Article 15 Publicity for applications for planning permission

England and Wales

(1)

An application for planning permission must be publicised by the local planning authority to which the application is made in the manner prescribed by this article.

F1(1A)

In the case of any EIA application accompanied by an environmental statement, the application must be publicised in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (7) and by giving requisite notice—

(a)

by site display in at least one place on or near the land to which the application relates for not less than 30 days; and

(b)

by publication of the notice in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to which the application relates is situated.

(2)

In the case of an application for planning permission for development which—

F2(a)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)

does not accord with the provisions of the development plan in force in the area in which the land to which the application relates is situated, or

(c)

would affect a right of way to which Part 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (public rights of way) M1 applies,

the application must be publicised in the manner specified in paragraph (3).

(3)

An application falling within paragraph (2) (“a paragraph (2) application”) must be publicised in accordance with the requirements in paragraph (7) and by giving requisite notice—

(a)

by site display in at least one place on or near the land to which the application relates for not less than 21 days; and

(b)

by publication of the notice in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to which the application relates is situated.

(4)

In the case of an application for planning permission which is F3neither an application to which paragraph (1A) applies nor a paragraph (2) application, if the development proposed is major development the application must be publicised in accordance with the requirements in paragraph (7) and by giving requisite notice—

(a)

(i)

by site display in at least one place on or near the land to which the application relates for not less than 21 days; or

(ii)

by serving the notice on any adjoining owner or occupier; and

(b)

by publication of the notice in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to which the application relates is situated.

F4(4A)

In a case of an application for technical details consent to which neither paragraph (2) nor paragraph (4) applies, the application must be publicised—

(a)

in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (7), and

(b)

by giving requisite notice by site display in at least one place on or near the land to which the application relates for not less than 21 days.

(5)

F5In a case to which paragraphs (1A), (2), (4) and (4A) do not apply the application must be publicised in accordance with the requirements in paragraph (7) and by giving requisite notice—

(a)

by site display in at least one place on or near the land to which the application relates for not less than 21 days; or

(b)

by serving the notice on any adjoining owner or occupier.

(6)

Where the notice is, without any fault or intention of the local planning authority, removed, obscured or defaced before the period of 21 days referred to in paragraph (3)(a), (4)(a)(i) F6, (4A)(b) or (5)(a) F7, or before the period of 30 days referred to in F8paragraph (1A)(a), has elapsed, the authority is to be treated as having complied with the requirements of the relevant paragraph if they have taken reasonable steps for protection of the notice and, if need be, its replacement.

(7)

The following information must be published on a website maintained by the local planning authority—

(a)

the address or location of the proposed development;

(b)

a description of the proposed development;

F9(ba)

in the case of EIA application accompanied by an environmental statement, that statement;

(c)

the date by which any representations about the application must be made, which must not be before the last day of the period of 14 days F10, or in the case of an EIA application accompanied by an environmental statement 30 days, beginning with the date on which the information is published;

(d)

where and when the application may be inspected;

(e)

how representations may be made about the application; and

(f)

that, F11... in the event of an appeal F12made under section 78(1) of the 1990 Act that proceeds by way of the expedited procedure, any representations made about the application will be passed to the Secretary of State and there will be no opportunity to make further representations.

(8)

Subject to paragraph (9), if the local planning authority have failed to satisfy the requirements of this article in respect of an application for planning permission at the time the application is referred to the Secretary of State under section 77 (reference of applications to Secretary of State) of the 1990 Act M2, or any appeal to the Secretary of State is made under section 78 of the 1990 Act M3, this article continues to apply as if such referral or appeal to the Secretary of State had not been made.

(9)

Where paragraph (8) applies, the local planning authority must inform the Secretary of State as soon as they have satisfied the relevant requirements in this article.

(10)

In this article—

“adjoining owner or occupier” means any owner or occupier of any land adjoining the land to which the application relates; and
“requisite notice” means notice in the appropriate form set out in Schedule 3 or in a form substantially to the same effect.

F13(10A)

In this article, when computing the number of days, any day which is a public holiday must be disregarded unless—

(i)

the application is an EIA application accompanied by an environmental statement; or

(ii)

the application is one to which paragraph (11) applies.

F14(10B)

In this article, in the case of an application for public service infrastructure development, in paragraphs (3)(a), (4)(a)(i), and (6), “21 days” is to be read, in each place it occurs, as if it were a reference to “18 days”.

F15(11)

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Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Art. 15(1A) inserted (16.5.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(3)(a) (with regs. 47, 70)
F2: Art. 15(2)(a) omitted (16.5.2017) by virtue of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(3)(b) (with regs. 47, 70)
F3: Words in art. 15(4) substituted (16.5.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(3)(c) (with regs. 47, 70)
F4: Art. 15(4A) inserted (15.4.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) Order 2017 (S.I. 2017/402), art. 1, Sch. para. 2(2)(a)
F5: Words in art. 15(5) substituted (1.10.2018) by The Town and Country Planning and Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/695), regs. 1, 3(2)
F6: Word in art. 15(6) inserted (15.4.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) Order 2017 (S.I. 2017/402), art. 1, Sch. para. 2(2)(c)
F7: Words in art. 15(6) inserted (16.5.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(3)(e) (with regs. 47, 70)
F8: Words in art. 15(6) substituted (1.10.2018) by The Town and Country Planning and Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/695), regs. 1, 3(3)
F9: Art. 15(7)(ba) inserted (16.5.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(3)(f)(i) (with regs. 47, 70)
F10: Words in art. 15(7)(c) inserted (16.5.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/571), regs. 1(1), 72(3)(f)(ii) (with regs. 47, 70)
F11: Words in art. 15(7)(f) omitted (1.4.2026) by virtue of The Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) (Amendment and Saving Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/122), regs. 1(2), 3(2)(a)
F12: Words in art. 15(7)(f) inserted (1.4.2026) by The Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) (Amendment and Saving Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/122), regs. 1(2), 3(2)(b)
F13: Art. 15(10A) inserted (1.6.2018 with application in accordance with art. 1(6) of the amending S.I.) by The Town and Country Planning (Local Authority Consultations etc.) (England) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/119), arts. 1(4), 4
F14: Art. 15(10B) inserted (with application in accordance with reg. 1(5) of the amending S.I.) by The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure and Section 62A Applications) (England) (Amendment) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/746), arts. 1(3), 6
F15: Art. 15(11) omitted (1.5.2025) by virtue of The Town and Country Planning (Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/412), regs. 1(1), 11(3)

Marginal citations

M1: 1981 c. 69; see section 66. There are amendments to Part 3 which are not relevant to this Order.
M2: Section 77 was amended by paragraph 18 of Schedule 7 to the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 34) (“the 1991 Act”), paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to the Planning Act 2008 (c. 29) (“the 2008 Act”) and paragraph 10 of Schedule 12 to the Localism Act 2011 (c. 20) (“the 2011 Act”).
M3: Section 78 was amended by section 17(2) of the 1991 Act and paragraphs 1 and 3 of Schedule 10 (amendments in force for certain purposes and to come into force for remaining purposes on a date to be appointed, see S.I. 2009/400) and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 11 to the 2008 Act.