Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006

Amendment of permissions, approvals, etc.

30.— The following Chapter is inserted after Chapter III of Part VI of the Principal Act:

“Chapter IV

Additional powers of Board in relation to permissions, decisions, approvals, etc.

Amendments of permissions, etc. of clerical or technical nature.

146A.— (1) Subject to subsection (2)—

(a) a planning authority or the Board, as may be appropriate, may amend a planning permission granted by it, or

(b) the Board may amend any decision made by it in performance of a function under or transferred by this Act or under any other enactment,

for the purposes of—

(i) correcting any clerical error therein,

(ii) facilitating the doing of any thing pursuant to the permission or decision where the doing of that thing may reasonably be regarded as having been contemplated by a particular provision of the permission or decision or the terms of the permission or decision taken as a whole but which was not expressly provided for in the permission or decision, or

(iii) otherwise facilitating the operation of the permission or decision.

(2) A planning authority or the Board shall not exercise the powers under subsection (1) if to do so would, in its opinion, result in a material alteration of the terms of the development, the subject of the permission or decision concerned.

(3) A planning authority or the Board, before it decides whether to exercise the powers under subsection (1) in a particular case, may invite submissions in relation to the matter to be made to it by any person who made submissions or observations to the planning authority or the Board in relation to the permission or other matter concerned, and shall have regard to any submissions made to it on foot of that invitation.

(4) In this section ‘term’ includes a condition.

Alteration by Board of strategic infrastructure development on request made of it.

146B.— (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (8) and section 146C, the Board may, on the request of any person who is carrying out or intending to carry out a strategic infrastructure development, alter the terms of the development the subject of a planning permission, approval or other consent granted under this Act.

(2) (a) As soon as practicable after the making of such a request, the Board shall make a decision as to whether the making of the alteration to which the request relates would constitute the making of a material alteration of the terms of the development concerned.

(b) Before making a decision under this subsection, the Board may invite submissions in relation to the matter to be made to it by such person or class of person as the Board considers appropriate (which class may comprise the public if, in the particular case, the Board determines that it shall do so); the Board shall have regard to any submissions made to it on foot of that invitation.

(3) If the Board decides that the making of the alteration—

(a) would not constitute the making of a material alteration of the terms of the development concerned, it shall alter the planning permission, approval or other consent accordingly and notify the person who made the request under this section, and the planning authority or each planning authority for the area or areas concerned, of the alteration,

(b) would constitute the making of such a material alteration, it shall determine whether to—

(i) make the alteration,

(ii) make an alteration of the terms of the development concerned, being an alteration that would be different from that to which the request relates (but which would not, in the opinion of the Board, represent, overall, a more significant change to the terms of the development than that which would be represented by the latter alteration), or

(iii) refuse to make the alteration.

(4) Before making a determination under subsection (3)(b), the Board shall determine whether the extent and character of—

(a) the alteration requested under subsection (1), and

(b) any alternative alteration it is considering under subsection (3)(b)(ii),

are such that the alteration, were it to be made, would be likely to have significant effects on the environment (and, for this purpose, the Board shall have reached a final decision as to what is the extent and character of any alternative alteration the making of which it is so considering).

(5) If the Board determines that the making of either kind of alteration referred to in subsection (3)(b)—

(a) is not likely to have significant effects on the environment, it shall proceed to make a determination under subsection (3)(b), or

(b) is likely to have such effects, the provisions of section 146C shall apply.

(6) If, in a case to which subsection (5)(a) applies, the Board makes a determination to make an alteration of either kind referred to in subsection (3)(b), it shall alter the planning permission, approval or other consent accordingly and notify the person who made the request under this section, and the planning authority or each planning authority for the area or areas concerned, of the alteration.

(7) In making a determination under subsection (4), the Board shall have regard to the criteria for the purposes of determining which classes of development are likely to have significant effects on the environment set out in any regulations made under section 176.

(8) (a) Before making a determination under subsection (3)(b) or (4), the Board shall—

(i) make, or require the person who made the request concerned under subsection (1) to make, such information relating to that request available for inspection for such period,

(ii) notify, or require that person to notify, such person, such class of person or the public (as the Board considers appropriate) that the information is so available, and

(iii) invite, or require that person to invite, submissions or observations (from any foregoing person or, as appropriate, members of the public) to be made to it in relation to that request within such period,

as the Board determines and, in the case of a requirement under any of the preceding subparagraphs, specifies in the requirement; such a requirement may specify the means by which the thing to which it relates is to be done.

(b) The Board shall have regard to any submissions or observations made to it in accordance with an invitation referred to in paragraph (a).

(c) The Board shall notify any person who made a submission or observation to it in accordance with that invitation of its determination under subsection (3)(b) or (4).

(9) In this section ‘term’ has the same meaning as it has in section 146A.

Preparation of environmental impact statement for purposes of section 146B.

146C.— (1) This section applies to a case where the determination of the Board under section 146B(4) is that the making of either kind of alteration referred to in section 146B(3)(b) is likely to have significant effects on the environment.

(2) In a case to which this section applies, the Board shall require the person who made the request under section 146B (‘the requester’) to prepare an environmental impact statement in relation to the proposed alteration of the terms of the development concerned and, in this subsection and the following subsections of this section, ‘ proposed alteration of the terms of the development concerned ’ means—

(a) the alteration referred to in subsection (3)(b)(i), and

(b) any alternative alteration under subsection (3)(b)(ii) the making of which the Board is considering (and particulars of any such alternative alteration the making of which is being so considered shall be furnished, for the purposes of this subsection, by the Board to the requester).

