The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Scotland) Regulations 1984

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This Note is not part of the Regulations.)

These regulations re-enact the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Scotland) Regulations 1961 with amendments.

The regulations provide for the control by planning authorities of the display of advertisements. They specify certain classes of advertisements which may be displayed without express consent (subject to certain limitations and conditions and subject to the power of the planning authority to serve a notice requiring the display to be discontinued); make provision for the making of an application to the planning authority for express consent for the display of an advertisement and the granting of such consent; give power to the planning authority to revoke or modify an express consent; give power to the planning authority to enforce control of advertisements; provide for the definition by the planning authority of areas of special control; and impose limitations on the display of certain classes of advertisements in areas of special control and in conservation areas.

The following changes of substance have been made:—

(a) in regulation 2(1) the definition of “advertisement” is enlarged to include tethered balloons and similar objects which are used or adapted for use for the display of advertisements; and a new paragraph (3) is added to regulation 2 providing that references in the regulations to the land, the building, the site or the premises on which an advertisement is displayed shall be construed in relation to an advertisement displayed on, or consisting of, a tethered balloon as a reference to the land, building, site or premises to which the balloon is attached;

(b) regulation 3 (which specifies the categories of advertisement to which the regulations do not apply) contains new provisions relating to advertisements displayed on, or consisting of, balloons; paragraph (1)(e) exempts from the regulations advertisements displayed on, or consisting of, a tethered balloon flown at a height of more than 60 m above ground level; paragraph (3) exempts the display of one such advertisement (flown at any height) on any site for not more than 10 days in any calendar year; and paragraph (4) defines “site” for the purposes of paragraph (3). Regulation 3 also contains a new paragraph (1)(f) exempting certain small advertisements on petrol pumps and similar objects;

(c) the following new classes have been added to the specified classes of advertisements which may be displayed without the grant of express consent:—

(i) certain advertisements displayed on hoardings around construction sites while construction is in progress (class III (6) of Schedule 4);

(ii) certain advertisements within buildings (class V of Schedule 4);

(iii) illuminated advertisements consisting of internally illuminated individual characters (class VI of Schedule 4);

(d) regulation 14 introduces for the first time discontinuance procedures under which a planning authority may issue a notice requiring the discontinuance of any advertisement displayed with deemed consent or the discontinuance of the use of a site for the display of such an advertisement. Such action may be taken if the planning authority consider it expedient in order to remedy a substantial injury to the amenity of the locality or a danger to members of the public;

(e) the requirement that planning authorities should obtain the approval of the Secretary of State for the grant of express consent for more than 5 years has been removed (regulation 18);

(f) the period within which an appeal against the refusal of express consent or any condition imposed on the grant of such consent can be submitted has been extended to 6 months (regulation 21);

(g) appeals against enforcement notices are to be made to the Secretary of State rather than to the sheriff (regulation 25);

(h) the powers of the Secretary of State to issue directions to planning authorities (regulation 28) have been reduced; he no longer has power to issue directions requiring authorities (i) to refer to him for decision particular applications for consent or any class or description of such applications; (ii) to consult in the exercise of their functions under the regulations with particular persons or classes of persons, bodies or authorities.