The Town and Country Planning (Crown Development Applications) (Procedure and Written Representations) Order 2025

• (iii) the Georgian Group,

• (iv) the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings,

• (v) the Victorian Society, and

• (vi) the Twentieth Century Society.

• (2) Where the Secretary of State is required to consult any person under paragraph (1) (“the consultee”) before determining a connected listed building application—

• (a) the Secretary of State must send a copy of the connected listed building application to the consultee, and inform them that they have a period of 28 days beginning with the day on which a copy of the application was sent to them to make representations about the application, and

• (b) subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State must not determine the application before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which a copy of the application was sent to the consultee.

• (3) Paragraph (2)(b) does not apply if before the end of the period referred to in that paragraph the Secretary of State has received a substantive response concerning the application from the consultee.

• (4) For the purposes of this article, a substantive response is one which—

• (a) states that the consultee has no comment to make,

• (b) states that, on the basis of the information available, the consultee is content with the proposed works,

• (c) refers the Secretary of State to current standing advice given by the consultee on the subject of the consultation, or

• (d) provides advice to the Secretary of State.

Consultation with relevant local planning authority

40

• (1) Before determining a connected listed building application, the Secretary of State must notify the relevant local planning authority giving the authority a period of at least 21 days, beginning no earlier than the day the Secretary of State sends the notice under article 34 in relation to the application, within which to make representations about the application.

• (2) The Secretary of State must not determine the application until the period specified in the notice under paragraph (1) has elapsed, unless the Secretary of State has received a substantive response (within the meaning of article 39(4)) concerning the application from the authority.

Representations received by the relevant local planning authority

41

Where representations in relation to a connected listed building application are received by the relevant local planning authority, it must, as soon as reasonably practicable, forward the representations to the Secretary of State at the address notified to the relevant local planning authority by the Secretary of State for that purpose.

Information to be published following the last representation period

42

Before the end of the period of 5 working days beginning with the day after the end of the last representation period or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, the Secretary of State must make copies of the following documents available on the website referred to in article 36—

• (a) the required information provided by the relevant local planning authority in accordance with article 35, and

• (b) any written representations made in relation to the application which were received within the applicable representation period.

Part 4 — Determination of Crown development and connected listed building applications

Chapter 1 — Determination of procedure

Prescribed period for determination of procedure

43

For the purposes of section 319A(3) of the 1990 Act the prescribed period within which the Secretary of State must decide the procedure to be followed for the determination of a Crown development application with, where applicable, a connected listed building application, is 5 working days beginning with the day after the end of the last representation period.

Notice of procedure

44

• (1) As soon as practicable after a determination has been made under section 319A of the 1990 Act of the procedure to be followed to determine the application, the Secretary of State must send a notice to—

• (a) the applicant,

• (b) the relevant local planning authority, and

• (c) all persons who made representations to the Secretary of State within the applicable representation period.

• (2) The notice in paragraph (1) must state—

• (a) the procedure to be followed to determine the application,

• (b) where a hearing or local inquiry is to be held, that persons may request in writing to participate in the hearing or inquiry, and

• (c) the address of the Secretary of State to which they may make a such a request.

• (3) The Secretary of State must publish the notice on the website referred to in article 16 at the same time as the notice is sent to the persons specified in paragraph (1).

Chapter 2 — Written representations procedure

Written representations procedure

45

• (1) This Chapter applies where the Secretary of State has determined under section 319A of the 1990 Act that a Crown development application with, where applicable, a connected listed building application, is to be determined on the basis of representations in writing.

• (2) In this Chapter, the “decision maker” is—

• (a) in the case of a standard application, the person appointed in accordance with section 293I of the 1990 Act, or

• (b) in the case of a recovered application, the Secretary of State.

• (3) In this article—

• “recovered application” means an application which falls to be determined by the Secretary of State as a consequence of a direction made under section 293J(1) of the 1990 Act[^f00041];

• “standard application” means means an application which falls to be determined by a person appointed by the Secretary of State under section 293I of the 1990 Act[^f00042].

Determining the application

46

• (1) When making their determination, the decision maker—

• (a) must take into account any representations made to the Secretary of State by a person pursuant to any notice of, or information about, or consultation in relation to, the application, under—

• (i) in relation to the Crown development application, articles 9, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, or 22, and

• (ii) in relation to the connected listed building application, articles 30, 36, 37, 39, or 40,

which have been received within the applicable representation period, and

• (b) may disregard any representations or information received by the Secretary of State after the end of the applicable representation period.

• (2) If, after the end of the last representation period, the decision maker takes into consideration any new information (not being a matter of government policy), the decision maker must not determine the application without first—

• (a) notifying in writing the applicant and any interested person of the new information, and

• (b) affording them an opportunity of making written representations to the decision maker.

