# The Town and Country Planning (Northwood Headquarters) Special Development Order 2025, Article 2: Interpretation


In this Order—
“2015 Order” means the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015;
“approval condition” means—
(a) a condition subject to which the Secretary of State gives a relevant approval or a subsequent approval, or
(b) a condition subject to which the Secretary of State gives an approval under a condition within paragraph (a);
“approved document” means—
(a) a document or part of a document submitted by the Defence Secretary to the Secretary of State, to which reference is made—
(i) in an approval condition,
(ii) in a relevant approval notice, to specify the development for which relevant approval is given in that notice, or
(iii) in a subsequent approval notice, to specify the relevant instrument or change, subsequent approval of which is given in that notice;
(b) at any date after a document or part of a document within paragraph (a) is amended or replaced pursuant to a subsequent approval notice, that document or part of a document, as so amended or replaced at that date by one or more subsequent approval notices,
and references to any particular approved document, including references in a relevant approval notice or approval condition, are to be construed accordingly;
“construction work” means—
(a) the erection, installation, provision, extension, maintenance, repair, improvement, alteration, decommissioning, removal or demolition of a building, structure, plant, equipment, machinery, sewer, main, pipe, cable or other apparatus;
(b) engineering or other operations, including any—
(i) excavation, other than mining operations;
(ii) building, engineering or other operation, including construction, maintenance or repair of a road that facilitates the carrying out of other operations, or access to a building or structure;
“construction worker” means a person engaged in construction work on the Order land;
“Defence Secretary” means the Secretary of State for Defence;
“European site” has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (European sites and European marine sites);
“the Map” means revision P05 of the map with reference number 1296Y16-TTE-ZZ-ZZ-DR-A-10012, submitted by the Defence Secretary to the Secretary of State;
“new document” means a document—
(a) for which the Defence Secretary is required to seek the Secretary of State’s approval pursuant to a Schedule 1 condition or an approval condition, and
(b) in respect of which the Secretary of State has not previously given subsequent approval;
“Order land” has the meaning given in article 1(4);
“personnel” means persons, other than construction workers, who work on the Order land and are employed to do so;
“relevant approval” means the Secretary of State’s prior approval for the carrying out of relevant development;
“relevant approval notice” has the meaning given in article 5(1)(b) (relevant approvals);
“relevant change of use” means any development that—
(a) falls within the class specified in article 4(1)(a) (grant of planning permission), and
(b) involves the change of use of a building or land—
(i) from being used for living accommodation to another use;
(ii) from another use to being used for living accommodation;
“relevant development” means development carried out, or to be carried out, under the planning permission granted by article 4(1), that—
(a) is a relevant change of use, or
(b) falls within a class specified in article 4(1)(b) or (c);
“relevant instrument or change” means—
(a) a new document,
(b) a document that embodies an amendment or replacement of an approved document,
(c) a document that embodies a variation or replacement of an approval condition, or
(d) the removal of an approval condition;
“relevant submission” means a written submission to the Secretary of State seeking relevant approval for relevant development;
“Schedule 1 condition” means a condition set out in Schedule 1 (conditions subject to which planning permission is granted);
“the Secretary of State” means, except in the definition of “Defence Secretary”, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government;
“subsequent approval” means the Secretary of State’s approval of a relevant instrument or change;
“subsequent approval notice” has the meaning given in article 6(1)(b) (subsequent approvals).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/37/article/2 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/town-and-country-planning-northwood-headquarters-special-development-order-2025/article-2
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.