Explanatory note

Part 7 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 applies the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 to the Crown. As well as applying the planning Acts to the Crown, Part 7 makes provision for national security, urgent Crown development, enforcement, preservation of trees and old mining permissions.

Section 88 of the 2004 Act gives the Secretary of State power, by order, to apply to the Crown any subordinate legislation made under or for the purposes of the planning Acts. As well as applying subordinate legislation to the Crown, this Order modifies the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Regulations 1990 and the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 to take account of the new provisions on urgent Crown development (articles 9 and 17) and modifies various sets of Rules relating to the procedure to be followed at planning inquiries to take account of the new provisions dealing with the appointment of persons to represent the interests of any person who is prevented from seeing evidence at a planning inquiry which subject to a national security direction (articles 24, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40 and 41 , and Schedules 2 to 7).

The Order modifies the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 by adding a new class of development, secure residential institutions. Change of use within that class to another use within that class does not constitute development The Order also adds use as a law court to class D1 which covers non-residential institutions (article 5).

The Order also modifies Part 13 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 1995 to give the Secretary of State planning permission in relation to works carried out under the Highways Act 1980 and adds new Parts 34 to 38 to give the Crown planning permission for certain activities including aviation development, Crown railways, dockyards and lighthouses, development for emergency purposes and development for national security or national defence purposes (article 16 and Schedule 1).

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business, charities, voluntary bodies or the public sector.