# Planning (Wales) Act 2026, Paragraph 5: Power to make protection order

Extent: E+W
Status: prospective

(1) A planning authority may make a protection order in relation to any land in its area.
(2) The Welsh Ministers may make a protection order in relation to any land in Wales.
(3) A protection order may only be made if the planning authority considers or (as the case may be) the Welsh Ministers consider that—
(a) the land to which the order relates has been used for carrying out mining operations or depositing mineral waste, but
(b) the operations or depositing have been temporarily suspended.
(4) The planning authority or the Welsh Ministers may infer that the operations or depositing have been temporarily suspended only if—
(a) no mining operations or depositing of mineral waste have been carried out to any substantial extent on the land for at least 12 months, and
(b) the authority considers, on the evidence available to it, or the Welsh Ministers consider, on the evidence available to them, that the operations or depositing are likely to be resumed to a substantial extent.
(5) A protection order is an order requiring steps to be taken for the protection of the environment.
(6) In this Part “steps for the protection of the environment” means steps for one or more of the following purposes—
(a) preserving the amenity of the area in which the land to which the order relates is situated during the period while the operations or depositing are suspended,
(b) protecting that area from damage during that period, or
(c) preventing any deterioration in the condition of the land during that period.
(7) A protection order must specify a period, beginning with the date on which the order is to take effect, within which any required step for the protection of the environment must be taken, and it may specify different periods for taking different steps.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asc/2026/6/schedule/15/paragraph/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/planning-wales-act-2026/schedule-15/paragraph-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.