Town and Country Planning Act 1932

Contents and Effect of Schemes.

11 Contents of schemes, and authorities responsible for enforcing them.

(1) Every scheme shall define the area to which it applies, and specify, in accordance with the provisions of the next succeeding subsection, the authority or authorities who are to be responsible for enforcing and carrying into effect the provisions of the scheme, and—

(a) shall contain such provisions as are necessary or expedient for prohibiting or regulating the development of land in the area to which the scheme applies and generally for carrying out any of the objects for which the scheme is made, and in particular for dealing with any of the matters mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act; and

(b) where it is expedient in order to promote proper planning or development, may provide for suspending the operation of any provision, whether contained in a statute or in an order, byelaw, or regulation, under whatever authority made, in so far as that provision is similar to, or inconsistent with, any of the provisions of the scheme.

(2) A scheme may—

(a) specify as the responsible authority for all purposes of the scheme any one of the following authorities, that is to say, the local authority within whose district any land to which the scheme applies or any neighbouring land is situate, or a county council, or a joint body specially constituted by the scheme; or

(b) specify any two or more such authorities as aforesaid as the responsible authorities for different purposes of the scheme or as respects different parts of the area to which the scheme applies.

(3) Where a scheme provides for a joint body being the responsible authority for any of the purposes of the scheme, it shall contain all such provisions as appear to be necessary or desirable in relation to the constitution and incorporation of the joint body and for conferring and imposing powers and duties on them, and making provision with respect to the purposes for which and the manner in which they may borrow money and the manner in which their expenses are to be defrayed, and may authorise them to co-opt additional members, so, however, that at least three-fourths of the members of the joint body shall be persons who are members of a constituent authority of the joint body.

12 Provisions in schemes with respect to buildings and building operations.

(1) The provisions to be inserted in a scheme with respect to buildings and building operations may include provisions—

(a) prescribing the space about buildings;

(b) limiting the number of buildings;

(c) regulating, or enabling the responsible authority to regulate, the size, height, design and external appearance of buildings;

(d) imposing restrictions upon the manner in which buildings may be used, including, in the case of dwelling-houses, the letting thereof in separate tenements; and

(e) prohibiting building operations, or regulating such operations in respect of matters other than those specified in this subsection:

Provided that, where a scheme contains a provision enabling the responsible authority to regulate the design or external appearance of buildings, the scheme must also provide that any person aggrieved by any decision of the responsible authority under the provision aforesaid may appeal against the decision either to a court of summary jurisdiction or to a tribunal to be constituted for the purpose under the scheme, as may be thereby provided, and the grounds on which such an appeal may be brought shall include the ground that compliance with the decision would involve an increase in the cost of the building which would be unreasonable having regard to the character of the locality and of the neighbouring buildings.

(2) The provisions to be inserted as aforesaid may—

(a) differ as respects different parts of the area to which the scheme applies; and

(b) be made applicable, either with or without modifications, to existing buildings as well as to buildings which are not existing buildings; and

(c) be imposed as permanent provisions, or as provisions operating only pending the coming into operation of an order under the provisions hereafter in this Act contained with respect to general development orders.

(3) No provision contained in a scheme with respect to buildings shall apply in relation to any building or the erection of any building which is, or is to be, occupied together with land which is used mainly or exclusively for agriculture, whether as arable, meadow, pasture ground or orchard, or for the purposes of a plantation or a wood, or for the growth of saleable underwood, and-is, or is to be used for, any of those purposes, unless the site of the building is reserved by the scheme for any purpose, the carrying out of which in the future would necessitate the removal or the alteration of the building.

13 Power to enforce and carry into effect schemes.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the responsible authority may at any time—

(a) remove, pull down or alter, so as to bring into conformity with the provisions of the scheme, any existing building or other existing work which does not conform to those provisions, or the demolition or alteration of which is necessary for carrying the scheme into effect; or

(b) remove, pull down or alter, so as to bring into conformity with the provisions of the scheme, any building or other work, not being an existing building or an existing work, which does not conform to those provisions, or in the erection or carrying out of which any provision of the scheme has not been complied with; or

(c) where any building or land is being used in such a manner as to contravene any provision of the scheme, prohibit it from being so used; or

(d) where any land has since the material date been put to any use which contravenes any provision of the scheme and is not an existing use, reinstate the land; or

(e) execute any work which it is the duty of any person to execute under the scheme in any case where delay in the execution of the work has occurred and the efficient operation of the scheme has been or will be thereby prejudiced.

(2) Before taking any action under this section the responsible authority shall serve a notice in the prescribed manner on the owner and on the occupier of the building or land in respect of which, the action is proposed to be taken and on any other person who, in their opinion, may be affected thereby, specifying the nature of, and the grounds upon which they propose to take, that action.

(3) Where a building or work which the responsible authority propose to remove, pull down or alter under this section is an existing building or an existing work, or where the use of a building or land which they propose to prohibit is an existing use, the authority shall serve the notices for which provision is made by the last preceding subsection not less than six months before they take any action and, in any other case, they shall serve those notices not less than twenty-eight days before they take any action.

(4) If any person served with such a notice as aforesaid desires to dispute any allegation contained therein, he may, by written notice served on the clerk of the court and the authority within twenty-eight days from the date of the service of the original notice on him, appeal to a court of summary jurisdiction for the petty sessional division or place within which the property to which the notice relates is situated, and no action shall be taken by the authority under subsection (1) of this section pending the final determination or withdrawal of the appeal.

(5) If on any such appeal the court of summary jurisdiction are satisfied that the responsible authority are entitled to take the proposed action on the grounds specified in the notice, they shall dismiss the appeal and shall by their order empower the responsible authority, after the expiration of the period aforesaid of six months or twenty-eight days, as the case may be, to remove, pull down, or alter the building or work, or reinstate the land or execute the required work, or, as the case may be, shall by their order prohibit the building or land from being used in contravention of the scheme after the period aforesaid, but, if they are not so satisfied, they shall allow the appeal :

Provided that the court by whom an order is made under this subsection may, if they think fit, direct that the order shall, instead of taking effect after the expiration of the period aforesaid of six months or twenty-eight days, take effect at such later date as they think fit, being a date not more than six months or twenty-eight days, as the case may be, from the date of the order.

(6) Except where the responsible authority remove, pull down or alter a building or work which is an existing building or an existing work, any expenses reasonably incurred by the responsible authority under subsection (1) of this section may be recovered summarily as a civil debt from the person in default:

Provided that, on any proceedings for the recovery of any such expenses, the defendant shall not be entitled to raise by way of defence any matter which might have been raised by him on an appeal under subsection (4) of this section.

(7) A person who uses any building or land in a manner prohibited under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and to a further penalty not exceeding twenty pounds in respect of each day on which he so uses the building or land after conviction.