London Government Act 1963

24 Local planning authorities

(1) The provisions of this section shall have effect with respect to the local planning authority for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning Act 1962 (hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as " the Planning Act ") in its application to Greater London.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (5) of this section, the Greater London Council shall be the local planning authority for Greater London as a whole.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section and to sections 25 to 29 of this Act, for all purposes of the Planning Act except sections 7(2), (5) and (6) the local planning authority as respects any London borough shall be the council of the borough and as respects the City shall be the Common Council; and any application under Part III of the Planning Act for planning permission for any development shall be made to, and, subject to the said subsection (4) and (section 22 of the Planning Act, shall be determined by, such as may be appropriate of those councils ; but, except in any case or class of cases with respect to which the Greater London Council otherwise direct, each London borough council and the Common Council shall cause a copy of every decision made by them on such an application to be sent to the Greater London Council, together with a copy of the application and such other information relating thereto and to the decision as the Greater London Council may reasonably require.

(4) In relation to development of such a class in such area of Greater London as the Minister may by regulations prescribe the Greater London Council shall be the local planning authority for all relevant purposes of the Planning Act other than the reception of applications for, or with respect to the need for, planning permission for such development, and accordingly, subject to subsection (5) of this section, the council by whom there is received—

(a) any application for planning permission for such development; or

(b) any application under section 43 of the Planning Act in the case of which it appears to that council that the proposed action to which the application relates would constitute or involve such development if it constituted or involved development at all,

shall forward the application to the Greater London Council, who shall deal with it in like manner as if it had been made to them; and such development of land in such an area by the Greater London Council shall be deemed for the purposes of sections 42(1) and 66 of that Act to be development by that Council of land in respect of which they are the local planning authority; but, without prejudice to the said subsection (5), the Greater London Council may in any particular case by instrument in writing authorise a London borough council or the Common Council to discharge on their behalf any functions under sections 45 to 51 of that Act with respect to such development of land in such an area.

(5) Section 5 (1) of this Act shall not apply to any functions of the Greater London Council under the Planning Act or under or by virtue of sections 24 to 29 of this Act, but the Greater London Council may with the consent of the Minister, and shall if so required by the Minister, delegate to the council of a London borough or the Common Council any of those functions so far as exercisable in that borough or, as the case may be, in the City, and any council to whom functions are so delegated shall perform those functions on behalf of the Greater London Council.

(6) Without prejudice to his powers by virtue of section 19 (2) or 22 of the Planning Act, the Minister may by regulations make with respect to applications for planning permission for development in Greater London provision for particular applications or applications of a particular class to be referred before they are dealt with by the local planning authority—

(a) in the case of an application falling to be dealt with by the Greater London Council, to the Minister;

(b) in the case of an application falling to be dealt with by a London borough council or the Common Council—

(i) to the Greater London Council; or

(ii) in such cases as the regulations may prescribe, to the Minister;

(c) in the case of an application referred to the Greater London Council by virtue of paragraph (b)(i) of this subsection, to the Minister,

and for the giving to the referring council by the Greater London Council or, as the case may be, the Minister of directions as to the manner in which the application is to be dealt with; and in particular the Minister shall make regulations under this subsection with respect to any application which the local planning authority consider should be granted for permission for development inconsistent with the Greater London development plan referred to in section 25 (3) (or, as respects any period before that plan becomes operative, with the initial development plan referred to in section 25 (2)) of this Act.

(7) The Greater London Council may agree with a London borough council or the Common Council for the transfer to the borough council or Common Council of any liability of the Greater London Council to pay compensation under the Planning Act in respect of anything done by the borough council or Common Council in the exercise of functions delegated to them under subsection (5) of this section and for the transfer of any officers of any of those councils; and any such agreement shall include provisions in accordance with section 85(3) of this Act for the protection of the interests of such officers.

(8) In relation to land in a London borough or the City—

(a) references to local planning authorities in any of the following enactments, that is to say—

(i) sections 33 and 34 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Electricity Act 1957;

(ii) section 108 of, and Schedule 12 to, the Highways Act 1959;

(iii) Schedule 1 to the Pipe-lines Act 1962,

shall be construed as including references to the Greater London Council but not to the borough council or the Common Council;

(b) the reference in section 86(4) of the Transport Act 1962 to the local planning authority to whom application is made for permission for the development in question shall be construed as a reference to the local planning authority by whom that application falls to be dealt with;

(c) references in section 3(2) of the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 to the local planning authority shall be construed as including references both to the Greater London Council and to the borough council or, as the case may be, the Common Council;

(d) any reference in section 17 or 20 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 to the local planning authority shall be construed as a reference to the borough council or, as the case may be, the Common Council;

(e) any reference in Part III of the Land Compensation Act 1961 to the local planning authority shall be construed as a reference to the borough council or, as the case may be, the Common Council; but that council shall consult with the Greater London Council before issuing a certificate under section 17 of that Act in any case where an application for planning permission for any development to which the certificate would relate would fall to be dealt with by the Greater London Council.

(9) The Greater London Council may direct that any expenses incurred by them under any of the provisions specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 to the Planning Act or by virtue of sections 24 to 29 of this Act shall be treated as expenses for special London purposes chargeable upon such part of Greater London as may be specified in the direction.