General Regulatory Controls - development requiring planning permission

Development is defined by section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and section 26 of the Town and Country Planning Act (Scotland) 1997 as "the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land". Generally, planning permission is required to undertake any works that fall within the definition of development that are not exempt by the 1990 / 1997 Act. In the case of physical works to vegetated shingle habitats, involving the movement of shingle or construction of structures such as groynes, it is likely that planning permission will be required. Permission may also be required if a material change of land use would be involved, but such cases are likely to be infrequent. Planning permission is not required for ongoing management of habitats that do not involve engineering or mining operations.

Extraction of shingle for use as a mineral would be a mining operation and will always require planning permission. All but minor movements of shingle, even where there is no intention to use it as a mineral, are likely to be an engineering operation in the meaning of the Act and will also require planning permission.

Planning permission for engineering and mineral operations on shingle would normally be obtained following the submission and consideration of a planning application by the relevant planning authority. If the local planning authority refuses permission it may be granted, on appeal, in England and Wales by a Planning Inspector (acting under delegation from the first Secretary of State / Welsh Assembly Government) or in Scotland by a Reporter (acting under delegation from the Scottish Ministers).

Certain works, for example by the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) or a local authority, may be granted planning permission generally by the Secretary of State / Welsh Assembly Government, through the provisions of Article 3 and Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 or by the Scottish Ministers through the provisions of Article 3 and Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992. These general grants of planning permission are referred to as "permitted development". An express planning application does not have to be made for permitted development because permission has already been granted. However, these permitted developments are subject to conditions, two of which are explained further below in respect of the Habitats Regulations and the EIA regulations.

Most new or replacement local authority coast protection schemes will require planning permission on an application. However, because the local authority is also the planning authority, such applications are dealt with under special procedures in the Town and Country Planning (General) Regulations 1992 or Town and Country Planning (Development by Planning Authorities) (Scotland) Regulations 1981.

Sections 54A and 70 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 / S.25 and 37(2) Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 require planning authorities (and the Secretary of State / Welsh Assembly Government and Inspectors and, in Scotland, Scottish Ministers / Reporters) to determine planning applications in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise*. It means that the development plan is a particularly important consideration in deciding planning applications. The development plan consists of the Structure Plan and the Local Plan (including any Mineral and Waste Local Plans) or the Unitary Development Plan**. Other material considerations may include national planning guidance that comprises, in England, the series of Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs) and the fifteen Mineral Planning Guidance Notes (MPGs) issued since 1992. PPG7 The Countryside: Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development 1997; PPG9 Nature Conservation 1994; PPG20 Coastal Planning 1992 and PPG25 Development and Flood Risk 2001 are particularly relevant here. The series of PPGs and MPGs is currently under review and will be replaced by new government planning policy statements (PPSs).

* Note: This requirement is more fully explained in paras 39 - 56 of Planning Policy Guidance Note (PPG) 1 General Policy and Principles, 1997 (England), and paras 46 - 49 Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 1, The Planning System, 2002.

** Note: See PPG 12 Development Plans 1999; paras 3.1.1 - 3.1.6 Planning Policy Wales, 2002 and Unitary Development Plans Wales National Assembly for Wales 2001; and paras 25 - 40 SPP1, The Planning System, 2002).

Similar guidance is found in relation to Scotland in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 1, The Planning System 2002; National Planning Policy Guidelines (NPPG)7 Planning and Flooding, 1995, NPPG13 Coastal Planning 1997 and NPPG14 Natural Heritage 1999; and, in relation to Wales, in Planning Policy Wales 2002 and Technical Advice Notes (TAN) 5 Nature Conservation and Planning 1996, TAN14 Coastal Planning 1998 and TAN15 Development and Flood Risk 1998. In Scotland the series of NPPGs is being replaced by Scottish Planning Policies, SPPs.

The jurisdiction of planning control is normally down to MLWM (MLWMOST in Scotland).