The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992

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PART 1SINTRODUCTORY

Application, citation and commencementS

1.—(1) This Order shall apply to all land in Scotland.

(2) If a special development order is made, or has been made before the commencement of this Order, in relation to any land this Order shall apply thereto to such extent only and subject to such modifications as may be specified in the special order.

(3) Nothing in this Order shall apply to any permission which is deemed to be granted by virtue of section 62 of the Act.

(4) This Order may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 and shall come into force on 13th March 1992.

Commencement Information

I1Art. 1 in force at 13.3.1992, see art. 1(4)

InterpretationS

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the Act” means the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972;

“the 1981 Act” means the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981(1);

“the 1960 Act” means the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960(2);

“aerodrome” means an aerodrome as defined in article 96 of the Air Navigation Order 1985(3) which is—

(a)

licensed under that order;

(b)

a Government aerodrome;

(c)

one at which the manufacture, repair or maintenance of aircraft is carried out by a person carrying on business as a manufacturer or repairer of aircraft;

(d)

one used by aircraft engaged in the public transport of passengers or cargo or aerial work; or

(e)

one identified to the Civil Aviation Authority before 1st March 1986 for inclusion in the UK Aerodrome Index,

and for the purposes of this definition, the terms “aerial work”, “Government aerod rome” and “public transport” have the meanings given in the aforesaid article 96;

F1...

“aqueduct” does not include an underground conduit;

“associated apparatus”, in relation to any sewer, main or pipe, means pumps, machinery or apparatus associated with the relevant sewer, main or pipe;

“building” does not include plant or machinery, and in Schedule 1 to this Order does not include any gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure;

[F2“category A listed building” means a listed building specified as being category A in a list of buildings compiled or approved under section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (listing of buildings of special architectural or historic interest);]

“caravan” has the same meaning as for the purposes of Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960;

“caravan site” means land on which a caravan is stationed for the purpose of human habitation and land which is used in conjunction with land on which a caravan is so stationed;

“classified road” means a road which is for the time being so classified under section 11 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984(4);

“conservation area” means an area of special architectural or historic interest designated as a conservation area under section 262 of the Act(5);

“contravention of previous planning control” means a use of land begun in contravention of Part II of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947(6);

[F3“croft land” has the meaning given in section 12(3) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993,]

“cubic content” means the cubic content of a structure or building measured externally;

“dwellinghouse” does not include a building containing one or more flats, or a flat contained within such a building;

[F4“electronic communication” has the meaning given in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000;]

[F5“European site”, means–

(a)

a special area of conservation;

(b)

a site of Community importance which has been placed on the list referred to in the third sub paragraph of Article 4(2) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora;

(c)

a site hosting a priority natural habitat type or priority species in respect of which consultation has been initiated under Article 5(1) of the said Council Directive 92/43/EEC, during the consultation period or pending a decision of the Council under Article 5(3); or

(d)

an area classified pursuant to Article 4(1) or (2) of Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds [F6or Article 4(1) or (2) of Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds];]

F1...

“existing”, in relation to any building or any plant or machinery [F7or any use], means (except in the definition of “original”) existing immediately before the carrying out of development described in this Order;

“flat” means a separate and self-contained set of premises whether or not on the same floor and forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally;

“floor area” means the total floor space in a building taking each floor into account but excluding, any area where the headroom measures less than 1.5 metres;

[F8“historic battlefield” means a battlefield which is included in the inventory of battlefields compiled and maintained under section 32B of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979;]

[F9“historic garden or designed landscape” means a garden or landscape which is included in the inventory of gardens and designed landscapes compiled and maintained under section 32A of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979;]

F10...

“industrial process” means a process for or incidental to any of the following purposes—

(a)

the making of any article or part of any article (including a ship or vessel, or a film, video or sound recording);

(b)

the altering, repairing, maintaining, ornamenting, finishing, cleaning, washing, packing, canning, adapting for sale, breaking up or demolition of any article; or

(c)

the getting, dressing or treatment of minerals in the course of any trade or business other than agriculture, and other than a process carried out on land used as a mine or adjacent to and occupied together with a mine;

[F11“licensed premises ” means premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic liquor pursuant to the provisions of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 or premises licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963;]

“listed building” means a listed building withing the meaning of section 52(7) of the Act;

F12...

