The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992

The Secretary of State for the Environment, as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by sections 220, 221, 223(1), 224(3) and 333(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990[^f00001], and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

PART I — GENERAL

Citation and commencement

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These Regulations may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 6th April 1992.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

• “advertisement” does not include anything employed wholly as a memorial or as a railway signal;

• “area of outstanding natural beauty” means an area designated as such by an order made under section 87 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949[^f00002];

• “area of special control” means an area designated by an order under regulation 18;

• “balloon” means a tethered balloon or similar object;

• “deemed consent” has the meaning given by regulation 5;

• “discontinuance notice” means a notice served under regulation 8;

• ...

• “express consent” has the meaning given by regulation 5;

• “illuminated advertisement” means an advertisement which is designed or adapted to be illuminated by artificial lighting, directly or by reflection, and which is so illuminated;

• “National Park” has the meaning given by section 5 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949;

• “site” means any land or building, other than an advertisement, on which an advertisement is displayed;

• “standard conditions” means the conditions specified in Schedule 1;

• “statutory undertaker” includes, in addition to any person mentioned in section 262(1) of the Act, the Civil Aviation Authority, , a person who holds a licence under Chapter I of Part I of the Transport Act 2000 (air traffic services), the British Airports Authority, the Coal Authority or any licensed operator within the meaning of section 65(1) of the Coal Industry Act 1994, any public gas transporter within the meaning of Part I of the Gas Act 1986[^f00003], any public electricity supplier within the meaning of Part I of the Electricity Act 1989[^f00004], any person who is a licence holder, or who has the benefit of a licence exemption, within the meaning of Part I of the Railways Act 1993, any person who holds a railway undertaking licence granted pursuant to the Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2005 ...; a universal postal service provider in connection with the provision of a universal postal service, the Environment Agency, the Natural Resources Body for Wales, any water or sewerage undertaker and any electronic communications code operator; and , subject to paragraph (1A), statutory undertaking shall be interpreted accordingly;

• ...

• “vehicle” includes a vessel on any inland waterway; and

• “waterway” includes coastal waters.

• (1A) The undertaking of a universal postal service provider so far as relating to the provision of a universal postal service shall be taken to be his statutory undertaking for the purposes of these regulations; and references in these regulations to his undertaking shall be construed accordingly.

• (2) In the application of these Regulations in England, “local planning authority” means—

• (a) for land in the area of an urban development corporation, except in regulation 18, that corporation where it is the local planning authority for the purposes of sections 220 and 224 of the Act;

• (b) for land in a National Park which is land that is not in a metropolitan county, the county planning authority for the area where the land is situated; and

• (c) in any other case, the relevant district planning authority or metropolitan district or London borough council.

• (2A) In the application of these Regulations in Wales “local planning authority” means—

• (a) subject to sub-paragraph (b) below, the local planning authority for the area in which the land in question is situated;

• (b) for land in the area of any urban development corporation, except in regulation 18, that corporation where it is the local planning authority for the purposes of sections 220 and 224 of the Act.

• (2B) For the purposes of these Regulations—

• (a) a person who holds a licence under Chapter I of Part I of the Transport Act 2000 shall not be considered to be a statutory undertaker unless the person is carrying out activities authorised by the licence; and

• (b) the person’s undertaking shall not be considered to be a statutory undertaking except to the extent that it is the person’s undertaking as licence holder.

• (3) Any reference in these Regulations to a person displaying an advertisement includes—

• (a) the owner and occupier of the land on which the advertisement is displayed;

• (b) any person to whose goods, trade, business or other concerns publicity is given by the advertisement; and

• (c) the person who undertakes or maintains the display of the advertisement.

• (4) Except in Class A in Schedule 2, any reference in these Regulations to the land, the building, the site or the premises on which an advertisement is displayed includes, in the case of an advertisement which is displayed on, or which consists of, a balloon, a reference to the land, the building, the site or other premises to which the balloon is attached and to all land, buildings or other premises normally occupied therewith.

Application

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• (1) These Regulations apply to the display on any site in England and Wales of any advertisement.

• (2) Parts II and III of these Regulations do not apply to any advertisement falling within a description set out in Schedule 2 provided it complies with any conditions and limitations specified in that Schedule; and—

• (a) in the case of an advertisement falling within Class G, it complies with the standard conditions set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 5 of Schedule 1; or

• (b) in any other case, it complies with all the standard conditions.

