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32 Application for hazardous substances consent in anticipation of disposal of Crown land

(1) Subsections (2) to (4) have effect for the purpose of enabling Crown land, or an interest in Crown land, to be disposed of with the benefit of hazardous substances consent.

(2) Notwithstanding the interest of the Crown in the land in question, an application for such consent may be made—

(a) by the appropriate authority; or

(b) by any person authorised by that authority in writing;

and, subject to subsections (3) and (4), all the statutory provisions relating to the making and determination of such an application shall accordingly apply as if the land were not Crown land.

(3) Any hazardous substances consent granted by virtue of this section shall apply only—

(a) to the presence of the substance to which the consent relates after the land in question has ceased to be Crown land; and

(b) so long as that land continues to be Crown land, to the presence of the substance by virtue of a private interest in the land.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a) modify or exclude any of the statutory provisions referred to in subsection (2) in their application by virtue of that subsection and any other statutory provisions in their application to consents granted by virtue of this section;

(b) make provision for requiring a hazardous substances authority to be notified of any disposal of, or of an interest in, any Crown land in respect of which an application has been made by virtue of this section; and

(c) make such other provision in relation to the making and determination of applications by virtue of this section as he thinks necessary or expedient.

(5) This section shall not be construed as affecting any right to apply for hazardous substances consent in respect of Crown land in a case in which such an application can be made by virtue of a private interest in the land.

(6) In this section—

  • “private interest” means an interest which is neither a Crown interest nor a Duchy interest;

  • “statutory provisions” means provisions contained in or having effect under any enactment;

and references to the disposal of an interest in Crown land include references to the grant of an interest in such land.

(7) Subsections (3), (5) and (6) of section 31 apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of that section.

(8) A person who is entitled to occupy Crown land by virtue of a licence in writing shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having an interest in land and references to the disposal or grant of an interest in Crown land and to a private interest in such land shall be construed accordingly.

33 British Coal

(1) The Secretary of State for the Environment and the Secretary of State for Energy with the consent of the Treasury may by regulations direct that any of the provisions specified in subsection (2) relating to statutory undertakers and to land of such undertakers—

(a) shall apply to the British Coal Corporation as if it were a statutory undertaker; and

(b) shall apply to land (including mines) of that Corporation of any such class as may be specified in the regulations as if it were operational land.

(2) Those provisions are sections 1 to 3, 16, 20, 21, 31 (the reference in subsection (1) to sections 4 to 29 not being construed as including a reference to section 8(1) to (3)), 34(1), (3) and (4), 36 and 38(1) to (5), and any other provisions of the planning Acts so far as they apply or have effect for the purposes of any of those provisions.

(3) Such regulations may apply those provisions subject to such adaptations, modifications and exceptions as may be specified in the regulations.

34 Ecclesiastical property

(1) Where under any of the provisions of this Act a notice or copy of a notice is required to be served on an owner of land and the land is ecclesiastical property, a similar notice or copy of a notice shall be served on the Church Commissioners.

(2) Where the fee simple of any ecclesiastical property is in abeyance and the property is situated elsewhere than in Wales, then for the purposes of this section, sections 8 and 22 and section 31(1), so far as it applies to section 8, and any other provisions of the planning Acts so far as they apply, or have effect for the purpose of, any of those provisions, the fee simple shall be treated as being vested in the Church Commissioners.

(3) Any compensation payable under section 16 in respect of land which is ecclesiastical property—

(a) shall be paid to the Church Commissioners, and

(b) shall be applied by them for the purposes for which the proceeds of a sale by agreement of the land would be applicable under any enactment or Measure authorising or disposing of the proceeds of such a sale.

(4) In this section “ecclesiastical property” means land belonging to an ecclesiastical benefice, or being or forming part of a church subject to the jurisdiction of a bishop of any diocese or the site of such a church, or being or forming part of a burial ground subject to such jurisdiction.

35 Application of Act to Isles of Scilly

In relation to land in the Isles of Scilly the provisions of this Act, and any other provisions of the planning Acts in so far as they apply or have effect for the purposes of those provisions, shall have effect as if those Isles were a district and the Council of the Isles were the council of that district.

36 Rights of entry

(1) Any person duly authorised in writing by the Secretary of State or by a hazardous substances authority may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying it in connection with—

(a) any application for hazardous substances consent;

(b) any proposal to issue a hazardous substances contravention notice.

(2) Any person duly authorised in writing by the Secretary of State or by a hazardous substances authority may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence appears to have been committed under section 23.

(3) Any person who is an officer of the Valuation Office or a person duly authorised in writing by a hazardous substances authority may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying it, or estimating its value, in connection with a claim for compensation in respect of that land or any other land made by virtue of section 16 or 19.

(4) Any person duly authorised in writing by the Secretary of State or by a hazardous substances authority may at any reasonable time enter any land in respect of which a hazardous substances contravention notice has been issued for the purpose of ascertaining whether the notice has been complied with.

(5) Subject to subsection (6), any power conferred by this section to survey land shall be construed as including power to search and bore for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the subsoil or the presence of minerals in it.

(6) Section 325 of the principal Act (supplementary provisions as to rights of entry) applies in relation to this section as it applies in relation to section 324 of that Act, but taking the reference in section 325(8) to section 324(8) as a reference to subsection (5).

37 Application of certain general provisions of principal Act

(1) The provisions of the principal Act specified in subsection (2) shall apply for the purposes of this Act as they apply for the purposes of that Act.

