Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 (repealed 27.5.1997) in Wales
1972 c. 52 · Enacted 27 July 1972 · Extends to United Kingdom
Annotations to the whole text
Textual amendments
- F1
Act repealed (27.5.1997) by 1997 c. 11, ss. 3, 6(2), Sch. 1 Pt. I (with s. 5, Sch. 3)
Modifications
- C1
Act applied (with modifications) (25.7.2003 for specified purposes, 29.12.2003 in so far as not already in force) by Communications Act 2003 (c. 21), s. 411(2), Sch. 4 para. 9(2) (with Sch. 18); S.I. 2003/1900, arts. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. 1 (with art. 3) (as amended by S.I. 2003/3142, art. 1(3)); S.I. 2003/3142, art. 3(2) (with art. 11)
- C2
Act applied (with modifications) by S.I. 1984/467, reg. 26A (as inserted (30.6.2014) by The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2014 (S.S.I. 2014/139), regs. 1(1), 2(2) (with reg. 3))
Contents
- Part III: General Planning Control
- Reference of certain matters to Planning Inquiry Commission or independent tribunal
- 47Commissions to inquire into planning matters affecting Scotland and England.
- Part XII: Validity of Planning Instruments and Decisions and Proceedings Relating Thereto
- 267Local inquiries.
- Schedule S 3 AND 4Schedule S 3 AND 4
- Schedule 9: Joint Planning Inquiry Commissions
- Interpretation
- 1Paragraph 1
- 2Paragraph 2
- The reference
- 3Paragraph 3
- 4Paragraph 4
- 5Paragraph 5
- 6Paragraph 6
- Notice of reference to persons and authorities concerned
- 7Paragraph 7
- Proceedings of commission on reference
- 8Paragraph 8
- 9Paragraph 9
- 10Paragraph 10
- Local inquiries
- 11Paragraph 11
- 12Paragraph 12
- 13Paragraph 13
- 14Paragraph 14
- Supplementary
- 15Paragraph 15
- 16Paragraph 16
47Commissions to inquire into planning matters affecting Scotland and England.
The Ministers may constitute a Joint Planning Inquiry Commission to inquire into and report on any matter referred to them under this section; and the matters which may be so referred are those which may, under section 45 of this Act or F1section 101 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, be referred to a Planning Inquiry Commission but which appear to the Ministers to involve considerations affecting both Scotland and England.
a Joint Planning Inquiry Commission shall consist of a chairman and not less than two nor more than four other members appointed by the Ministers.
The Ministers may pay to the members of any such commission such remuneration and allowances as they may with the consent of F2the Treasury determine, and may provide for each such commission such officers or servants, and such accommodation, as appears to them expedient to provide for the purpose of assisting the commission in the discharge of their functions.
The validity of any proceedings of any such commission shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members of the commission or by any defect in the appointment of any member.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3
In this section “the Ministers” means the Secretaries of State for the time being having general responsibility in planning matters in relation to Scotland and in relation to England acting jointly; but their functions under subsection (3) of this section may, by arrangements made between them, be exercised by either acting on behalf of both.
Schedule 9 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Joint Planning Inquiry Commissions and references to them under this section, and with respect to the proceedings of a commission on any such reference.
267Local inquiries.C1
Subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister may cause a local inquiry to be held for the purposes of the exercise of any of his functions under any of the provisions of this Act.
The Minister shall appoint a person to hold the inquiry and to report thereon to him.
Notification of the time when and the place where the inquiry is to be held shall be sent to any person who has lodged and has not withdrawn objections in relation to any matter in question at the inquiry, and shall be published in such newspaper or newspapers as the Minister may direct.
The person appointed to hold the inquiry may, on the motion of any party thereto or of his own motion, serve a notice in writing on any person requiring him to attend at the time and place set forth in the notice to give evidence or to produce any books or documents in his custody or under his control which relate to any matter in question at the inquiry:
Provided that—
no person shall be required in obedience to such a notice to attend at any place which is more than ten miles from the place where he resides unless the necessary expenses are paid or tendered to him; and
nothing in this subsection shall empower the person appointed to hold the inquiry to require any person to produce any book or document or to answer any question which he would be entitled, on the ground of privilege or confidentiality, to refuse to produce or to answer if the inquiry were a proceeding in a court of law.