Powers to be exercised in the interests of amenity and public safety

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• (1) A local planning authority shall exercise their powers under these Regulations only in the interests of amenity and public safety, taking account of any material factors, and in particular—

• (a) in the case of amenity, the general characteristics of the locality, including the presence of any feature of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest, disregarding, if they think fit, any advertisement being displayed there;

• (b) in the case of public safety—

• (i) the safety of any person who may use any road, railway, waterway, dock, harbour or aerodrome;

• (ii) whether any display of advertisements is likely to obscure, or hinder the ready interpretation of, any road traffic sign, railway signal or aid to navigation by water or air.

• (2) In determining an application for consent for the display of advertisements, or considering whether to make an order revoking or modifying a consent, the local planning authority may have regard to any material change in circumstances likely to occur within the period for which the consent is required or granted.

• (3) Unless it appears to the local planning authority to be required in the interests of amenity or public safety, an express consent for the display of advertisements shall not contain any limitation or restriction relating to the subject matter, content or design of what is to be displayed.

• (4) A consent for the display of advertisements shall take effect as consent for the use of the site for the purposes of the display, whether by the erection of structures or otherwise, and for the benefit of any person interested in the site.

Requirement for consent

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• (1) No advertisement may be displayed without consent granted by the local planning authority or by the Secretary of State on an application in that behalf (referred to in these Regulations as “express consent”), or granted by regulation 6 (referred to in these Regulations as “deemed consent”), except an advertisement displayed in accordance with paragraph (2) below.

• (2) The display—

• (a) outside any area of special control, of such an advertisement as is mentioned in regulation 3(2); or

• (b) within an area of special control, of such an advertisement as is so mentioned, other than one falling within Class A in Schedule 2,

is in accordance with this paragraph.

PART II — DEEMED CONSENT

Deemed consent for the display of advertisements

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• (1) Subject to regulations 7 and 8, and in the case of an area of special control also to regulation 19, deemed consent is hereby granted for the display of an advertisement falling within any class specified in Part I of Schedule 3, subject—

• (a) to any conditions and limitations specified in that Part in relation to that class; and

• (b) to the standard conditions.

• (2) Part II of Schedule 3 applies for the interpretation of that Schedule.

Directions restricting deemed consent

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• (1) If the Secretary of State is satisfied, upon a proposal made to him by the local planning authority, that the display of advertisements of any class or description specified in Schedule 3, other than Class 12 or 13, should not be undertaken in any particular area or in any particular case without express consent, he may direct that the consent granted by regulation 6 for that class or description shall not apply in that area or in that case, for a specified period or indefinitely.

• (2) Before making any such direction, the Secretary of State shall—

• (a) where the proposal relates to a particular area, publish, or cause to be published, in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality, and on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, a notice that such a proposal has been made, naming a place or places in the locality where a map or maps defining the area concerned may be inspected at all reasonable hours; and

• (b) where the proposal relates to a particular case, serve, or cause to be served, on the owner and occupier of the land affected and on any other person who, to his knowledge, proposes to display on such land an advertisement of the class or description concerned, a notice that a proposal has been made, specifying the land and the class or description of advertisement in question.

• (3) Any notice under paragraph (2) above shall state that any objection to the making of a direction may be made to the Secretary of State in writing within such period (not being less than 21 days from the date when the notice was given) as is specified in the notice.

• (4) The Secretary of State shall not make a direction under this regulation until after the expiry of the specified period.

• (5) In determining whether to make a direction, the Secretary of State—

• (a) shall take into account any objections made in accordance with paragraph (3) above;

• (b) may modify the proposal of the local planning authority if—

• (i) he has notified, in writing, that authority and any person who has made an objection or representation to him of his intention and his reasons for it and has given them a reasonable opportunity to respond; and

• (ii) the intended modification does not extend the area of land specified in the proposal.

• (6) Where the Secretary of State makes a direction, he shall send it to the local planning authority, with a statement of his reasons for making it, and shall send a copy of that statement to any person who has made an objection in accordance with paragraph (3) above.

• (7) Notice of the making of any direction for a particular area shall be published by the local planning authority in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality and, unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs, on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, and such notice shall—

• (a) contain a full statement of the effect of the direction;

• (b) name a place or places in the locality where a copy of the direction and of a map defining the area concerned may be seen at all reasonable hours; and

• (c) specify a date when the direction shall come into force, being at least 14 and not more than 28 days after the first publication of the notice.

