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Jurisdiction: Wales
Commencement: 30th April 2021
Amends: The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995
*Permitted developments include development consisting of the erection, extension, alteration or replacement of storage sheds and greenhouses on community growing spaces.
Class A allows temporary use of land for 28 days. 14 days of these may be used for a market, or motor car and motorcycle racing between 30th April 2021 and 3rd January 2022. Removable structures are also allowed during this time.
Development is not allowed on land where there is a scheduled monument or on the land of a listed building located within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or National Park.
Class B allows the use of land for holding a market by or on behalf of a local authority between 30th April 2021 and 3rd January 2022.
Class C, D and E allow a temporary change of use for town centre buildings. The change of use is limited to 6 months and must cease on or before 29th April 2022. Developers are required to notify the local planning authority of the developments as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Class D also allows for the installation of a retractable awning over the front of food and drink premises. The awning cannot display an advertisement and must be retracted between 10pm and 8am. If an awning extends over a highway, permission must be obtained by the local authority.
Class F allows the change of use of part of a highway adjacent to food and drink premises for the purposes of placing removable chairs, tables and other removable furniture for the purposes of selling, serving or consumption of food and drink supplied from that premises. Permission must be obtained from the local council and furniture must not be used between 10pm and 8am. [May 2021]
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Jurisdiction: Wales
Commencement: 26th May 2020
The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Functions of Local Authorities etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2020 allow local authorities to give directions relating to premises, events and public outdoor places in their area, restricting the opening and functioning of premises and access of areas / locations for businesses and individuals.
These Regulations are designed to protect public health by preventing the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19).
The Regulations make provision for local authorities to give directions relating to premises, events and public outdoor places in their area. A direction may only be given if the local authority considers that the public health, necessity and proportionality conditions below are met.
Individuals, businesses and other organisations may have to follow directions to close or restrict their activities.
These Regulations apply in Wales only.
There are separate Regulations in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Note that the requirements in other jurisdictions differ, in some cases to a significant degree.
These Regulations came into force on 14th September 2020 and expire on 8th January 2021 unless revoked prior to this date.
Local authorities have the right to give directions concerning individual premises, events or public places, in line with the following conditions:
Welsh Ministers must be made aware of any direction given by a local authority. The local authority must review its decision concerning any direction given, at least once every 7 days.
If on a review of a direction, a local authority considers that the conditions of the direction are no longer met, it must revoke the direction and notify each person on whom it was served.
Before a direction can be given or revoked, a local authority must take into consideration any advice given by the Director of Public Protection and any guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers.
Local authorities can give directions to:
These directions should only impose a prohibition, requirement or restriction on:
Before giving a direction, a local authority must ensure that members of the public have access to essential public services and goods.
A local authority is not allowed to give directions concerning any premises which form part of essential infrastructure.
Local authorities can give directions to:
These directions should only impose a prohibition, requirement or restriction on either:
A person is not involved in organising an event if their only involvement is, or would be, attending that event.
Local authorities can give directions imposing prohibitions, requirements or restrictions concerning access to any public place within its area.
A public place is an outdoor place where the public has access, including:
Please note: A public place does not include access land (land owned by the National Trust) or a public path.
These directions may prohibit access at specified times.
A direction relating to public places, given by a local authority must take reasonable steps to:
Any person, other than a local authority who owns, occupies or is responsible for a premises in a public place, must take steps to prevent or restrict public access to the premises in accordance with the direction.
No person may, without reasonable excuse, enter or remain in a public place, if doing so contravenes a prohibition, requirement or restriction imposed by a direction.
Both the local authority who gave the direction and anyone who owns, occupies or is responsible for land in a public place to which a direction relates to, must take reasonable steps to prevent or restrict public access to the public places.
Following the issue of a direction, no person may enter or remain in a public place where a direction of prohibition, requirement or restriction is imposed, unless they have a reasonable excuse to do so.
A reasonable excuse includes where:
Where a local authority gives a direction which imposes a prohibition, requirement or restriction on a person specified by name, or revokes a direction, the direction or notice of revocation:
Welsh Ministers must consult the Chief Medical Officer for Wales before requiring a local authority to revoke a direction.
Once a local authority has given a direction, it must send a copy of the direction to:
The local authority that issued the direction is also required to publish the direction to bring it to the attention of those who may be affected by it.
If a person receives a direction that imposes a prohibition, requirement or restriction, they can appeal against the direction to a magistrates’ court, by making a complaint to the Welsh Ministers.
The Welsh Ministers must consider the appeal as soon as reasonably practicable and must provide written reasons for the decision to the interested person and the local authority which gave the direction.
Where the relevant authority* has reason to believe public paths and access land will receive large numbers of people congregating in close proximity to each other, or where the use of public paths and access land poses a high risk of exposure to Coronavirus, the relevant authority has a duty to:
*A relevant authority includes:
Where a public path or access land has been closed under:
that path or land is to be treated as if it were closed under these Regulations.
Individuals are prohibited from using a public path or land which is closed, unless they are authorised by the relevant authority.
Where there is a closure of public paths and access land, the relevant authority is required to:
Powers are given to enforcement officers* to enable them to enforce directions given under these Regulations.
*An enforcement officer is considered to be any of the following:
Enforcement officers may give a prohibition notice to a person if the officer reasonably believes that:
Where it is considered that a person is, without reasonable excuse, in a public place and in contravention of a direction, a police constable can:
Where enforcement officers are required to enter a premises to take enforcement action, they may:
Upon entering a premise, enforcement officers are required to:
These powers should only be used where they are necessary and proportionate.
Any person who contravenes the duties under these Regulations, obstructs a person carrying out a function under these Regulations, or fails (without reasonable excuse) to comply with any direction from a person with enforcement powers, is guilty of an offence punishable by a fine.
If a company commits an offence due to the consent, involvement or neglect of a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that company, that person is also guilty of the offence.
Enforcement officials can serve a fixed penalty notice. Payment of the notice by the person on whom it is served avoids the need for criminal proceedings.
The amount of a fixed penalty notice is set at £60 for an individual receiving their first fixed penalty notice. If the fine is paid within 14 days of receiving the notice, the fine is reduced to £30. Each subsequent fixed penalty notice received after a first offence doubles in amount, up to a maximum of £1,920. The specific amounts are shown below:
When determining how many fixed penalty notices a person has received, the following regulations must be considered:
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Jurisdiction: England, Wales
Commencement: 30th October 2019
Amends: Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999
Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 implements the EU Integrated Pollution Prevent and Control (IPPC) Directive 96/61/EC. IPPC requires industrial and agricultural activities with high pollution potential to have an environmental permit and meet certain environmental conditions.
This Order designates the following European Directives, to allow the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers to make regulations under the 1999 Act:
These designated Directives cover the following topics:
There are no changes to duties for organisations.