The person appointed to hold the inquiry may administer oaths and examine witnesses on oath and may accept, in lieu of evidence on oath by any person, a statement in writing by that person.
Any person who refuses or wilfully neglects to attend in obedience to a notice under subsection (4) of this section or to give evidence or who wilfully alters, suppresses, conceals, destroys, or refuses to produce, any book or document which he may be required to produce by any such notice shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F1level 2 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.
The Minister may make orders as to the expenses incurred—
by the Minister in relation to—
the inquiry;
arrangements made for an inquiry which does not take place; and
by the parties to the inquiry,
and as to the parties by whom any of the expenses mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) above shall be paid.
What may be recovered by the Minister is the entire administrative expense of the inquiry, so that, in particular—
there shall be treated as expenses incurred in relation to the inquiry such reasonable sum as the Minister may determine in respect of the general staff expenses and overheads of his department, and
there shall be treated as expenses incurred by the Minister holding the inquiry any expenses incurred in relation to the inquiry by any other Minister or Government department and, where appropriate, such reasonable sum as that Minister or department may determine in respect of general staff expenses and overheads.
The Minister may by regulations prescribe for any description of inquiry a standard daily amount and where an inquiry of that description does take place what may be recovered is—
the prescribed standard amount in respect of each day (or an appropriate proportion of that amount in respect of a part of a day) on which the inquiry sits or the person appointed to hold the inquiry is otherwise engaged on work connected with the inquiry,
expenses actually incurred in connection with the inquiry on travelling or subsistence allowances or the provision of accommodation or other facilities for the inquiry, and
any expenses attributable to the appointment of an assessor to assist the person appointed to hold the inquiry, and
any legal expenses or disbursements incurred or made by or on behalf of the Minister in connection with the inquiry.
Any order of the Minister under subsection (7) of this section requiring any party to pay expenses may be enforced in like manner as F3an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for the execution issued by the sheriff court of any sheriffdom in Scotland.
In this section F4, except where the context otherwise requires, the expression “Minister” means the Secretary of State, or any other Minister authorised under this Act to hold a local inquiry.
Schedule S 3 AND 4F1
1
In relation to matters specified in the first column of the Table below (being matters which under section 47 of this Act may be referred to a Joint Planning Inquiry Commission), “the responsible Ministers” for the purposes of this Schedule are those specified opposite in the second column of the Table, acting jointly.
Table
| Referred Matter | Responsible Ministers |
|---|---|
| 1. Application for planning permission or appeal under section 33 of this Act— | |
| (a) relating to land to which section 214(1) of this Act or F1section 266(1) of the Act of 1990 applies; | The Secretaries of State for the time being having general responsibility in planning matters in relation to Scotland and in relation to England and the appropriate Minister (if different). |
| (b) relating to other land. | The Secretaries of State for the time being having general responsibility in planning matters in relation to Scotland and in relation to England. |
| 2. Proposal that a government department should give a direction under section 37 of this Act or section 90(1) of the Act of 1990, or that development should be carried out by or on behalf of a government department. | The Secretaries of State for the time being having general responsibility in planning matters in relation to Scotland and in relation to England and the Minister (if different) in charge of the government department concerned. |
2
In this Schedule—
F1 “Act of 1990” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
“commission” means a Joint Planning Inquiry Commission constituted under section 47 of this Act; and
“referred matter” means a matter referred to a commission under that section.
3
Two or more of the matters mentioned in subsection (1) of section 47 of this Act may be referred to the same commission if it appears to the responsible Ministers that they relate to proposals to carry out development for similar purposes on different sites.
4
Where a referred matter relates to a proposal to carry out development for any purpose at a particular site, the responsible Ministers may also refer to the commission the question whether development for that purpose should be instead carried out at an alternative site, whether in Scotland or in England, or partly in one and partly in the other.
5
The responsible Ministers shall, on referring a matter to a commission, state in the reference the reasons therefor and may draw the attention of the commission to any points which seem to them to be relevant to their inquiry.
6
A reference to a commission of a proposal that development should be carried out by or on behalf of a government department may be made at any time.
A reference of any other matter mentioned in subsection (1) of section 47 of this Act may be made at any time before, but not after, the determination of the relevant referred application or the relevant appeal or, as the case may be, the giving of the relevant direction, notwithstanding that an inquiry or other hearing has been held into the proposal by a person appointed by any Minister for the purpose.