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 235 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973(7);

[F13“MCS Planning Standards” means the product and installation standards specified in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme MCS 020, Issue 1.3,]

[F14“microwave” means that part of the radio spectrum above 1,000MHz;]

“microwave antenna” means a satellite antenna or a terrestrial microwave antenna;

[F15“military explosives storage area” means any area, including an aerodrome, depot, mooring or port, at which the storage of military explosives may be undertaken and for which the associated explosives safeguarding zone is identified on a safeguarding map, issued by the Secretary of State and provided to a planning authority for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Safeguarded Aerodromes, Technical Sites, Meteorological Technical Sites and Military Explosives Storage Areas) (Scotland) Direction 2016,]

“mine” means any site on which mining operations are carried out;

[F16“minerals” includes coal won or worked during the course of operations which are carried on exclusively for the purpose of exploring for coal or confined to the digging or carrying away of coal that it is necessary to dig or carry away in the course of activities carried on for purposes which do not include the getting of coal or any product of coal, but does not include any other coal;]

“mining operations” means the winning and working of minerals in, on or under land, whether by surface or undergrounding working;

[F17“National Park”, means an area designated as a National Park under section 6(1) of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000;]

[F18“national scenic area” means an area designated by a direction made by the Scottish Ministers under section 263A of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997;]

[F19“notifiable pipe-line” means a pipe-line, as defined in section 65 of the Pipe-lines Act 1962, which contains or is intended to contain a hazardous substance, as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Notification Regulations, except–

(a)

a pipe-line the construction of which has been authorised under section 1 of the Pipe-lines Act 1962; or

(b)

a pipe-line which contains or is intended to contain no hazardous substance other than–

(i)

a flammable gas (as specified in item 1 of Part II of Schedule 1 to the Notification Regulations) at a pressure of less than 8 bars absolute; or

(ii)

a liquid or mixture of liquids, as specified in item 4 of Part II of that Schedule;]

“Notification Regulations” means the Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982(8);

“original” means, in relation to a building existing on 1st July 1948, as existing on that date and, in relation to a building built on or after 1st July 1948, as so built;

“plant or machinery” includes any structure or erection in the nature of plant or machinery;

“private way” means a road or footpath which is not maintainable at the public expense;

[F20“Regulation 2020/1070 small cell system” means a small cell system—

(a)

to which Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1070 on specifying the characteristics of small-area wireless access point pursuant to Article 57 paragraph 2 of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and Council establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (recast) (“Commission Regulation 2020/1070”) applies,

(b)

which complies with the requirements of the European Standard laid down at point B of the Annex to Commission Regulation 2020/1070, and

(c)

is either—

(i)

fully and safely integrated into its supporting structure and therefore invisible to the general public, or

(ii)

meets the conditions set out in Point A of the Annex to Commission Regulation 2020/1070,]

F21...

“road” has the meaning assigned to it by section 151 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984(9);

[F22“safety hazard area” means an area notified to a planning authority—

(a)

by the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of paragraph 3 of schedule 5 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2013,

(b)

by the Office for Nuclear Regulation for the purposes of paragraph 3A of schedule 5 of those Regulations,]

“satellite antenna” means apparatus designed for transmitting F23... radio energy to satellites or receiving it from them, and includes any mountings or brackets attached to such apparatus;

[F24“scheduled monument”, has the meaning given by section 1(11) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979;]

[F25“sewerage authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 62 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.]

“site of archeological interest” means land which is included in the schedule of monuments compiled F26... under section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Areas Act 1979(10) or is within an area of land which is designated as an area of archeological importance under section 33 of that Act or is within a site which has been included in a Sites and Monuments Record held by any local authority before the coming into force of this Order;

“site of special scientific interest” means land in respect of which notification procedure has been carried out in accordance with section 28(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(11);

“statutory undertaker” includes, in addition to any person mentioned in section 275(1) of the Act, [F27a universal service provider (within the meaning of [F28Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011]) in connection with the provision of a universal postal service (within the meaning of [F29that Part])], the Civil Aviation Authority, [F30public gas transporters] within the meaning of section 7 of the Gas Act 1986(12) and [F31the holder of a licence under section 6] of the Electricity Act 1989(13);

[F32“terrestrial antenna” means apparatus designed for transmitting or receiving terrestrial radio energy between two fixed points;]

F12...

“trunk road” means a road or proposed road which is a trunk road within the meaning of section 151 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984(14);

[F33“Use Classes Order” means the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997];

[F34“World Heritage Site” means land appearing on the World Heritage List kept under article 11(2) of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation at Paris on 16 November 1972.]

(2) (a) [F35Except where a contrary intention appears, any] reference in this Order to the height of a building or of plant or machinery shall be construed as a reference to its height when measured from ground level; and

(b)for the purposes of this paragraph “ground level” means the level of the surface of the ground immediately adjacent to the building or plant or machinery in question or, where the level of the surface of the ground on which it is situated or is to be situated is not uniform, the level of the highest part of the surface of the ground adjacent to it.

