Town and Country Planning Act 1984 (repealed 27.5.1997)

• Citation: 1984 c. 10
• Sections: 7

Section 1 Application for planning permission etc. in anticipation of disposal of Crown land.

(1) This section has effect for the purpose of enabling Crown land, or an interest in Crown land, to be disposed of with the benefit of—

(a) planning permission, listed building consent , hazardous substances consent or conservation area consent; or

(b) a certificate under section 90A of the Act of 1972 (certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development) .

(2) Notwithstanding the interest of the Crown in the land in question, an application for any such permission, consent or certificate as is mentioned in subsection (1) above may be made by—

(a) the appropriate authority; or

(b) any person authorised by that authority in writing;

and, subject to subsections (3) to (5) below, all the statutory provisions relating to the making and determination of any such application shall accordingly apply as if the land were not Crown land.

(3) Any planning permission granted by virtue of this section shall apply only—

(a) to development carried out after the land in question has ceased to be Crown land; and

(b) so long as that land continues to be Crown land, to development carried out by virtue of a private interest in the land;

and any listed building consent or conservation area consent granted by virtue of this section shall apply only to works carried out as aforesaid.

(3A) Any hazardous substances consent granted by virtue of this section shall apply only—

(a) to the presence of the substance to which the consent relates after the land in question has ceased to be Crown land; and

(b) so long as that land continues to be Crown land to the presence of the substance by virtue of a private interest in the land.

(4) Any application made by virtue of this section for a certificate under section 90A shall be determined as if the land were not Crown land.

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a) modify or exclude any of the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (2) above in their application by virtue of that subsection and any other statutory provisions in their application to permissions, consents or certificates granted or made by virtue of this section;

(b) make provision for requiring . . . , a planning authority to be notified of any disposal of, or of an interest in, any Crown land in respect of which an application has been made by virtue of this section; and

(c) make such other provision in relation to the making and determination of applications by virtue of this section as he thinks necessary or expedient.

(6) In this section “ conservation area consent ” means consent under . . . section 262A of the Act of 1972 (demolition of buildings in conservation areas), “ statutory provisions ” means provisions contained in or having effect under any enactment and references to the disposal of an interest in Crown land include references to the grant of an interest in such land.

(7) This section shall not be construed as affecting any right to apply for any such permission, consent or certificate as is mentioned in subsection (1) above in respect of Crown land in a case in which such an application can be made by virtue of a private interest in the land.

(8) Any permission or consent granted before the date on which this section comes into force which would have been a valid planning permission, listed building consent or conservation area consent but for the fact that—

(a) the land in respect of which it was granted was Crown land; and

(b) no interest in the land was for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown,

shall be deemed to have been a valid planning permission, listed building consent or conservation area consent, as the case may be; but any permission or consent validated by this subsection shall have effect (and be deemed always to have had effect) as provided in subsection (3) above.

Section 2 Tree preservation orders in anticipation of disposal of Crown land.

(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , a planning authority may make a tree preservation order in respect of Crown land in which no interest is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown if they consider it expedient to do so for the purpose of preserving trees or woodlands on the land in the event of its ceasing to be Crown land or becoming subject to a private interest.

(2) No tree preservation order shall be made by virtue of this section except with the consent of the appropriate authority.

(3) A tree preservation order made by virtue of this section shall not take effect until the land in question ceases to be Crown land or becomes subject to a private interest, whichever first occurs.

(4) A tree preservation order made by virtue of this section shall not require confirmation under . . . section 58 of the Act of 1972 until after the occurrence of the event by virtue of which it takes effect in accordance with subsection (3) above; and any such order shall by virtue of this subsection continue in force until—

(a) the expiration of the period of six months beginning with the occurrence of that event; or

(b) the date on which the order is confirmed,

whichever first occurs.

(5) On the occurrence of any event by virtue of which a tree preservation order takes effect in accordance with subsection (3) above the appropriate authority shall as soon as practicable give to the authority that made the order a notice in writing of the name and address of the person who has become entitled to the land in question or to a private interest in it; and the procedure prescribed under the provisions mentioned in subsection (4) above in connection with the confirmation of the order shall apply as if the order had been made on the date on which that notice is received by the authority.

(6) In section 58(4) of the Act of 1972 after the words “section 59 of this Act” there shall be inserted the words “and section 2 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1984 (tree preservation orders in anticipation of disposal of Crown land)”.

(7) Any order made before the date on which this section comes into force which would have been a valid tree preservation order but for the fact that—

(a) the land in respect of which it was made was Crown land; and

(b) no interest in the land was for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown,

shall be deemed to have been a valid tree preservation order; but any order validated by this subsection shall have effect (and be deemed always to have had effect) as provided in subsection (3) above.

Section 3 Control of development on Crown land.

(1) This section applies to development of Crown land carried out otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown at a time when no person is entitled to occupy it by virtue of a private interest.

