Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017

4 After paragraph 7 insert—

“Default powers exercisable by county council

7A In this Schedule—

• “upper-tier county council” means a county council for an area for which there is also a district council;

• “lower-tier planning authority”, in relation to an upper-tier county council, means a district council which is the local planning authority for an area within the area of the upper-tier county council.

7B If the Secretary of State—

(a) thinks that a lower-tier planning authority are failing or omitting to do anything it is necessary for them to do in connection with the preparation, revision or adoption of a development plan document, and

(b) invites the upper-tier county council to prepare or revise the document,

the upper-tier county council may prepare or revise (as the case may be) the development plan document.

7C (1) This paragraph applies where a development plan document is prepared or revised by an upper-tier county council under paragraph 7B.

(2) The upper-tier county council must hold an independent examination.

(3) The upper-tier county council—

(a) must publish the recommendations and reasons of the person appointed to hold the examination, and

(b) may also give directions to the lower-tier planning authority in relation to publication of those recommendations and reasons.

(4) The upper-tier county council may—

(a) approve the document, or approve it subject to specified modifications, as a local development document, or

(b) direct the lower-tier planning authority to consider adopting the document by resolution of the authority as a local development document.

7D (1) Subsections (4) to (7C) of section 20 apply to an examination held under paragraph 7C(2)—

(a) with the reference to the local planning authority in subsection (7C) of that section being read as a reference to the upper-tier county council, and

(b) with the omission of subsections (5)(c), (7)(b)(ii) and (7B)(b).

(2) The upper-tier county council must give reasons for anything they do in pursuance of paragraph 7B or 7C(4).

(3) The lower-tier planning authority must reimburse the upper-tier county council—

(a) for any expenditure that the upper-tier county council incur in connection with anything which is done by them under paragraph 7B and which the lower-tier planning authority failed or omitted to do as mentioned in that paragraph;

(b) for any expenditure that the upper-tier county council incur in connection with anything which is done by them under paragraph 7C(2).

(4) In the case of a joint local development document or a joint development plan document, the upper-tier council may apportion liability for the expenditure on such basis as the council considers just between the authorities for whom the document has been prepared.”