Environmental Protection Act 1990

36 Grant of licences

(1) An application for a licence shall be made—

(a) in the case of an application for a site licence, to the waste regulation authority in whose area the land is situated; and

(b) in the case of an application for a mobile plant licence, to the waste regulation authority in whose area the operator of the plant has his principal place of business;

and shall be made in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State in regulations and accompanied by the prescribed fee payable under section 41 below.

(2) A licence shall not be issued for a use of land for which planning permission is required in pursuance of the [1990 c. 8.] Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or the [1972 c. 52.] Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 unless—

(a) such planning permission is in force in relation to that use of the land, or

(b) an established use certificate is in force under section 192 of the said Act of 1990 or section 90 of the said Act of 1972 in relation to that use of the land.

(3) Subject to subsection (2) above and subsection (4) below, a waste regulation authority to which an application for a licence has been duly made shall not reject the application if it is satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person unless it is satisfied that its rejection is necessary for the purpose of preventing—

(a) pollution of the environment;

(b) harm to human health; or

(c) serious detriment to the amenities of the locality;

but paragraph (c) above is inapplicable where planning permission is in force in relation to the use to which the land will be put under the licence.

(4) Where the waste regulation authority proposes to issue a licence, the authority must, before it does so,—

(a) refer the proposal to the National Rivers Authority and the Health and Safety Executive; and

(b) consider any representations about the proposal which the Authority or the Executive makes to it during the allowed period.

(5) If, following the referral of a proposal to the National Rivers Authority under subsection (4)(a) above, the Authority requests that the licence be not issued or disagrees about the conditions of the proposed licence either of them may refer the matter to the Secretary of State and the licence shall not be issued except in accordance with his decision.

(6) Subsection (4) above shall not apply to Scotland, but in Scotland where a waste regulation authority (other than an islands council) proposes to issue a licence, the authority must, before it does so,—

(a) refer the proposal to—

(i) the river purification authority whose area includes any of the relevant land;

(ii) the Health and Safety Executive;

(iii) where the waste regulation authority is not also a district planning authority within the meaning of section 172 of the [1973 c. 65.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the general planning authority within the meaning of that section whose area includes any of the relevant land; and

(b) consider any representations about the proposal which the river purification authority, the Executive or the general planning authority makes to it during the allowed period,

and if the river purification authority requests that the licence be not issued or disagrees with the waste regulation authority about the conditions of the proposed licence either of them may refer the matter to the Secretary of State and the licence shall not be issued except in accordance with his decision.

(7) Where any part of the land to be used is land which has been notified under section 28(1) of the [1981 c. 69.] Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (protection for certain areas) and the waste regulation authority proposes to issue a licence, the authority must, before it does so—

(a) refer the proposal to the appropriate nature conservation body; and

(b) consider any representations about the proposal which the body makes to it during the allowed period;

and in this section any reference to the appropriate nature conservation body is a reference to the Nature Conservancy Council for England, the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland or the Countryside Council for Wales, according as the land is situated in England, Scotland or Wales.

(8) Until the date appointed under section 131(3) below any reference in subsection (7) above to the appropriate nature conservation body is a reference to the Nature Conservancy Council.

(9) If within the period of four months beginning with the date on which a waste regulation authority received an application for the grant of a licence, or within such longer period as the authority and the applicant may at any time agree in writing, the authority has neither granted the licence in consequence of the application nor given notice to the applicant that the authority has rejected the application, the authority shall be deemed to have rejected the application.

(10) The period allowed to the National Rivers Authority, the Health and Safety Executive, the appropriate nature conservancy body, a river purification authority or general planning authority for the making of representations under subsection (4), (6) or (7) above about a proposal is the period of twenty-one days beginning with that on which the proposal is received by the authority or such longer period as the waste regulation authority and the Authority, the Executive, the body, the river purification authority or the general planning authority, as the case may be, agree in writing.