 2008 (c.29) establishes the Infrastructure Planning Commission and provides for the making of orders granting development consent for certain types of nationally significant infrastructure projects. The decision-making function, depending on the circumstances is conferred on the Secretary of State, the Commission’s Council or a Panel of Commissioners. The Act creates a single consent regime, thereby removing the need for separate consents for each element of an application for consent.
The Regulations set out matters to which the Secretary of State, the Commission’s Council or a Panel of Commissioners (as the case may be) must have regard when deciding applications for development consent relating to—
listed buildings, conservation areas and ancient monuments (regulation 3);
deemed licences under Part 2 of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (regulation 4);
deemed consents under section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949 (regulation 5); and
hazardous substances (regulation 6).
Where a decision is to be made by the Council or Panel, they must also have regard to the United Nations Environmental Programme Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992 (regulation 7). The convention can be accessed at http://www.cbd.int/convention.
An impact assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations as there is no additional impact on business, charities or the public sector beyond what was examined in the impact assessment which accompanied the Planning Bill when it was introduced in Parliament on 27th November 2007. That assessment can be found on the Communities and Local Government website (http://communities.gov.uk).