Section 3: Exception for activities carried on partly on land etc
22.This section ensures that a licence under this Chapter is not required for certain activities which relate to developments which are liable to be subject to planning control (in particular under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8)). As a result, the risk of double regulation will be avoided in such cases. The excluded activities are:
the establishment or maintenance of a gas unloading installation which extends at least in part into a controlled place (as defined in section 2(4)), and the unloading of gas to the installation in that place (see subsection (1)(a) and (d));
the conversion of a natural feature (such as a salt dome), which is only partly within a controlled place, the remainder being under land (subsection (1)(b)); and
the storage (and subsequent recovery) of gas at a place which similarly is only partly within a controlled place
However, such activities are excluded only where they relate to a development which can be expected to be subject to planning control. Thus in the case of a gas unloading installation, the installation must be permanently connected with land by a structure which provides access at all times and for all purposes; in the case of the conversion of a natural feature, the conversion operations must take place wholly or mainly on, over or under land; and in the case of storage and recovery of gas, the injection of the gas must take place on land. For those purposes, “land” means land above the low water mark (in Scotland), or within England or Wales (“England” and “Wales” are defined in Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30)).