• (3) In this article, “interested person” means, in relation to an application, a person who made representations to the Secretary of State in relation to the application within the applicable representation period.

Chapter 3 — Time periods for decision and decision notice

Time periods for decision: Crown development application

47

• (1) The Secretary of State must not determine a Crown development application, where any notice of, or information about, the application has been—

• (a) published in a newspaper under article 9, before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the notice was published;

• (b) served on an owner of the land or agricultural tenant under article 9, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was served on that person;

• (c) given by site display under article 9, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was first displayed by site display;

• (d) published in a newspaper under article 16, before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the notice was published;

• (e) published on a website under article 16, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the information was published;

• (f) served on an adjoining owner or occupier under article 17, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was served on that person;

• (g) given by site display under article 17, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was first displayed by site display;

• (h) given to an infrastructure manager under article 18, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was first given to that person.

• (2) When computing the number of days in sub-paragraphs (d) to (g) of paragraph (1), any day which is a public holiday must be disregarded.

• (3) In the case of an EIA application accompanied by an environmental statement, the Secretary of State must not determine a Crown development application, where any notice of, or information about, the application has been—

• (a) published on a website under article 16, before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the information was published;

• (b) published in a newspaper under article 16, before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which the information was published;

• (c) given by site display under article 17, before the end of the period of 30 days beginning with the date when the notice was first displayed by site display.

Time periods for decision: connected listed building application

48

• (1) The Secretary of State must not determine a connected listed building application, where any notice of, or information about, the application has been—

• (a) published in a newspaper under article 30, before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the notice was published,

• (b) served on an owner of the listed building under article 30, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was served on that person,

• (c) published in a newspaper under article 36, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the information was published,

• (d) published on a website under article 36, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was published, and

• (e) given by site display under article 37, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the notice was first displayed by site display.

• (2) When computing the number of days in sub-paragraphs (c) to (e) of paragraph (1), any day which is a public holiday must be disregarded.

Contents of the decision notice: Crown development application

49

• (1) When the Secretary of State gives notice of a decision on a Crown development application to the applicant—

• (a) where planning permission is granted, the notice must include—

• (i) information relating to the condition in paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A to the 1990 Act (biodiversity gain condition) including that there are exemptions, transitional provisions and requirements relating to irreplaceable habitat,

• (ii) information to note the effect of section 73(2D) of the 1990 Act (earlier biodiversity gain plan in relation to a previous planning permission regarded as approved for purposes of paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A)[^f00043],

• (iii) details of the planning authority under paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 7A to the 1990 Act (biodiversity gain in England), and

• (iv) where development is to proceed in phases and the modifications in Part 2 of the Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Modifications and Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024[^f00044] apply, a statement to that effect and to the effect that biodiversity gain plans are required before development may be begun and required before each phase of development may be begun;

• (b) where planning permission is granted subject to conditions, the notice must state clearly and precisely the full reasons for—

• (i) each condition imposed, and

• (ii) in the case of each pre-commencement condition, the condition being a pre-commencement condition;

• (c) where planning permission is refused, the notice must state clearly and precisely the full reasons for the refusal, specifying all the policies and proposals in the development plan which are relevant to the decision.

• (2) References in paragraph (1)(b) to a condition do not include a condition under paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A to the 1990 Act (the biodiversity gain condition).

• (3) In paragraph (1)(b)(ii) “pre-commencement condition” means a condition imposed on the grant of planning permission which must be complied with—

• (a) before any building or other operation comprised in the development is begun, or

• (b) where the development consists of a material change in the use of any buildings or other land, before the change of use is begun.

Contents of the decision notice: connected listed building application

50

When the Secretary of State gives notice of a decision on a connected listed building application to the applicant—

• (a) where listed building consent is granted subject to conditions, the notice must state clearly and precisely the full reasons for each condition imposed, and

• (b) where the listed building consent is refused, the notice must state clearly and precisely the full reasons for the refusal, specifying all the policies and proposals in the development plan which are relevant to the decision.

Publishing the decision: Crown development application

51

Before the end of the period of 5 working days beginning with the day the notice referred to in article 49(1) (“the decision notice”) was sent to the applicant, the Secretary of State must—

• (a) make copies of the following documents, in relation to the Crown development application, available on the website referred to in article 16—

• (i) the decision notice, and

• (ii) a copy of any statement explaining the decision prepared by the Secretary of State or a person appointed under section 293I of the 1990 Act, as the case may be,

• (b) send a copy of the decision notice to—

• (i) the relevant local planning authority, and

• (ii) where the relevant local planning authority is not the local planning register authority for the land to which the application relates, the local planning register authority, and

• (c) send, to every person who has asked to be notified of the decision in relation to the application, a notice explaining that the decision has been made and details of where on the website referred to in sub-paragraph (a) a copy of the decision notice can be found.

