Commentary on Sections Schedule 2: Modification or discharge of affordable housing requirements: related amendments Section 11: Stopping up and diversion of highways
66.This section amends section 253 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”). A stopping up order extinguishes the public right to pass and re-pass over the land in question. This enables development to be carried out on the land. A diversion generally also involves a stopping up together with the creation of a new highway. The effect of the section is to enable a draft order for stopping up or diversion of highways to be published at the planning application stage. At present, in the majority of cases, the applicant must wait until planning permission has been granted before they can apply for a stopping up or diversion order. This section applies to England only and retains the current provisions for Wales.