F36(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) Any reference in this Order to a numbered article or Schedule is a reference to the article or as the case may be the Schedule bearing that number in this Order and a reference to a numbered paragraph or sub-paragraph is a reference to the paragraph or sub-paragraph having that number in the article or paragraph in the Schedule in which the reference appears.

[F37(5) In this Order and in relation to the use of electronic communications or electronic storage for any purpose of this Order which is capable of being carried out electronically–

(a)the expression “address” includes any number or address used for the purpose of such communications or storage, except that where this Order imposes any obligation on any person to provide a name and address to any other person, the obligation shall not be fulfilled unless the person on whom it is imposed provides a postal address; and

(b)references to documents, forms, maps, plans, drawings, certificates or other documents or to copies of such things, include references to such documents or copies of them in electronic form.

(6) Paragraphs (7) to (12) apply where an electronic communication is used by a person for the purpose of fulfilling any requirement in this Order to give or send any application, notice or other document to any other person (“the recipient”).

(7) The requirement shall (except in a case referred to in paragraph (8)) be deemed to be fulfilled where the application, notice, or other document transmitted by the electronic communication is–

(a)capable of being accessed by the recipient;

(b)legible in all material respects; and

(c)in a form sufficiently permanent to be used for subsequent reference.

(8) The cases are–

(a)making a direction under article 4; and

(b)giving notice of a direction under article 5.

(9) In paragraph (7) “legible in all material respects” means that the information contained in the notice or document is available to that person to no lesser extent than it would be if served or given by means of a notice or document in printed form.

(10) Where the electronic communication is received by the recipient–

(a)at any time before the end of a day which is a working day, it shall be deemed to have been received on that day; or

(b)at any time during a day which is not a working day, it shall be deemed to have been received on the next working day,

and for these purposes, “working day” means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Eve, a bank holiday in Scotland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning, or any other day which is a local or public holiday in an area in which the electronic communication is received.

(11) A requirement in this Order that any application, plan, notice, form or other document should be in writing is fulfilled where the document meets the criteria in paragraph (7) and “written” and cognate expressions are to be construed accordingly.

(12) In a case to which this paragraph applies, and except where a contrary intention appears, a person making an application, or giving or serving a notice using electronic communications shall be deemed to have agreed–

(a)to the use of such communications for all purposes relating to the application or notice, as the case may be, which are capable of being carried out electronically;

(b)that the address for that purpose is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with, the application; and

(c)that the person’s deemed agreement under this paragraph shall subsist until the person gives notice in writing that the person wishes to revoke the agreement, and such withdrawal or revocation shall be final, and shall take effect on a date specified by the person in the notice, being a date occurring after the period of seven days, beginning with the date on which the notice is given.]

Textual Amendments

F1Words in art. 2 omitted (1.8.1999) by virtue of The Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999 (S.S.I. 1999/1), regs. 1, 47(3)

F2Words in art. 2 substituted (1.10.2015) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/235), art. 3(2), reg. 1(1) (with reg. 2)

F3Words in art. 2(1) inserted (1.4.2021) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development and Use Classes) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020 (S.S.I. 2020/437), arts. 1, 4(a) (with art. 2)

F4Words in art. 2(1) inserted (28.7.2004) by The Town and Country Planning (Electronic Communications) (Scotland) Order 2004 (S.S.I. 2004/332), art. 1(1), sch. 6 para. 1

F5Words in art. 2(1) inserted (23.7.2001) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Order 2001 (S.S.I. 2001/266), arts. 1(2), 2(1)(c)(ii)

F6Words in art. 2(1) inserted (31.7.2017) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2017 (S.S.I. 2017/189), arts. 1, 4 (with art. 2)

F7Words in art. 2(1) inserted (25.9.1992) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Order 1992 (S.I. 1992/2084), arts. 1, 2(a)(i)

F8Words in art. 2(1) inserted (30.6.2014) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2014 (S.S.I. 2014/142), arts. 1(1), 2(2)

F9Words in art. 2(1) substituted (1.12.2011) by The Historic Environment (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2011 (Saving, Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Order 2011 (S.S.I. 2011/377), arts. 1(1), 7(2)

F10Words in art. 2(1) revoked (1.5.1993) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1036), arts. 1(1), 2(a)

F11Words in art. 2(1) inserted (1.6.1992) by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 1992 (S.I. 1992/1078), arts. 1, 2(a)