The Town and Country Planning (Enforcement Notices and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2017

Contents

1Title, commencement and application#

(1)The title of these Regulations is the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement Notices and Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2017 and they come into force on 5 May 2017.

(2)These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

(2A)These Regulations form part of a code of law relating to the historic environment of Wales.

(3)These Regulations apply to—

(a)an enforcement notice under section 172 or section 182 of the Planning Act which is issued on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force; and

(b)the appeals listed in paragraph (4) where the enforcement notice which is the subject of the appeal was issued on or after the date on which these Regulations come into force.

(4)The appeals listed in this paragraph are—

(a)an appeal under section 174 of the Planning Act (appeal against enforcement notice);

(b)an appeal under section 208 of the Planning Act (appeals against tree replacement notices);

(c)an appeal under section 217 of the Planning Act (appeal against a notice requiring the maintenance of land); and

(d)an appeal under section 127 of the 2023 Act (right to appeal against enforcement notice) or under that section as applied by section 163 of that Act (application of Part 3 to conservation areas).

2Interpretation#

(1)In these regulations—• ^note...• the 2023 Act” (“Deddf 2023”) means the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023;• “the Planning Act” (“y Ddeddf Gynllunio”) means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;• “electronic communication” (“cyfathrebiad electronig”) has the meaning given in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000;• “enforcement notice” (“hysbysiad gorfodi”) means a notice under—(a) section 172(1) of the Planning Act,(b) section 182(1) of the Planning Act,(c) section 207(1) of the Planning Act,(d) section 215(1) of the Planning Act,(e) section 123(1) of the 2023 Act or under that section as applied by section 163 of that Act, or(f) section 134(1) of the 2023 Act;• “local planning authority” (“awdurdod cynllunio lleol”) means the body which issued the relevant enforcement notice;• “working day” (“diwrnod gwaith”) means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday in Wales.

(2)In relation to the use of electronic communications for any purpose of these Regulations which is capable of being effected electronically—

(a)the expression “address” (“cyfeiriad”) includes any number or address used for the purposes of electronic communications;

(b)references to notices or other documents, or to copies of such documents, include references to such documents or copies of them in electronic form.

3Use of electronic communications#

(1)Paragraphs (2) to (6) of this regulation apply where an electronic communication is used by a person for the purpose of fulfilling any requirement in regulation 8 or 10 to give or send any statement, notice or other document to any other person (“the recipient”) , but this is subject to regulation 3A.

(2)The requirement is taken to be fulfilled where the notice or other document transmitted by means of the electronic communication is—

(a)capable of being accessed by the recipient;

(b)legible in all material respects; and

(c)sufficiently permanent to be used for subsequent reference.

(3)In paragraph (2) “legible in all material respects” (“darllenadwy ym mhob modd perthnasol”) means that the information contained in the notice or other document is available to the recipient to no lesser extent than it would be if sent or given by means of a document in printed form.

(4)Where the electronic communication is received by the recipient outside the recipient’s business hours, it will be taken to have been received on the next working day.

(5)A requirement in these Regulations that any notice or other document should be in writing is fulfilled where that document meets the criteria in paragraph (2), and “written” (“ysgrifenedig”) and cognate expressions are to be construed accordingly.

(6)Where an appellant sends any notice or other document to the Welsh Ministers using electronic communications, they will be taken to have agreed—

(a)to the use of such communications for all purposes relating to the appeal which are capable of being carried out electronically;

(b)that the appellant’s address for the purpose of such communications is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with, the notice or other document;

(c)that the appellant’s deemed agreement under this paragraph will subsist until the appellant gives notice in accordance with regulation 5 of a wish to revoke the agreement.

3A #

Regulations 3 and 4 do not apply to provision in these Regulations made under the 2023 Act (see section 205 of the 2023 Act).

4Transmission of documents#

Notices or documents required or authorised to be sent or supplied under these Regulations may be sent or supplied by—

(a)post; or

(b)using electronic communications to transmit the notice or document (as the case may be) to a person at such address as may for the time being be specified by that person for such purpose.

5Withdrawal of consent to use of electronic communications#

(1)Where a person is no longer willing to accept the use of electronic communications for any purpose of these Regulations which is capable of being effected electronically, the person must give notice in writing—

(a)withdrawing any address notified to the Welsh Ministers or to a local planning authority for that purpose; or

(b)revoking any agreement entered into with the Welsh Ministers or with a local planning authority for that purpose.

(2)Withdrawal or revocation under paragraph (1) is final and takes effect on the later of—

(a)the date specified by the person in the notice but that date must not be less than 1 week after the date on which the notice is given; or

(b)the expiry of the period of 1 week beginning with the date on which the notice is given.

6Additional matters to be specified in enforcement notice#

An enforcement notice issued under section 172 of the Planning Act must specify—

(a)the reasons why the local planning authority consider it expedient to issue the notice;

(b)all policies and proposals in the development plan which are relevant to the decision to issue an enforcement notice; and

(c)the precise boundaries of the land to which the notice relates, whether by reference to a plan or otherwise.

