Overview of the Act Applications Section 18: Pre-application consultation
137.Section 18 of the Act amends sections 35A, 35B and 35C of the 1997 Act on pre-application consultation (PAC).
138.Section 35A (pre-application consultation: preliminary) of the 1997 Act requires that, before submitting an application for planning permission for a prescribed class of development, the prospective applicant has to comply with section 35B (pre-application consultation: compliance). Section 35A of the 1997 Act goes on to specify a screening procedure whereby a prospective applicant can ask the planning authority for their opinion on whether the proposal falls within a class of development requiring pre-application consultation (PAC).
139.Section 35B of the 1997 Act requires the prospective applicant to give a notice (a proposal of application notice) to the planning authority that an application for planning permission to which PAC applies will be made. Such an application cannot be submitted within 12 weeks from the giving of this notice. Section 35B goes on to make provision about the content of the notice, who is to be consulted and how the consultation is to be carried out.
140.Section 35C (pre-application consultation report) of the 1997 Act requires that if an application is to be submitted, a report must be prepared of what was done to comply with the PAC requirements. This section also allows for the form of such a report to be prescribed.
141.Section 35A(1A) of the 1997 Act contains an exception to the requirement for PAC in relation to applications for planning permission under section 42 of the Act. Section 18(2)(a) of the Act amends section 35A(1A) of the 1997 Act to add a new paragraph (b) allowing the Scottish Ministers to make regulations specifying circumstances in which an application for planning permission does not require PAC. This power will be in addition to the existing power under section 35A which allows Ministers to prescribe classes of development to which PAC requirements apply.
142.Sections 35A(3) and (9) of the 1997 Act relate to the screening process for prospective applicants on the need for PAC. At the moment, these provisions are framed on the basis of the existing rules about when PAC applies. Sections 18(2)(b) and (d) of the Act update that reference, in light of the fact that whether or not the development is of a prescribed class will now no longer be the only factor in determining whether PAC is required. The replacement form of words allows the screening opinion to consider both the current test for PAC (whether the proposal relates to a prescribed class of development to which PAC applies) and also the new test (whether it is covered by any prescribed circumstances where PAC does not apply).
143.Section 18(2)(c) of the Act also amends section 35A(5) of the 1997 Act so that regulations may prescribe the content, and not just the form, of a notice requesting screening.
144.Section 18(3) of the Act amends section 35B(3) of the 1997 Act so that an application for planning permission must be submitted within a maximum of 18 months of the date of submission of the proposal of application notice. This runs concurrently with the existing minimum period, which provides that the application cannot be submitted until at least 12 weeks after the giving of this notice.
145.Section 18(4) of the Act amends section 35C(2) of the 1997 Act so that regulations can prescribe not only the form but also the content of a PAC report.