Publishing the decision: connected listed building application

52

Before the end of the period of 5 working days beginning with the day the notice referred to in article 49(1) (“the decision notice”) was sent to the applicant, the Secretary of State must—

• (a) make copies of the following documents, in relation to the connected listed building application, available on the website referred to in article 36—

• (i) the decision notice, and

• (ii) a copy of any statement explaining the decision prepared by the Secretary of State or a person appointed under section 293I of the 1990 Act as the case may be,

• (b) send a copy of the decision notice to the relevant local planning authority, and

• (c) send a notice explaining that the decision has been made and details of where on the website referred to in paragraph (a) a copy of the decision notice can be found to—

• (i) each consultee consulted in relation to the application under article 39, and

• (ii) every person who has asked to be notified of the decision in relation to the application.

Register of decisions

53

Where the local planning register authority is notified of a decision on a Crown development application made by the Secretary of State, the local planning register authority must, before the end of the period of 5 working days beginning with the day a copy of the decision notice was received by the authority, place a copy of the decision notice together with the application, accompanying documents, and information on the register required to be kept under article 40 of the 2015 Order.

Part 5 — Prohibition on disclosure of sensitive information

Prohibition on disclosure of sensitive information

54

• (1) This article applies where the Secretary of State directs that information relating to, or contained within, a Crown development application is sensitive information in accordance with section 293H(7) of the 1990 Act.

• (2) Where any information relating to, or contained within, an application is sensitive information any provision of this Order that would otherwise result in the public disclosure of such information does not apply in relation to that information.

Schedule 1 — Notices under Article 9

Schedule 2 — Notices under Articles 16, 17 and 18

Schedule 3 — Modifications to the Listed Buildings Act for connected listed buildings applications

1

The Listed Buildings Act is modified as follows for the purposes of a connected listed building application.

2

Section 10 is to be read as if—

• (a) in subsection (1)—

• (i) the words “Except as provided in sections 12 to 15,” were omitted, and

• (ii) the words “local planning authority” were replaced with “Secretary of State, in accordance with section 293E of the principal Act and any development order made under section 293H(5) of that Act”,

• (b) in subsection (2)(c) the word “authority” were replaced with “Secretary of State”, and

• (c) subsections (3) to (5) were omitted.

3

Section 11 is omitted.

4

Section 23(1) is to be read as if after “under this Act” there is inserted “but not including consent granted following an application made in accordance with section 293E of the principal Act”.

5

Sections 81A(2) and 81B(3) are to be read as if after “section 12” there is inserted “or made to the Secretary of State in accordance with section 293E of the principal Act”.

Schedule 4 — Notice under Article 30

Schedule 5 — Notice under Articles 36 and 37

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Matthew Pennycook — Minister of State — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government — 2nd April 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Explanatory Note

The Town and Country Planning (Crown Development Applications) (Procedure and Written Representations) Order 2025 (“the Order”) sets out the procedure to be followed where a Crown development application for planning permission or approval of reserved matters or a connected listed building application is made in accordance with sections 293D and 293E of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8) (“the 1990 Act”).

Sections 293D to 293J of the 1990 Act were inserted by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55). They allow an application for planning permission to be made by an appropriate authority (as defined in section 293 of the 1990 Act) where the proposed development is considered to be of national importance.

This Order is part of a package of provisions in relation to nationally important Crown development applications made under the 1990 Act:

• (a) the procedure to be followed in relation to applications made directly to the Secretary of State under sections 293D and 293E of the 1990 Act, and to be determined on the basis of written representations, are set out in this Order;

• (b) the rules for hearings and inquiries carried out before determining applications made under sections 293D and 293E are set out in the Town and Country Planning (Crown Development Applications) (Hearings and Inquiries) Rules 2025.

In particular, this Order sets out:

• the procedure in relation to the making of an application for planning permission including the requirement for documents to accompany the application upon submission such as design and access statements, and fire statements,

• a requirement that the applicant serve notice of the application on specified the owners and agricultural tenants of the land to which the application relates, and produce a certificate in the prescribed form stating the notice requirements have been met,

• requirements for publicising the application, including requirements on the Secretary of State to make copies of the application available on a website, and to ensure the application is added onto the local planning register authority’s register,

• requirements on the Secretary of State to consult the relevant planning authorities and specified consultees in relation to the application,

• that the Secretary of State must make copies of the representations available on a website after the representation period,

• a requirement on the Secretary of State to decide the procedure for the determination of an application, and to provide notice of this decision to the relevant persons,

• the minimum time periods before a Crown development application or a connected listed building application can be determined, and

• requirements on the Secretary of State to send copies of the decision notice to various persons and to publish it on a website.

