Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

63 Miscellaneous provisions as to the approval of plans

(1) A local authority with whom plans of any proposed work are deposited in accordance with building regulations may in prescribed cases pass them by stages in accordance with the regulations and, where a local authority pass any such plans to a limited extent at any stage.—

(a) they shall impose conditions as to the depositing of further plans in connection with the proposed work; and

(b) they may impose conditions for securing that, pending the deposit of such of the further plans as they may indicate, the proposed work will not be proceeded with except to such extent as they may in accordance with the regulations authorise.

(2) A person who contravenes any condition imposed by a local authority under subsection (1) above other than a condition as to the depositing of further plans, or permits any such condition to be contravened, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £400 and to a further fine not exceeding £50 for each day on which the offence continues after he is convicted.

(3) A local authority with whom plans of any proposed work are deposited in accordance with building regulations may, notwithstanding that the plans are defective or show that the work would contravene any of the building regulations, pass the plans provisionally, that is to say, subject to any modifications which they think necessary for remedying the defect or avoiding the contravention, indicating the modifications in the notice of approval and—

(a) if, within a prescribed time and in a prescribed manner so indicated, the person by or on behalf of whom the plans were deposited notifies the authority that he agrees to the modifications, the plans shall be treated as having been passed subject to those modifications; and

(b) if not, the plans shall be treated as having been rejected.

(4) In cases where by virtue of subsection (1) or (3) above plans are passed by stages or provisionally, the provisions of section 64(1) to (3) of the 1936 Act shall have effect subject to such modifications as may be prescribed.

(5) Where plans of any proposed work have been passed under section 64 of the 1936 Act by a local authority, the person by or on behalf of whom the plans were in accordance with building regulations deposited with the authority may, and in such cases as may be prescribed shall, for the purpose of obtaining the approval of the authority to any proposed departure or deviation from the plans as passed, deposit plans of any such departure or deviation ; and that section shall apply in relation to plans deposited under this subsection as it applies in relation to the plans originally deposited.

(6) Where in accordance with any existing enactment (however framed or worded) plans of a proposed building of any prescribed class are submitted to a Minister of the Crown for his approval—

(a) plans of the proposed building shall not be required to be deposited with the local authority for the purposes of section 64 of the 1936 Act in pursuance of building regulations;

(b) the Minister shall not approve the plans unless he is satisfied that, so far as applicable, the substantive requirements of building regulations will be complied with by and in connection with the proposed building;

(c) the approval of the plans by the Minister shall operate, for such purposes as may be prescribed, in the same way as the passing of them by the local authority would have operated;

(d) the Minister may exercise in connection with the proposed building the like powers of dispensing with or relaxing requirements of building regulations as are conferred on the Secretary of State and local authorities by virtue of section 6 of the 1961 Act (other than a power excepted by subsection (7) below), subject however to the like requirements as to consultation (if any) as apply by virtue of section 62(1) in the case of a local authority (but not to the requirements in the said section 6 as to consultation with the local authority) and to the like requirements as in the case of the Secretary of State apply by virtue of section 8 of the 1961 Act (opportunity to make representations about proposal to relax building regulations).

(7) In the preceding subsection " existing enactment" means an enactment passed before the coming into force of that subsection, other than an enactment relating to town and country planning; and the power excepted from paragraph (d) of that subsection is one which by virtue of section 62(4) is exercisable otherwise than by a local authority.