(2) Where it appears to . . . , a planning authority that development to which this section applies has taken place in their area they may, if they consider it expedient to do so having regard to the provisions of the development plan and to any other material considerations, issue a notice under this section (a “special enforcement notice”) and serve copies of it in accordance with subsection (6) below.

(3) No special enforcement notice shall be issued except with the consent of the appropriate authority.

(4) A special enforcement notice shall specify—

(a) the matters alleged to constitute development to which this section applies; and

(b) the steps which the authority issuing the notice require to be taken for restoring the land to its condition before the development took place or for discontinuing any use of the land which has been instituted by the development.

(5) A special enforcement notice shall also specify the date on which it is to take effect and the period within which any such steps as are mentioned in subsection (4)(b) above are to be taken and may specify different periods for the taking of different steps.

(6) A copy of a special enforcement notice shall be served, not later than twenty-eight days after the date of its issue and not later than twenty-eight days before the date specified in the notice as the date on which it is to take effect—

(a) on the person who carried out the development alleged in the notice;

(b) on any person who is occupying the land on the date on which the notice is issued; and

(c) on the appropriate authority;

but paragraph (a) above shall not apply if the authority issuing the notice are unable after reasonable enquiry to identify or trace the person mentioned in that paragraph.

(7) Any such person as is mentioned in subsection (6)(a) or (b) above (whether or not served with a copy of the special enforcement notice) may, at any time before the date specified in the notice as the date on which it is to take effect, appeal against the notice to the Secretary of State on the ground that the matters alleged in the notice have not taken place or do not constitute development to which this section applies.

(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9) The provisions contained in or having effect under subsections (2) to (5) of section 85 of the Act of 1972 (supplementary provisions relating to appeals against enforcement notices in Scotland) shall apply to special enforcement notices issued by planning authorities and to appeals against such notices under subsection (7) above as they apply to enforcement notices and to appeals under that section; and the Secretary of State may by regulations apply to such special enforcement notices and appeals under that subsection such other provisions of that Act (with such modifications as he thinks fit) as he thinks necessary or expedient.

Section 4 Persons in occupation of land by virtue of a licence or contract.

(1) A person who is entitled to occupy Crown land by virtue of . . . , a contract in writing shall be treated for the purposes of—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , section 253(1)(b) of the Act of 1972 so far as applicable to Parts III to V of that Act (planning control etc. in relation to Crown land where there is a private interest); and

(b) sections 1, 2 and 3 above,

as having an interest in land, and references in section 1 above to the disposal or grant of an interest in Crown land, and in that section and sections 2 and 3 above to a private interest in such land, shall be construed accordingly.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section 5 Requirement of planning permission for continuance of use instituted by the Crown.

(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , a planning authority in whose area any Crown land is situated may agree with the appropriate authority that subsection (2) below shall apply to such use of land by the Crown as is specified in the agreement, being a use resulting from a material change made or proposed to be made by the Crown in the use of the land.

(2) Where an agreement is made under subsection (1) above in respect of any Crown land, then, if at any time the land ceases to be used by the Crown for the purpose specified in the agreement, . . . , the Act of 1972 shall have effect in relation to any subsequent private use of the land as if the specified use by the Crown had required planning permission and been authorised by planning permission granted subject to a condition requiring its discontinuance at that time.

(3) The condition referred to in subsection (2) above shall not be enforceable against any person who had a private interest in the land at the time when the agreement was made unless the . . . planning authority by whom the agreement was made have notified him of the making of the agreement and of the effect of that subsection.

(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) An agreement made under subsection (1) above by a planning authority shall be recorded in the appropriate Register of Sasines or, as appropriate, registered in accordance with the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979, and the condition referred to in subsection (2) above shall not be enforceable against any person acquiring title to the land after the agreement is made unless the agreement has been so recorded or registered before he acquired title.

(6) References in this section to the use of land by the Crown include references to its use on behalf of the Crown, and “ private use ” means use otherwise than by or on behalf the Crown.

Section 6 Interpretation and supplementary provisions.

(1) In this Act—

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

“ the Act of 1972 ” means the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972;

“ the appropriate authority ”, “ Crown land ” and “ Crown interest ” have the meaning given in . . . , section 253(7) of the Act of 1972 and “ Duchy interest ” has the meaning given in section 293(1) and (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ;

“ private interest ” means an interest which is neither a Crown interest nor a Duchy interest.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) The Act of 1972 and the provisions of this Act so far as applicable to Scotland shall have effect as if those provisions were included in that Act.

(5) In section 2 of this Act “ local planning authority ”, in relation to land within the Broads, includes the Broads Authority.

(6) Subject to subsection (5) above, the Broads Authority shall, for the purposes of this Act, be the sole district planning authority in relation to land within the Broads.

Section 7 Short title, commencement and extent.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Town and Country Planning Act 1984.

(2) This Act shall not come into force until the end of the period of four months beginning with the day on which it is passed; but—

(a) section 3 above shall apply to any development carried out after the passing of this Act; and

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.