A. W. & C. Barsby: Legal Research and Publishing

Chapter 2 - Planning basics

2-0 Link to Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the government's green paper on the future of planning.

2-0 The government has announced that there is to be a "planning portal" on the Internet, which will be developed by the Planning Inspectorate and which will provide guidance and information on planning. Link for information about the Planning Portal.

2-9 Link to the ODPM for guidance generally. Link for guidance about whether planning permission is required: for businesses and for householders.

2-8 Link to ODPM for index to PPGs. Ditto for ODPM Circulars. The text of most PPGs is now available on the Internet. Link to ODPM for PPGs. (Some are pdf downloads.) Some ODPM Circulars are available on the Internet: link to Circulars.

2-8 A few older policy documents are still relevant, in addition to the Guidance Notes.

2-19 The effect of these provisions can be subtle. If a householder starts to fill her garden with rubbish, this will by s. 55(3) involve a material change of use, but provided it is within the curtilage the material change of use will not constitute development (s. 55(2)(d)). Outside the curtilage of the house, it will be development, and planning permission will be required. This is of course in addition to the requirement for a waste management licence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990: see chapter 8 on environmental matters.

2-29 The two sorts of development for which planning permission under the GPDO cannot be withdrawn are development connected with mineral exploration, and the removal of minerals from a mineral-working deposit (Class B of Part 22 and Class B of Part 23).

2-31 The text summarises the effect of the GPDO. The GPDO itself needs to be considered in order to see the full effect. Link to HMSO for the GPDO.

2-31 Classes G and H, omitted from the text, deal with oil tanks and satellite dishes.

2-33 This is not an easy area to summarise without causing confusion: the GPDO has "classes", but so does the Use Classes Order, and the former refer to the latter!

2-36 "Agriculture" is defined in the 1990 Act and has a wide meaning, including horticulture and fruit farming. This definition applies to the GPDO.

2-36 Class C of this Part covers mineral extraction for agricultural purposes.

2-40 The Parts omitted from the text are concerned mostly with work by public bodies of various sorts.

2-41 On demolition, see also ODPM Circular 10/95.

2-49 The PPGs are too lengthy and detailed to be dealt with the text, but need to be carefully considered to see their full effect. Link to ODPM for PPGs.

2-57 For the law on outline applications, see the Town and Country Planning (Applications) Regulations 1988.

2-61 Link to ODPM for PPG1: see under the heading of "The plan-led system".

2-63 Link to HMSO for the latest Regulations which amend fees.

2-65 Link to HMSO for the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure)(England) (Amendment) Order 2002, SI 2002/828.

2-68 Link to ODPM for PPG1, which deals with planning obligations under the heading of "Operational Principles".

2-71 Link to the Planning Inspectorate for guidance on the work of Planning Inspectors.

2-74 Link to the Planning Inspectorate for information about these certificates.

2-78 Link to the Planning Inspectorate for information on purchase notices.

2-80 Link to ODPM for PPG18: Enforcing Planning Control. This describes the changes made by the 1991 Act and gives guidance on the general approach to enforcement.

2-81 Background information must also be supplied: this must explain the law and the right of appeal. Link to the Planning Inspectorate for information about enforcement appeals.

2-81 An enforcement notice must specify a period for compliance, with a start date and an end date. See R (on the application of Lynes) v West Berkshire District Council [2002] EWHC 1828, [2003] JPL 1137.

2-85 If the breach of the stop notice continues, there may be a further prosecution and a further fine. Section 183(4) applies only to buildings, not to caravans and mobile homes.

2-89 What does "substantially complete" mean? In Sage v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and Maidstone Borough Council [2001] EWCA Civ 1100, [2002] JPL 352, the Court of Appeal considered the meaning of "substantially complete". What had to be substantially complete were the operations which amounted to a breach of planning control. A building did not have to be ready for occupation before time started to run for the purposes of the 4-year period.