7Explanatory note to accompany copy of enforcement notice#

Every copy of an enforcement notice served by a local planning authority under section 172(2) of the Planning Act must be accompanied by an explanatory note which must include the following—

(a)a copy of sections 171A, 171B and 172 to 177 of the Planning Act, or a summary of those sections including the following information—

(i)that there is a right of appeal to the Welsh Ministers against that enforcement notice;

(ii)that an appeal can only be made by giving written notice of the appeal to the Welsh Ministers before the date specified in the enforcement notice as the date on which it is to take effect or by sending such notice to the Welsh Ministers in a properly addressed, pre-paid letter posted to them at such time that, in the ordinary course of post, it would be delivered to them before that date; or, where electronic communications are used to send such notice to the Welsh Ministers, by sending the notice to them at such time that, in the ordinary course of transmission, it would be delivered to the Welsh Ministers before that date;

(iii)the grounds on which an appeal may be brought under section 174 of the Planning Act;

(iv)the fee payable under regulation 10 of the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications and Site Visits) (Wales) Regulations 2015 for the deemed application for planning permission for the development alleged to be in breach of planning control in the enforcement notice;

(b)notification that an appellant must send to the Welsh Ministers, either when giving notice of appeal or before the end of the period specified in regulation 8(3), a full statement of case comprised of—

(i)a statement in writing specifying the grounds of the appeal, stating the facts on which the appeal is based and containing full particulars of the case the appellant proposes to put forward in relation to the appeal; and

(ii)copies of any supporting documents the appellant proposes to refer to or put forward in evidence; and

(c)a list of the names and addresses of the persons on whom a copy of the enforcement notice has been served.

8Appeals under section 174 of the Planning Act or section 127 of the 2023 Act#

(1)A person who makes an appeal to the Welsh Ministers under section 174 of the Planning Act or section 127 of the 2023 Act or under that section as applied by section 163 of that Act against an enforcement notice must send to the Welsh Ministers a full statement of case comprised of—

(a)a statement in writing specifying the grounds of the appeal, stating the facts on which the appeal is based and containing full particulars of the case the appellant proposes to put forward in relation to the appeal; and

(b)copies of any supporting documents the appellant proposes to refer to or put forward in evidence.

(2)If the full statement of case mentioned in paragraph (1) is not included with the notice of appeal, the appellant must send it to the Welsh Ministers so that it is received by them before the end of the period specified in paragraph (3).

(3)The period specified in this paragraph is—

(a)7 days beginning with the day on which the notice of appeal is received by the Welsh Ministers; or

(b)such longer period as the Welsh Ministers may allow provided that any such longer period is authorised in writing by them before the date specified in the enforcement notice as the date on which it is to take effect.

(4)The appellant must send to the local planning authority, as soon as reasonably practicable, a copy of the notice of appeal and the full statement of case mentioned in paragraph (1).

9Appeals under section 208 of the Planning Act#

A written notice of appeal submitted to the Welsh Ministers in accordance with section 208(2) of the Planning Act must—

(a)indicate the grounds of the appeal;

(b)state the facts on which the appeal is based;

(c)be accompanied by a full statement of case comprised of—

(i)a statement in writing containing full particulars of the case the appellant proposes to put forward in relation to the appeal; and

(ii)copies of any supporting documents the appellant proposes to refer to or put forward in evidence.

10Appeals under section 217 of the Planning Act#

(1)An appeal under section 217 of the Planning Act must be made by giving written notice of the appeal to the Welsh Ministers so that the notice of appeal is received by them within the period specified in the enforcement notice under section 215 of the Planning Act as the period at the end of which it is to take effect.

(2)A person who gives notice under paragraph (1) must send to the Welsh Ministers a full statement of case comprised of—

(b)copies of any supporting documents the appellant proposes to refer to or put forward in evidence.

(3)If the full statement of case mentioned in paragraph (2) is not included with the notice of appeal, the appellant must send it to the Welsh Ministers so that it is received by them before the end of the period specified in paragraph (4).

(4)The period specified in this paragraph is—

(a)7 days beginning with the day on which the notice of appeal is received by the Welsh Ministers; or

(b)such longer period as the Welsh Ministers may allow provided that any such longer period is authorised in writing by them within the period specified in the enforcement notice as the period at the end of which it is to take effect.

(5)The appellant must send to the local planning authority, as soon as reasonably practicable, a copy of the notice of appeal and the full statement of case mentioned in paragraph (2).

11Application of these Regulations to notices issued by the Welsh Ministers#

(1)These Regulations, except regulations 9 and 10, apply subject to the modifications set out in paragraph (2) to—

(a)enforcement notices issued by the Welsh Ministers under section 182 of the Planning Act,

(b)appeals against enforcement notices issued by the Welsh Ministers under section 182 of the Planning Act, and

(c)appeals against enforcement notices issued by the Welsh Ministers under section 134 of the 2023 Act,

as they apply to such notices issued by local planning authorities and to appeals made against them.

(2)The modifications are as follows—

(a)for references to a local planning authority there are substituted references to the Welsh Ministers;

(b)in regulation 6, for “section 172” there is substituted “section 182”;

(c)in regulation 7—

(i)for “section 172(2)” there is substituted “section 182(1)”; and

(ii)in paragraph (a), for “sections 171A, 171B and 172 to 177” there are substituted “sections 171A, 171B, 172 to 177 and 182”;

(d)regulation 8(4)is omitted.

12Revocation, transitional and saving provisions#

(1)The instruments listed in column (1) of the Schedule are revoked in so far as they apply in relation to Wales to the extent indicated in column (3) subject to paragraph (2).

(2)The instruments listed in column (1) of the Schedule continue to apply where an appeal is made in relation to an enforcement notice issued before these Regulations come into force.

Schedule · Statutory Instruments Revoked so far as they apply to Wales

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