7
Notice of the making of a reference to a commission shall be published in the prescribed manner, and a copy of the notice shall be served on the. . . F1 planning authority for the area in which it is proposed that the relevant development shall be carried out.
In the case of an application for planning permission referred under section 32 of this Act or F2section 77 of the Act of 1990 or an appeal under section 33 of this Act or section 78 of the Act of 1990, notice shall also be served—
on the applicant or appellant; and
on any person who has made representations, relating to the subject matter of the application or appeal, which the. . . planning authority are required to take into account under section 26(2) or (3) of this Act or, as the case may be, section 71(1) or (2) of the Act of 1990.
In the case of a proposal that a direction should be given by a government department under section 37 of this Act or F3section 90(1) of the Act of 1990 with respect to any development, notice shall also be served on the local authority or statutory undertakers applying for authorisation to carry out that development.
In this paragraph, “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for the Environment jointly in the exercise of their respective powers under this Act and F4the Act of 1990.
8
A commission inquiring into a referred matter shall—
identify and investigate the considerations relevant to, or the technical or scientific respects of, that matter which in their opinion are relevant to the question whether the proposed development should be permitted to be carried out, and assess the importance to be attached to those considerations or aspects;
thereafter, comply with paragraph 9 below in respect of affording to persons an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, one or more members of the commission;
report to the responsible Ministers on the said matter.
9
A commission shall afford the following persons an opportunity of appearing and being heard as aforesaid:—
in any case, the local planning authority, if the authority so desire;
in the case of a matter mentioned in section 45(1)(a), (b) or (c) of this Act or F1section 101(2)(a), (b) or (c) of the Act of 1990, the applicant, if he so desires; and
in the case of an application or appeal mentioned in the said section 45(1)(a) or (b) or F2the said section 101(2)(a) or (b), any person who has made representations relating to the subject matter of the application or appeal which the. . . F3 planning authority are required to take into account under section 26(2) or (3) of this Act or F4section 71(1) or (2) of the Act of 1990.
10
The provisions of sections 32(5) and 33(4) of this Act and F1sections 77(5) and 79(2) of the Act of 1990 and the provisions of Schedule 7 to this Act and F2Schedule 6 to the Act of 1990, relating to the affording of an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed by the Secretary of State, shall not apply to an application for planning permission, or an appeal, referred to a commission.
11
A commission shall, for the purpose of complying with paragraph 9 above, hold a local inquiry; and they may hold such an inquiry if they think it necessary for the proper discharge of their functions, notwithstanding that neither the applicant nor the. . . F1 planning authority desire the opportunity of appearing and being heard.
12
Where a commission are to hold a local inquiry in connection with a referred matter and it appears to the responsible Ministers, in the case of some other matter falling to be determined by a Minister of the Crown and required or authorised by an enactment other than this Schedule to be the subject of a local inquiry, that the two matters are so far cognate that they should be considered together, the responsible Minister may direct that the two inquiries be held concurrently or combined as one inquiry.
13
For the purposes of the M1Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971 a local inquiry held by a commission—
if held in Scotland, shall be treated as one held by the Secretary of State in pursuance of a duty imposed by a statutory provision; and
if held in England, shall be treated as one held by the Secretary of State for the Environment in pursuance of a duty so imposed.
14
Subsections (4) to (9) of section 267 of this Act shall apply to a local inquiry held by a commission in Scotland as they apply to an inquiry held under that section.
Subsections (2) to (5) of section 290 of the M1Local Government Act 1933 (evidence and costs at local inquiries) shall apply in relation to a local inquiry held by a commission in England as they apply in relation to an inquiry caused to be held by a department under subsection (1) of that section, with the substitution for references to a department (other than the first reference in subsection (4)) of references to the Secretary of State for the Environment.
15
A commission may, with the approval of the Ministers and at their expense, arrange for the carrying out (whether by the commission themselves or by others) of research of any kind appearing to the commission to be relevant to a referred matter.
In this paragraph “the Ministers” means the Secretaries of State for the time being having general responsibility in planning matters in relation to Scotland and in relation to England, acting jointly; but their functions under this paragraph may, by arrangements made between them, be exercised by either acting on behalf of both.
16
Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, and to any directions given to them by the responsible Ministers, a commission shall have power to regulate their own procedure.