• (8) Notice of the making of any direction for a particular case shall be served by the local planning authority on the owner and on any occupier of the land to which the direction relates, and on any other person who, to the knowledge of the authority, proposes to display on such land an advertisement of the class or description affected.

• (9) A direction for an area shall come into force on the date specified in the notice given under paragraph (7) above, and a direction for a particular case shall come into force on the date on which notice is served on the occupier or, if there is no occupier, on the owner of the land affected.

Discontinuance of deemed consent

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• (1) The local planning authority may serve a notice requiring the discontinuance of the display of an advertisement, or of the use of a site for the display of an advertisement, for which deemed consent is granted under regulation 6 if they are satisfied that it is necessary to do so to remedy a substantial injury to the amenity of the locality or a danger to members of the public: but in the case of an advertisement within Class 12 in Schedule 3, they may not do so if the advertisement is also within Class F or Class G in Schedule 2.

• (2) A discontinuance notice—

• (a) shall be served on the advertiser and on the owner and occupier of the site on which the advertisement is displayed;

• (b) may, if the local planning authority think fit, also be served on any other person displaying the advertisement;

• (c) shall specify the advertisement or the site to which it relates;

• (d) shall specify a period within which the display or the use of the site (as the case may be) is to be discontinued; and

• (e) shall contain a full statement of the reasons why action has been taken under this regulation.

• (3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5) below, a discontinuance notice shall take effect at the end of the period (being at least 8 weeks after the date on which it is served) specified in the notice.

• (4) If an appeal is made to the Secretary of State under regulation 15, the notice shall be of no effect pending the final determination or withdrawal of the appeal.

• (5) The local planning authority, by a notice served on the advertiser, may withdraw a discontinuance notice at any time before it takes effect or may, where no appeal to the Secretary of State is pending, from time to time vary a discontinuance notice by extending the period specified for the taking effect of the notice.

• (6) The local planning authority shall, on serving on the advertiser a notice of withdrawal or variation under paragraph (5) above, send a copy to every other person served with the discontinuance notice.

PART III — EXPRESS CONSENT

Applications for express consent

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• (1) An application for express consent must be made to the local planning authority.

• (2) Subject to paragraph 6, the application must be made electronically or in hard copy on a form published by the Welsh Ministers or a form substantially to the same effect.

• (3) The applicant must—

• (a) include the particulars specified in the form; and

• (b) send with the application (whether electronically or otherwise) a plan which—

• (i) is drawn to an identified scale,

• (ii) shows the direction of north,

• (iii) identifies the location of the site by reference to at least two named roads, and

• (iv) identifies the proposed position of the advertisement.

• (4) Unless an application is made electronically or the local planning authority indicates that fewer copies are required, three copies of the completed form and the plan must accompany the application.

• (5) Where the application is one to which directions given by the Welsh Ministers under regulation 10 apply, the applicant must send with the application (whether electronically or otherwise) such particulars, plans or information specified or referred to in those directions as may have been notified to the applicant by the local planning authority.

• (6) An application made on or after 30 April 2012 and before 31 May 2012, otherwise than by a local planning authority, may be made in writing on a form devised by the local planning authority.

• (7) Where an application is made electronically, the applicant is taken to have agreed—

• (a) to the use by the local planning authority of electronic communication for the purposes of the application;

• (b) that the applicant’s address for that purpose is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with, the application; and

• (c) that deemed agreement under this paragraph subsists until the applicant gives notice in writing—

• (i) withdrawing any address notified to the authority for that purpose, or

• (ii) revoking that deemed agreement,

and such withdrawal or revocation is final and takes effect on a date specified by the applicant in the notice at least seven days after the date on which the notice is given.

• (8) An application made electronically must, unless the contrary is proved, be treated as having been delivered at 9.00 a.m. on the next working day after the day on which it is transmitted.

• (9) This regulation applies to applications for renewal consent as it applies to applications for consent.

• (10) An application for the renewal of an express consent may not be made more than 6 months before the date on which the consent is due to expire.

Secretary of State’s directions

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The Secretary of State may give directions to a local planning authority, either generally or in relation to a particular case or class of case, specifying the kinds of particulars, plans or information to be contained in an application for express consent.

Receipt of applications

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