UK Act of Parliament 2008 United Kingdom

Planning Act 2008, Part 3

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At a glance

What's here

52 compliance obligations, 5 practical guides · 3 journeys · 5 statutory instruments

Penalty landscape

8 of 52 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 7 carry different penalties and 37 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 19
  • Applicant 7
  • Client 2

Plus 24 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

2 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

2 guides

Mentioned in related content

1 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Applicants also bound by 146 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Clients also bound by 30 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Infrastructure planning: fees

Browse 4 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 2 — National policy statements

s.007

Consultation and publicity

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must consult and publicise national policy proposals Crown / Minister / Government department
s.008

Consultation on publicity requirements

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must consult local councils on project publicity Crown / Minister / Government department
s.010

Sustainable development

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must prioritize sustainable development in planning policy Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.006

Interpretation of sections 5(4) and 6(7)

s.006

Extension of consideration period under section 5(4A) or 6(7A)

Part 3 — Nationally significant infrastructure projects

Browse 18 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.028

Desalination plants

s.030

Radioactive waste geological disposal facilities

Part 4 — Requirement for development consent

Browse 7 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.035

Timetable for deciding request for direction under section 35

s.035

Directions under sections 35: procedural matters

Part 5 — Applications for orders granting development consent

s.039

Register of applications

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must maintain and publish a register of applications Crown / Minister / Government department
s.042

Duty to consult

  • Consult specified parties before applying for development consent Applicant
s.048

Duty to publicise

  • Publicise your proposed infrastructure application Applicant
s.053

Rights of entry

Fine up to £1,000
  • Wilfully obstruct authorised planning entry Any Person
  • Willfully obstruct authorised entry for planning surveys Any Person
Browse 9 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.054

Power to provide for fees for certain services in relation to nationally significant infrastructure projects

Part 6 — Deciding applications for orders granting development consent

s.058

Certifying compliance with section 56

Unlimited fine
  • Issue false or misleading compliance certificate Any Person
  • Issue false or reckless compliance certificate for planning consent Any Person
s.060

Local impact reports

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must invite local authorities to report on project impacts Crown / Minister / Government department
s.069

Replacement of lead member of Panel

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must appoint a replacement lead member for the Panel Crown / Minister / Government department
s.079

Appointment of single appointed person

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must appoint a person to handle the application Crown / Minister / Government department
s.091

Hearings about specific issues

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Examining authority must hold hearings for specific project issues Statutory regulator
s.093

Open-floor hearings

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Examining Authority must hold open-floor hearings upon request Statutory regulator
s.094

Hearings: general provisions

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Examining Authority must conduct infrastructure planning hearings fairly Statutory regulator
s.102

Persons in certain categories may ask to become interested parties etc

Amended 11 times
s.102

Categories for the purposes of section 102A

Amended 11 times
Browse 34 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.056

Local authorities for the purposes of sections 56(2)(b) and 60(2)(a)

s.088

Local authorities for the purposes of section 88(3)(d)

s.095

Hearings: defence and national security

Part 7 — Orders granting development consent

s.149

Deemed consent under a marine licence

Amended 2 times

Part 8 — Enforcement

Part 9 — Changes to existing planning regimes

Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 10 — Wales

Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 11 — Community Infrastructure Levy

s.211

Amount

Amended 10 times
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Local authorities must create and publish a CIL charging schedule Local authority
s.212

Charging schedule: examiner's recommendations

Amended 3 times
s.214

Secretary of State: power to require review of certain charging schedules

Amended 1 time
s.215

Appeals

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • CIL regulations must provide a right of appeal on calculation methods Crown / Minister / Government department
s.216

Duty to pass receipts to other persons

Amended 16 times
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Charging authority must pass CIL funds to other designated persons Local authority
s.216

Use of CIL in an area to which section 216A(1) duty does not relate

Amended 16 times
s.217

Collection

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Government must establish rules for Community Infrastructure Levy collection Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 5 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 12 — Final provisions

Browse 11 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.237

Variation and replacement of section 33 consents: transitional provision

Schedules

Browse 13 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Planning Inspectorate

Primary

The Planning Inspectorate

Examines applications for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) under the Planning Act 2008, including large offshore wind farms, power stations, and transmission …

National Highways

Government company responsible for operating, maintaining, and improving England's strategic road network (motorways and major A-roads). Sets standards for highway design, construction, …

UK Government

UK Government (Cross-Departmental)

Generic publisher code for cross-departmental government publications that don't map to a specific regulator or department. Used for guidance that spans multiple …

Connected legislation

5 statutory instruments

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Explore more

Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.