The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are the second commencement regulations under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (“the Act”).

Regulation 2 brings into force on 31st January 2024 a number of provisions of the Act.

Regulation 2(a) brings into force section 78 of the Act. Section 78 of the Act inserts new sections 12A to 12D into the Local Government Act 2003. The effect of these new sections is to give the Secretary of State the power to intervene to address excessive financial risk to a local authority by providing options for remediation, mitigation or investigation.

The provisions brought into force by regulation 2(b) and 2(p) relate to street names. Regulation 2(b) brings into force section 81 of the Act. Section 81 requires local authorities in England to obtain necessary support before altering a street name. Regulation 2(p) brings into force Schedule 5 to the Act. Schedule 5 makes consequential amendments to the Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907, the Public Health Act 1925, the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939 and the Local Government Act 1972.

Regulation 2(c) brings into force section 94 of the Act. Section 94 of the Act inserts a new section 38ZA into the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 to provide a statutory basis for national development management policies.

The provisions brought into force by regulation 2(d), 2(e) and 2(q) relate to Street Votes Development Orders. These provisions are brought into force for the limited purpose of enabling regulations and development orders to be made.

Regulation 2(f) brings into force section 123 of the Act. Section 123 of the Act amends section 2A of the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 to ensure that only land permissioned explicitly for self-build and custom housebuilding will qualify towards a relevant authority’s statutory duty to meet demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the authority’s area.

Regulation 2(g) brings into force section 129 of the Act. Section 129 of the Act amends section 62A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to enable applicants to submit applications for hazardous substance consent under the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 directly to the Secretary of State when connected with a relevant application submitted under section 62A.

Regulation 2(h) brings into force section 140 of the Act which substitutes new enforcement provisions for section 218(11) and (12) of the Planning Act 2008 relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy. These new enforcement provisions are substituted to align with sentencing changes made by section 13 of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.

Regulation 2(i) brings into force section 180 of the Act. Section 180 of the Act amends section 226 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to ensure local authorities are empowered to compulsorily purchase land for regeneration purposes.

Regulation 2(j) brings into force section 181 of the Act for the purpose of making regulations. Section 181 of the Act amends sections 7, 11, 12, 15 and 22 and paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, which set out the publicity requirements for certain documents and notices issued as part of the compulsory purchase order (“CPO”) process. Section 181 introduces requirements to publish documents and notices online. Section 11 includes a power to prescribe the form of notice to be published online by regulations.

Regulation 2(k) and 2(r) bring into force paragraph 1 of Schedule 19 to the Act for the purpose of making regulations. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 19 to the Act inserts paragraph 3A and amends paragraphs 2, 3 and 6 of Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, which sets out the publicity requirements for certain documents and notices issued as part of the CPO process when CPO powers are used by Ministers. Paragraph 1 of Schedule 19 introduces requirements to publish documents and notices online. Paragraph 1(3)(a)(ii) of Schedule 19 amends paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 such that the Minister acquiring the land must “publish a notice [of the draft compulsory purchase order] in the prescribed form on an appropriate website”. Section 7(2) of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 provides that “[a]nything which … is required or authorised to be prescribed shall be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument”. When read together, those two provisions empower the Secretary of State to prescribe the form the Minister must use when notifying the draft compulsory purchase order on an appropriate website.

Regulation 2(l) brings into force section 185 of the Act. Section 185 of the Act inserts new section 13D into the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, giving confirming authorities the power to extend the time limit for implementation of a compulsory purchase order. It amends sections 4 and 4A of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and sections 5A and 5B of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981, which set out the current statutory time limits within which compulsory purchase powers under a CPO must be implemented after it has been confirmed and makes consequential amendments to section 582 of the Housing Act 1985.

Regulation 2(m) brings into force section 186 of the Act. Section 186 of the Act inserts a new section 8A into the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 to allow for the landowner and acquiring authority to agree to vary the date on which an interest in land being compulsorily acquired will vest in the acquiring authority.

Regulation 2(n) brings into force section 187 of the Act. Section 187 of the Act empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations to set data standards in relation to certain CPO information.

Regulation 2(o) brings into force section 188 of the Act. Section 188 of the Act amends sections 6D and 6E of the Land Compensation Act 1961 which define the ‘scheme’ for the purpose of assessing compensation. These sections provide that where land is acquired for regeneration or redevelopment which is facilitated or made possible by a relevant transport project, the ‘scheme’ includes the relevant transport project. The amendments ensure that the definition of ‘scheme’ includes any re-development, regeneration and improvement that form part of the ‘scheme’.

Regulation 3 brings into force section 135 of the Act on 12th February 2024. Section 135 of the Act amends Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to make provision about the valuation of the pre-development biodiversity value of an onsite habitat and of the enhancement of the biodiversity of a habitat. Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is inserted by Schedule 14 to the Environment Act 2021, which comes into force at the same time as these provisions.

Regulation 4 brings into force section 190 of the Act for England with a coming into force date of 30th April 2024. Section 190 of the Act amends various provisions of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, the Land Compensation Act 1961, the New Towns Act 1981, the Welsh Development Agency Act 1975, which deal with the assessment of compensation and makes consequential amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The amendments allow confirming authorities, in relation to certain public sector acquiring authorities exercising certain CPO powers, to direct that the value associated with the following matters are not payable, provided doing so is in the public interest: (a) the prospect of the grant of a planning permission; and (b) compensation for the loss of the potential of development for which there was a reasonable expectation that planning permission would have been granted in the absence of the CPO.

Regulation 5 brings into force section 189 of the Act on 31st January 2025. Section of 189 the Act amends sections 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22 of the Land Compensation Act 1961 which relate to taking account of actual or prospective planning permission and the certification of ‘appropriate alternative development’. The amendments make various changes including to when prospective planning permission is to be treated as certain, what certificates of appropriate alternative development should contain, to clarify when the relevant planning date falls, whether account should be taken of the expenses incurred in the issue of a certificate, and corresponding amendments to the process of appeals to the Upper Tribunal against certificates.

Regulation 6 contains transitional provisions relating to the amendments made by sections 185, 186, 189 and 190 of the Act in relation to compulsory purchase. Sub-regulations (1), (3), (4), (5) and (6) relating to sections 185, 189 and 190 ensure the amendments do not affect CPOs that have crystallised in the public domain before the relevant sections come into force to avoid changing the law applicable to those CPOs mid-process. Sub-regulation (2) relating to section 186 ensures the amendments do not apply to general vesting declarations executed before the relevant sections come into force to avoid changing the law applicable to those general vesting declarations mid-process.