TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING BILL (Hansard, 23 October 1968)

§ Mr. MacColl
It was hoped that it would be possible to get rid of a deemed planning permission when an enforcement notice goes to appeal. The Minister has powers to deal with a planning decision as well as an enforcement notice. 1418 It has been found that it was not possible, in particular, where there is an industrial development certificate or office development permission, or, in the case of a statutory undertaker, where two Ministers are responsible for dealing with the planning applications, and for those reasons it has been necessary to bring back into the Bill the concept of the deemed planning permission.

§ Mr. Graham Page
I am puzzled to discover how the hon. Member has read into the Amendment something to do with I.D.C.s and O.D.P.s. I have been puzzled by the wording of the Amendment. The Amendment deals with an application by an appellant that he has been right all along. The applicant is claiming that he had planning permission to start with—before the enforcement notice was served on him—and that he had done all he should have done before he carried out any development. If the Minister allows the appeal the permission should date back for the full period. Does the Clause mean that when the Minister allows an appeal the permission dates only from the Minister's decision? I am not sure what the effect is. That is what is said in the new subsection that we are now asked to approve.
I hope that the wording is clear to some people, but the Parliamentary Secretary confuses me even more by introducing other things which are not mentioned in the subsection. The subsection says that when there is an appeal against an enforcement notice and the Minister allows that appeal he may treat his decision as being made with a planning permission dated when the application was made. It is all very confusing, and if the Parliamentary Secretary, with the leave of the House, can explain it a little further, we shall be grateful.

§ Mr. MacColl
I am not sure that I shall be so grateful—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Member must ask the leave of the House to speak again.

§ Mr. MacColl
I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. If I have the leave of the House I should like to explain a little further. I.D.C.s come in respect of the Amendments to the Schedules, especially Schedule 6, and the O.D.P.s also come in under that Schedule.
1419 On the other point, he and I are at cross-purposes. I was dealing with a case where an enforcement notice has been upheld and it is not correct to say that planning approval is resurrected, because the enforcement notice has been wrongly served. There are cases where the enforcement notice is upheld. The Minister then goes on to look at the planning merits as such and decides that, on those merits, planning permission should be

	A.—(1) For the purposes of this Part of this Act, a use of land is established if—
5	(a) it was begun before the beginning of 1964 without planning permission in that behalf and has continued since the end of 1963; or
10	(b) it was begun before the beginning of 1964 under a planning permission in that behalf granted subject to conditions or limitations, which either have never been complied with or have not been complied with since the end of 1963; or
(c) it was begun after the end of 1963 as the result of a change of use not requiring planning permission and there has been since the end of 1963 no change of use requiring planning permission.
15	(2) Where a person having an interest in land claims that a particular use of it has become established, he may apply to the local planning authority for a certificate (in this Act referred to as an ' established use certificate ') to that effect;
20	Provided that no such application may be made in respect of the use of land as a single dwelling-house, or of any use not subsisting at the time of the application.
25	(3) An established use certificate may be granted (either by the local planning authority, or under section (Grant of certificate by Minister on referred application or appeal against refusal) below, by the Minister)—
(a) either for the whole of the land specified in the application, or for a part of it; or
(b) in the case of an application specifying two or more uses, either for all those uses or for some one or more of them.
30	(4) On an application to them under this section, the local planning authority shall, if and so far as they are satisfied that the applicant's claim is made out, grant to him an established use certificate accordingly; and if and so far as they are not so satisfied, they shall refuse the application.
35	(5) Where an application is made to a local planning authority for an established use certificate, then unless within such period as may be prescribed by a development order or within such extended period as may at any time be agreed upon in writing between the applicant and the local planning authority, the authority give notice to the applicant of their decision on the application, then, for the purposes of section (Grant of certificate by Minister on referred application or appeal against refusal)(2) below, the application shall be deemed to be refused.
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45	(6) Schedule (Provisions as to established use certificates) to this Act shall have effect with respect to established use certificates and applications therefor and to appeals under section (Grant of certificate by Minister on referred application or appeal against refusal) below.
50	(7) An established use certificate shall, as respects any matters stated therein, be conclusive for the purposes of an appeal to the Minister against an enforcement notice served in respect of any land to which the certificate relates, but only where the notice is served after the date of the application on which the certificate was granted.