(3) An environmental impact statement under this section shall contain—

(a) any information that any regulations made under section 177 require to be contained in environmental impact statements generally under this Act, and

(b) any other information prescribed in any regulations made under section 177 to the extent that—

(i) such information is relevant to—

(I) the given stage of the consent procedure and to the specific characteristics of the development or type of development concerned, and

(II) the environmental features likely to be affected,

and

(ii) the person or persons preparing the statement may reasonably be required to compile it having regard to current knowledge and methods of assessment,

and

(c) a summary, in non-technical language, of the information referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(4) When an environmental impact statement under this section is prepared, the requester shall as soon as may be—

(a) submit a copy of the statement to the Board, together with either—

(i) a copy of the published notice referred to in paragraph (c), or

(ii) a copy of the notice proposed to be published in accordance with paragraph (c) together with details of its proposed publication and date,

(b) publish a notice, in the prescribed form, in one or more newspapers circulating in the area in which the development concerned is proposed to be, or is being, carried out—

(i) stating that an environmental impact statement has been submitted to the Board in relation to the proposed alteration of the terms of the development concerned,

(ii) indicating the times at which, the period (which shall not be less than 4 weeks) during which and the place or places where a copy of the environmental impact statement may be inspected,

(iii) stating that a copy of the environmental impact statement may be purchased on payment of a specified fee (which fee shall not exceed the reasonable cost of making such copy), and

(iv) stating that submissions or observations may be made in writing to the Board before a specified date (which date shall not be less than 4 weeks after the notice was first published) in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed alteration of the foregoing terms,

(c) send a copy of the environmental impact statement together with a notice in the prescribed form to the local authority or each local authority in whose functional area the proposed development would be situate and to any prescribed body or person stating that—

(i) the statement has been submitted to the Board in relation to the proposed alteration of the terms of the development concerned,

(ii) before a specified date (which date shall be the same as provided or proposed to be provided for by the notice under paragraph (b)) submissions or observations may be made in writing to the Board in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed alteration of the foregoing terms,

(d) send a copy of the environmental impact statement, together with a notice in the prescribed form, to a Member State of the European Communities or a state which is a party to the Transboundary Convention where, in the Board’s opinion, the proposed alteration of the terms of the development concerned is likely to have significant effects on the environment in that state, together with a notice (in the prescribed form, if any) stating that—

(i) the statement has been submitted to the Board in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed alteration of the foregoing terms,

(ii) before a specified date (which date shall be the same as provided or proposed to be provided for by the notice under paragraph (b)) submissions or observations may be made in writing to the Board in relation to the likely effects on the environment in that state of the proposed alteration of those terms,

and the Board may, at its discretion and from time to time, extend any time limits provided for by this subsection.

(5) On the preceding subsections having been complied with, the Board shall, subject to subsections (6) and (7), proceed to make a determination under section 146B(3)(b) in relation to the matter.

(6) In making that determination, the Board shall, to the extent that they appear to the Board to be relevant, have regard to the following:

(a) the environmental impact statement submitted pursuant to subsection (4)(a), any submissions or observations made in response to the invitation referred to in subsection (4)(b) or (c) before the date specified in the notice concerned for that purpose and any other relevant information before it relating to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed alteration of the terms of the development concerned;

(b) where such alteration is likely to have significant effects on the environment in another Member State of the European Communities, or a state which is a party to the Transboundary Convention, the views of such Member State or party;

(c) the development plan or plans for the area in which the development concerned is proposed to be, or is being, carried out (referred to subsequently in this subsection as ‘the area’);

(d) the provisions of any special amenity area order relating to the area;

(e) if the area or part of the area is a European site or an area prescribed for the purposes of section 10(2)(c), that fact;

(f) if the development concerned (were it to be carried out in the terms as they are proposed to be altered) would have an effect on a European site or an area prescribed for the purposes of section 10(2)(c), that fact;

(g) the matters referred to in section 143;

(h) any social or economic benefit that would accrue to the State, a region of the State or the area were the development concerned to be carried out in the terms as they are proposed to be altered;

(i) commitments entered into and the stage at which the development concerned has progressed under the permission, approval or other consent in the terms as originally granted; and

(j) any relevant provisions of this Act and of any regulations made under this Act.

(7) The Board shall not make a determination under section 146B(3)(b) in a case to which this section applies at any time prior to the date specified, pursuant to subparagraph (iv) of subsection (4)(b), in the notice under subsection (4)(b).

(8) Where the Board makes a determination under section 146B(3)(b) in a case to which this section applies—

(a) it shall give public notice of the determination (including notice in the area in which the development concerned is proposed to be, or is being, carried out) and inform any state to which an environmental impact statement has been sent under subsection (4)(d) of the determination, including, if the determination is of the kind referred to in paragraph (b), particulars of the determination, and

(b) if the determination is a determination to make an alteration of either kind referred to in section 146B(3)(b), it shall alter the planning permission, approval or other consent accordingly and notify the requester of the alteration.

(9) Without prejudice to the generality of section 18(a) of the Interpretation Act 2005 , a reference, however expressed, in this section to the area in which the proposed development would be situated includes, if the context admits, a reference to the 2 or more areas in which the proposed development would be situated and cognate references shall be construed accordingly.

Application of sections 146A to 146C to railway orders.

146D.— Sections 146A to 146C shall apply to a railway order under the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 (whether made before or after the amendment of that Act by the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006) as they apply to a permission, decision or approval referred to in them with the following modifications:

(a) a reference in those sections to the terms of the development shall be construed as a reference to the terms of the railway works, the subject of the railway order;

(b) a reference in those sections to altering the terms of the development shall be construed as a reference to amending, by order, the railway order with respect to the terms of the railway works, the subject of the railway order; and

(c) a reference in section 146A to submissions or observations made to the Board in relation to the permission or other matter concerned shall be construed as a reference to submissions made to the Minister for Transport or the Board, as the case may be, under the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 in relation to the railway order.”.