(2) Those provisions are—

  • section 320 (local inquiries)

  • section 322 (orders as to costs of parties where no inquiry held)

  • section 323 (procedure on certain appeals and applications)

  • section 329 (service of notices)

  • section 330 (power to require information as to interests in land)

  • section 331 (offences by corporations).

38 Financial provisions

(1) Where—

(a) compensation is payable by a local authority under this Act in consequence of any decision or order given or made under sections 4 to 21 or the Schedule,

(b) that decision or order was given or made wholly or partly in the interest of a service which is provided by a government department and the cost of which is defrayed out of money provided by Parliament,

the Minister responsible for the administration of that service may pay to that authority a contribution of such amount as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine.

(2) Any local authority and any statutory undertakers may contribute towards any expenses incurred by a hazardous substances authority (being a local planning authority) in or in connection with the performance of any of their functions under sections 4 to 29.

(3) Where any expenses are incurred by a local authority in the payment of compensation payable in consequence of anything done under sections 4 to 21, the Secretary of State may, if it appears to him to be expedient to do so, require any other local authority to contribute towards those expenses such sum as appears to him to be reasonable, having regard to any benefit accruing to that authority by reason of the proceeding giving rise to the compensation.

(4) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), contributions made by an authority towards the expenditure of a joint advisory committee shall be deemed to be expenses incurred by that authority for the purposes for which that expenditure is incurred by the committee.

(5) The council of a county may direct that any expenses incurred by them under sections 1 to 3, 16, 20, 21, 31, 34 and 36, the previous provisions of this section or the Schedule shall be treated as special expenses of a county council chargeable upon such part of the county as may be specified in the directions.

(6) There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament any expenses of the Secretary of State or any government department under this Act.

(7) Any sums received by the Secretary of State under this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Supplemental

39 Interpretation

(1) In this Act —

  • “contravention of hazardous substances control” has the meaning given in section 23(2);

  • “hazardous substances authority” is to be construed in accordance with sections 1 to 3;

  • “hazardous substances consent” means consent required by section 4;

  • “hazardous substances contravention notice” means such a notice as is mentioned in section 24(1);

  • “the principal Act” means the [1990 c. 8.] Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

(2) In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires and subject to the following provisions of this section, the following expressions have the same meaning as in the principal Act—

  • “the 1971 Act”;

  • “the appropriate Minister”;

  • “the Broads”;

  • “development”;

  • “development plan”;

  • “enactment”;

  • “functions”;

  • “government department”;

  • “joint planning board”;

  • “land”;

  • “local authority”;

  • “local planning authority”;

  • “London borough”;

  • “mineral working deposit”;

  • “minerals”;

  • “Minister”;

  • “operational land”;

  • “owner”;

  • “the planning Acts”;

  • “prescribed”;

  • “public gas supplier”;

  • “statutory undertakers”;

  • “tenancy”;

  • “urban development area” and “urban development corporation”;

  • “use”;

  • “Valuation Office”;

but this subsection does not affect the meaning of “owner” in section 8.

(3) For the purposes of sections 4 to 21 and 23 to 26 any two bodies corporate are to be treated as being one person if—

(a) one of them is a body corporate of which the other is a subsidiary (within the meaning of section 736 of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985); or

(b) both of them are subsidiaries (within the meaning of that Act) of one and the same body corporate.

(4) For the purposes of sections 2, 12 and 38(2) a public gas supplier shall be deemed to be a statutory undertaker and his undertaking a statutory undertaking.

(5) For the purposes of sections 2, 12 and 38(2) the National Rivers Authority and every water or sewerage undertaker shall be deemed to be a statutory undertaker and its undertaking a statutory undertaking; and for the purposes of sections 2, 7, 28 and 29 and subsections (7) and (8) of this section, “the appropriate Minister”—

(a) in relation to the National Rivers Authority, means the Secretary of State or the Minister of Agriculture; and

(b) in relation to a water or sewerage undertaker, means the Secretary of State.

(6) For the purposes of section 38(2) the Post Office, the Civil Aviation Authority and any holder of a licence under section 6(1) of the [1989 c. 29.] Electricity Act 1989 shall be deemed to be statutory undertakers and their undertakings statutory undertakings.

(7) If, in relation to anything required or authorised to be done under this Act, any question arises as to which Minister is or was the appropriate Minister in relation to any statutory undertakers, that question shall be determined by the Treasury.

(8) If any question so arises whether land of statutory undertakers is operational land, that question shall be determined by the Minister who is the appropriate Minister in relation to those undertakers.

40 Regulations

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations under this Act for any purpose for which regulations are authorised or required to be made under this Act, not being a purpose for which regulations are authorised or required to be made by another Minister.

(2) Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(3) Any statutory instrument containing regulations made under this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

41 Short title, commencement and extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990.

(2) If an order has been made under section 57(2) of the [1986 c. 63.] Housing and Planning Act 1986 appointing a date during or at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed as the date on which all or any of the provisions of that Act relating to control over hazardous substances come into force, then the corresponding provisions of this Act (and, subject to Schedule 4 to the [1990 c. 11.] Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990, the remaining provisions of it so far as they relate to them) shall come into force at the end of that period.

(3) Except so far as subsection (2) applies, the provisions of this Act (other than this section) shall come into force on such day as may be appointed by the Secretary of State by order made by statutory instrument and—

(a) different days may be appointed for different provisions or for different purposes; and

(b) an order may make such transitional provision as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate.

(4) This Act extends to England and Wales only.