A full Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this instrument because no, or no significant, impacts on the private, voluntary or public sector are foreseen. An impact assessment was prepared for the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 and copies of that assessment may be found at https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3155/publications and can be inspected at the Planning Directorate, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1990 c. 8. Section 59 was amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (c. 27). Section 69 was substituted by paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (c. 5). Section 293H was inserted by section 109(2) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55). Section 319A was inserted by section 196(1) of the Planning Act 2008 (c. 29). Section 319A was amended by paragraph 9(b) of Schedule 10 to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55). Section 323(1A) was inserted by paragraph 12 of Schedule 10 to the Planning Act 2008. Section 327ZA was inserted by section 124(1) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. Section 333(8) was inserted by section 130(1)(b) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. There are other amendments to these provisions that are not relevant to this Order.

[^f00002]: 2004 c. 5.

[^f00003]: Amendments have been made to section 59 which are not relevant to this Order.

[^f00004]: 1990 c. 8.

[^f00005]: 2004 c. 5

[^f00006]: S.I. 2015/595.

[^f00007]: 2008 c. 29.

[^f00008]: Section 293E was inserted by section 109(2) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

[^f00009]: Section 293D was inserted by section 109(2) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

[^f00010]: S.I. 2017/571. Amendments have been made to regulation 2(1) that are not relevant to this Order.

[^f00011]: 2000 c. 7. Section 15(1) was amended by paragraph 158 of Schedule 17 of the Communications Act 2013.

[^f00012]: S.I. 2024/48.

[^f00013]: 2013 c. 24. Section 1(5) was amended by paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 17 to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

[^f00014]: 1990 c. 9.

[^f00015]: There are amendments to article 40 that are not relevant to this Order.

[^f00016]: Schedule 7A was inserted by section 147(3) of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 14 to, the Environment Act 2021 (c. 30). Paragraph 12(1) of Schedule 7A was amended by section 135(d) of the Levelling-up Regeneration Act 2023.

[^f00017]: 1971 c. 80.

[^f00018]: 2008 c. 29.

[^f00019]: Paragraph 6A was inserted by section 135(b) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55)

[^f00020]: S.I. 2024/48.

[^f00021]: The World Heritage List can be found at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ and the text of the Convention can be found at https://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/.

[^f00022]: 2010 c. 32. Section 1B was inserted by section 53(7) of the Education Act 2011 (c. 21). Paragraphs (4) to (7) of section 1B were inserted by section 164(1) of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

[^f00023]: 1996 c. 56. Section 2(1) was substituted by section 156(2) of the Education Act 2002 (c. 32). Section 2 was amended by section 110(1) of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (c. 21), section 177 of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 7 and paragraph 33 of Schedule 21 to the Education Act 2002 and S.I. 2010/1158. Section 2(3)(a) was amened by Part 3 of Schedule 22 to the Education Act 2002 (c. 32). There are further amendments to this provision that are not relevant to this Order.

[^f00024]: 1988 c. 40.

[^f00025]: Section 4 has been amended by section 51 of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 7, and Schedule 8 to, the Education Act 1997 (c. 44), Part 3 of Schedule 22 to the Education Act 2002 (c. 32), section 95 of the Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21), S.I. 2010/1080, paragraph 9(2) of Schedule 13 to the Education Act 2011 (c. 21) and S.I. 2019/1027.

[^f00026]: Section 62 was substituted by section 42(1) of the 2004 Act.

[^f00027]: Section 62A was inserted by section 1 of the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (c. 27) and amended by section 153 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22) and section 129 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

[^f00028]: Paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 was substituted by paragraph 16(4) of Schedule 1 to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (c. 5).

[^f00029]: Section 293G was inserted by section 109(2) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

[^f00030]: 1981 c. 69.

[^f00031]: Paragraph (zb)(ii) of Schedule 4 was amended by S.I. 2018/1234.

[^f00032]: Section 2A of the 1990 Act was inserted by section 31(2) of the Greater London Authority Act 2007 (c. 24).

[^f00033]: 2009 c. 20. Section 103 is amended by sections 12 and 14 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 (c. 1). Section 103 is amended by paragraph 189 of Schedule 4 to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55).

[^f00034]: 1963 c. 33.

[^f00035]: S.I. 2008/580.

[^f00036]: 2009 c. 20. Section 105A was inserted by section 7 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.

[^f00037]: 1994 c. 21.

[^f00038]: Amendments have been made to section 10 that are not relevant to this Order.

[^f00039]: S.I. 1990/1519.

[^f00040]: Known as Historic England.

[^f00041]: Section 293J was inserted by section 109(2) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55).

[^f00042]: Section 293I was inserted by section 109(2) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

[^f00043]: Section 73(2D) was inserted by paragraph 3(5) of Schedule 14 to the Environment Act 2021 (c. 30)

[^f00044]: S.I. 2024/50.