The Scottish Government

Circular No.42/1996

THE SCOTTISH OFFICE
Development Department
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
Telephone 0131-244
Fax 0131 244

The Chief Executive
Local Authorities

Our Ref: PGD/1/25

9 December 1996

Dear Sir/Madam

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT) (SCOTLAND) AMENDMENT (NO.2) ORDER 1996: WATER AND SEWERAGE AUTHORITIES AND LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS TANKS

1. This Circular explains the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Order 1996 which comes into force on 25 December. This Order amends the 1992 General Permitted Development Order (the GPDO) by granting permitted development rights for underground sewerage works to the new sewerage authorities and extending those rights to persons authorised by the sewerage authority. The Order also extends permitted development rights for domestic oil tanks to cover liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks.

2. Copies of the Amendment Order are not yet available. Rather than delay publication of this Circular, copies of the Amendment Order will be sent to Chief Executives separately as soon as they are available.

New Water and Sewerage Authorities

3. To take account of local government reorganisation and the establishment of the new water and sewerage authorities, the reference in Part 12, Class 32 to 'a regional or islands authority' has been changed to 'a sewerage authority'. Additionally, this Class has been renumbered to Class 43A and moved to Part 13 to reflect the fact that it no longer covers development by a local authority.

Authorised Persons

4. The permitted development rights in Class 43A, which apply to sewerage authorities, are also extended to apply to persons authorised by the sewerage authority under Section 3A of the Sewerage Act 1968. This amendment allows contractors to undertake work under the Private Finance Initiative. It does not allow any developments to be undertaken which would not have been permitted by the former Class 32. The only change is that authorised PFI contractors are now able to undertake the work.

5. One of the issues raised during the consultation process concerned the reinstatement of land following the completion of works. The duty to reinstate land is already contained in Section 48(10) of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968 (as amended), with additional specific reference to areas and sites of archaeological, ecological and architectural interests, in Section 65 of the Local Government Etc (Scotland) Act 1994.

6. The other significant matter of concern raised during the consultation was the absence of a requirement that planning authorities should receive prior notification of planned developments. In response to this concern a provision has been included in the Amendment Order, requiring planning authorities to be notified not less than 28 days prior to the commencement of works. It would, however, be desirable that there should be early liaison between the sewerage authority and the planning authority on all future works, as a means of avoiding potential difficulties. Planning authorities should have information on environmentally sensitive sites, archaeological sites and proposals for development, etc which would be essential to the sewerage authority in planning their works.

LPG Tanks

7. An amendment to Part 1, Class 5 provides that LPG containers of up to 3,500 litres in capacity are no longer subject to planning permission. Householders will now benefit from permitted development rights in respect of LPG tanks for domestic heating on the same basis as oil tanks. No part of the container may be more than 3 metres above ground. Development is not permitted where the container would be less than 20 metres from any road which bounds the curtilage of the house and it would be nearer to the road than the part of the house nearest to it. There is a limit of one container per house. The permitted development rights do not apply to listed buildings or to buildings in conservation areas. LPG tanks having a capacity greater than 150 litres will, however, continue to require a building warrant.

8. Any enquiries about this Circular should be addressed to Mrs A Whatcott (Telephone 0131 244 7067). Further copies and a list of planning circulars may be obtained from Planning Division, Branch 1, Area 2-H, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ (Telephone 0131 244 7066).

Yours faithfully

M T AFFOLTER