Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004

82 Urgent Crown development

(1) Before section 294 of the principal Act (special enforcement notices in relation to development on Crown land) there is inserted the following section—

“293A Urgent Crown development: application

(1) This section applies to a development if the appropriate authority certifies—

(a) that the development is of national importance, and

(b) that it is necessary that the development is carried out as a matter of urgency.

(2) The appropriate authority may, instead of making an application for planning permission to the local planning authority in accordance with Part 3, make an application for planning permission to the Secretary of State under this section.

(3) If the appropriate authority proposes to make the application to the Secretary of State it must publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality of the proposed development a notice—

(a) describing the proposed development, and

(b) stating that the authority proposes to make the application to the Secretary of State.

(4) For the purposes of an application under this section the appropriate authority must provide to the Secretary of State—

(a) any matter required to be provided by an applicant for planning permission in pursuance of regulations made under section 71A;

(b) a statement of the authority’s grounds for making the application.

(5) If the appropriate authority makes an application under this section subsections (6) to (9) below apply.

(6) The Secretary of State may require the authority to provide him with such further information as he thinks necessary to enable him to determine the application.

(7) As soon as practicable after he is provided with any document or other matter in pursuance of subsection (4) or (6) the Secretary of State must make a copy of the document or other matter available for inspection by the public in the locality of the proposed development.

(8) The Secretary of State must in accordance with such requirements as are contained in a development order publish notice of the application and of the fact that such documents and other material are available for inspection.

(9) The Secretary of State must consult—

(a) the local planning authority for the area to which the proposed development relates, and

(b) such other persons as are specified or described in a development order,

about the application.

(10) Subsection (7) does not apply to the extent that the document or other matter is subject to a direction under section 321(3) (matters related to national security).

(11) Subsections (4) to (7) of section 77 apply to an application under this section as they apply to an application in respect of which a direction under section 77 has effect.”

(2) In section 284 of the principal Act (validity of certain matters) in subsection (3) at the end there is inserted the following paragraph—

“(i) any decision on an application for planning permission under section 293A.”