The Town and Country Planning (Former RAF Scampton) (Accommodation for Asylum-Seekers etc.) Special Development Order 2024

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the 2015 Order” means the Town and Country (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015(1);

“adjoining owner or occupier” means any owner or occupier of any land adjoining the Order land;

“approved document” means any document listed in Schedule 1 (documents submitted by the Home Secretary), or any document in respect of which the Secretary of State has given subsequent approval, and where the Secretary of State—

(a)

gives subsequent approval in respect of a replacement for an approved document, the approved document is the document in respect of which such subsequent approval was most recently given;

(b)

gives variation approval in relation to an approved document, the approved document is the version of that document that reflects the cumulative effect of all the amendments to it in respect of which the Secretary of State has given such approval,

and if both subsequent approval as described in paragraph (a) and variation approval have been given in relation to an approved document, the approved document is the document or version that reflects the cumulative effect of all approvals, of either kind, that have been given, and references to any particular approved document are to be construed according to the same principles;

“authorised development” has the meaning given in article 4(1) (grant of temporary planning permission);

“CEMP” means a construction and environmental management plan submitted and approved in accordance with condition 15 (construction and environmental management plan);

“construction” includes installation, provision, operation, maintenance, improvement or alteration, decommissioning or removal (demolition), or any other building or engineering operations, and “constructed” is to be construed accordingly;

“contamination expert” means a person—

(a)

with suitable knowledge, skills and experience in relation to the assessment and mitigation of relevant contamination risks, and

(b)

who is a registered Specialist in Land Condition(2), or holds another qualification indicating a similar level of expertise in relation to such risks;

“existing” means, in relation to anything on the Order land, that it was present on the Order land on 10th April 2024;

“heritage assets” means the following buildings or structures at Former RAF Scampton—

(a)

the four “C-type” aircraft hangars;

(b)

the Officers’ Mess;

(c)

the grave of Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s dog;

“the Home Secretary” means the Secretary of State for the Home Department;

“the Map” means the document numbered Figure 2 in Schedule 1;

“Multi-Agency Forum” means the group to be established by the Home Secretary under condition 27 (Multi-Agency Forum);

“OMP” means an operational management plan submitted and approved in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) of condition 21 (OMP: establishment and review);

“Order land” has the meaning given in article 1(4);

“reinstatement works” means development(3) for which planning permission is granted by article 4(1)(c);

“relevant contamination risk” means a risk to human health or the environment posed by hazardous substances including gases, vapour concentrations and radiological contamination in, on, under or over the Order land;

“relevant duty” means a duty imposed by an enactment (other than this Order) that applies to the Home Secretary when the Home Secretary carries out relevant functions;

“relevant functions” means providing, or arranging for the provision of, accommodation and support under section 4 (accommodation), section 95 (persons for whom support may be provided) or section 98 (temporary support) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(4);

“relevant ordnance risk” means a risk to human health or the environment associated with the presence of unexploded ordnance in, on, under or over the Order land;

“relevant person” means a person who—

(a)

is male,

(b)

is at least 18 years old and no more than 64 years old,

(c)

has no dependants within the meaning of section 94(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (interpretation of Part VI)(5), and

(d)

is—

(i)

an asylum-seeker within the meaning of that section, or

(ii)

otherwise receiving accommodation or support under section 4 of that Act;

“relevant risk” means a relevant contamination risk or a relevant ordnance risk;

“remedial step” means any step, the taking of which by the Home Secretary secures compliance with a duty imposed on the Home Secretary, by an enactment (other than this Order) or a rule of common law, to prevent or mitigate a relevant risk;

“resident service user” means a service user who is accommodated on the Order land;

“the Secretary of State” means, except in the definition of “Home Secretary”, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities;

“service user” means a person in respect of whom the Home Secretary carries out relevant functions;

“site operator” means the person designated as such under condition 1 (site operator);

“subsequent approval” means the Secretary of State’s approval, after the date on which this Order is made, in respect of a plan, report, scheme or programme that this Order requires or permits the Home Secretary to submit for the Secretary of State’s approval, where—

(a)

the plan, report, scheme or programme is submitted for such approval for the first time, or

(b)

approval is sought in respect of a replacement for such a plan, report, scheme or programme under sub-paragraph (3) of condition 2 (approved documents);

“unsuitability criterion” means any of the criteria specified, on pages 17 to 22 of the Home Office publication “Allocation of asylum accommodation policy”, version 11.0, dated 12th February 2024(6), as making a person potentially unsuitable (either generally, or in certain circumstances) to be accommodated on an “ex-MoD site”, or to share a room;

“variation approval” means the Secretary of State’s approval in respect of an amendment, proposed by the Home Secretary, to the details of a matter set out in an approved document.

(2) A reference in this Order to a numbered “condition” is to the paragraph that is so numbered in Schedule 3 (conditions subject to which planning permission is granted).

(3) A reference in this Order to the height of a building or other structure is a reference to its height when measured from ground level, and in this paragraph “ground level” means—

(a) the level of the surface of the ground adjoining the building or structure;

(b) if the level of the surface of the ground where the building or structure 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.

(1)

S.I. 2015/596, amended by S.I. 2016/332, 2016/765, 2016/772, 2016/1040, 2016/1154, 2017/391, 2017/571, 2017/619, 2017/1011, 2017/1012, 2018/119, 2018/343, 2018/695, 2019/907, 2020/330, 2020/412, 2020/632, 2020/755, 2020/756, 2020/1243, 2020/1459, 2021/428, 2021/467, 2021/814, 2022/278, 2023/747, 2023/1279, 2024/141.

(2)

The register of Specialists in Land Contamination is administered by a Professional and Technical Panel. A list of those on the register may be obtained from https://www.silc.org.uk/ or from Forum Court Associates Ltd, Office 2FF, Saphir House, 5 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8GD.

(3)

As defined in section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Section 55 was amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (c. 34), sections 13(1) and (2) and 14, Schedule 6, paragraph 9, and Schedule 19, Parts 1 and 2, and by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (c. 5), Schedule 6, paragraphs 1 and 2 and Schedule 9. There are further amendments which are not relevant to this Order.

(4)

1999 c. 33. Section 4 was amended by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41) (“the 2002 Act”), section 49; the Asylum, Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (c. 19), section 10(1); the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (c. 13), section 43(7); the Immigration Act 2016 (c. 19) (“the 2016 Act”), Schedule 11, paragraph 1; the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (c. 36) (“the 2022 Act”), section 17(1) and (2). Section 95 was amended by the 2002 Act, section 50(1), and by the 2016 Act, section 61(1) and (2)(b) and Schedule 10, paragraphs 26 and 29. Section 98 was amended by the 2016 Act, section 66 and Schedule 11, paragraphs 5 and 12, and by the 2022 Act, sections 13(3) and (4).

(5)

Section 94 was amended by the 2002 Act, sections 44, 60(2), 161 and Schedule 9, the 2022 Act, sections 17(1) and (3) and 49(5), and S.I. 2008/2833.

(6)

See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65c6483d14b83c000ca71658/Allocation+of+accommodation.pdf. Hard copies are available from the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.