The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (Local Planning) (Modification and Consequential Amendments) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
These regulations amend previous 2026 legislation to modify the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as it relates to minerals and waste plans in England.
The instrument establishes specific requirements for minerals and waste planning authorities to revoke existing documents when new plans take effect and clarifies the legal framework for joint plans.
It directs how the Secretary of State may intervene or revoke documents at the request of local authorities and specifies that joint plans must be adopted by all participating authorities to be valid.
Arguments For
The regulations aim to provide specific procedures for the revocation of minerals and waste plan documents by planning authorities when new plans come into effect.
The document states that the modifications ensure functions under Part 2 of the 2004 Act are exercised appropriately by authorities acting jointly on minerals and waste documents.
Proponents may argue that the instrument provides necessary technical clarity on how the Secretary of State may revoke joint documents at the request of the participating authorities.
The order asserts that it follows the framework established by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, which sought to reform local development planning.
Arguments Against
Local planning authorities might find the requirement for all relevant authorities to adopt a joint document simultaneously (under new section 15IA(3A)) creates administrative delays if one authority lags behind.
Legal scholars may note that the regulations centralize certain powers, such as the Secretary of State's ability to take over document preparation for all authorities in a joint venture even if only one is failing.
Affected agencies might express concern regarding the lack of a new Regulatory Impact Assessment specifically for this instrument, as the document relies on analysis conducted for the 2023 Act.
The complexity of reading these modifications alongside multiple other sets of regulations and the primary Act may create difficulty for planning practitioners.
Citation, commencement and extent
- -(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (Local Planning) (Modification and Consequential Amendments) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
- (2) These Regulations come into force on 16th April 2026.
- (3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.
This section establishes the official title of the regulations and sets the date they become law as 16 April 2026.
Although it extends legally to both England and Wales, the substantive planning changes apply to the English planning system.
Amendment of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (Local Planning) (Modification and Consequential Amendments) (England) Regulations 2026
- In the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (Local Planning) (Modification and Consequential Amendments) (England) Regulations 2026( 2 ), after regulation 7 (modifications in relation to minerals and waste plans) insert-
' Modifications to Part 2 of the Act: minerals and waste plans and joint minerals and waste plan documents
7A. -(1) Part 2 of the Act, as it applies in relation to a minerals and waste plan in accordance with section 15CB(8) of the Act and as it applies in relation to a joint minerals and waste plan document in accordance with section 15IA(2) and (3) of the Act, as applied by section 15CB(8) of the Act and modified by regulation 7, is modified in accordance with the following provisions.
(2) Section 15G is to be read as if-
(a) for subsection (1), there were substituted-
'(1) Subject to subsection (1B), where a single document comes into effect which is to be the entire new minerals and waste plan for a minerals and waste planning authority's relevant area, the authority must revoke every existing minerals and waste plan document.
(1A) Subject to subsection (1B), where a document which is to form part of a minerals and waste plan for a minerals and waste planning authority's relevant area-
- (a) is to replace, in whole or in part, an existing minerals and waste plan document for the authority's relevant area, and
- (b) comes into effect,
the authority must revoke the existing document to the extent that it is replaced by the document that has come into effect.
(1B) Where a minerals and waste planning authority revoke a joint minerals and waste plan document in accordance with subsection (1) or (1A), in whole or in part, their revocation of the document has effect only in relation to their relevant area.';
- (b) after subsection (2), there were inserted-
'(3) The Secretary of State-
- (a) may revoke a joint minerals and waste plan document at the request of the relevant authorities;
- (b) may revoke a joint minerals and waste plan document for the relevant area of a relevant authority at the request of that authority.
(4) In this section a 'relevant authority' is a minerals and waste planning authority that is a relevant authority in relation to a joint minerals and waste plan document for the purposes of section 15IA.'
(3) Section 15IA is to be read as if, for subsection (3), there were substituted-
'(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), this Part has effect in accordance with subsections (3A) to (3G).
(3A) Each of the relevant authorities must adopt a joint minerals and waste plan document for it to be adopted for the purposes of section 15CA(7).
(3B) The relevant authorities are to act jointly under sections 15CA(3), 15D(1) and (2), 15DA(6), 15E(1) and (2) and 15GA(1), (2) and (4).
(3C) Anything else (not referred to in subsection (3A) or (3B)) which may or must be done by a minerals and waste planning authority in connection with a minerals and waste plan document is to be done in connection with a joint minerals and waste plan document either-
(a) by each of the relevant authorities, or
- (b) by the relevant authorities acting jointly.
(3D) Section 15HA applies, in accordance with subsection (1)(a) of that section, if the Secretary of State thinks that one or more relevant authorities are failing, as mentioned there, in relation to a joint minerals and waste plan document, in which case-
- (a) the power in subsection (2)(a) of that section to take over preparation of the document may only be exercised in relation to all of the relevant authorities (and may not be exercised in relation to only one or some of the relevant authorities);
- (b) the power in subsection (2)(c) of that section to give directions may be exercised in relation to one or more of the failing relevant authorities.
(3E) Where section 15HA applies, in accordance with subsection (1)(b) of that section, by virtue of the Secretary of State thinking that a joint minerals and waste plan document is, is going to be or may be unsatisfactory-
- (a) the power in subsection (2)(a) of that section to take over preparation of the document may only be exercised in relation to all of the relevant authorities (and may not be exercised in relation to only one or some of the relevant authorities);
- (b) the power in subsection (2)(c) of that section to give directions may be exercised in relation to one or more of the relevant authorities.
(3F) Anything else (not referred to in subsection (3D) or (3E)) which may or must be done in relation to a minerals and waste planning authority in connection with a minerals and waste plan document is to be done only in relation to each of the relevant authorities in connection with a joint minerals and waste plan document (and may not be done in relation to only one or some of the relevant authorities).
(3G) Schedule A1 does not apply in relation to a joint minerals and waste plan document.'.'.
This section inserts new rules into previous regulations to govern how planning authorities handle minerals and waste plans.
It requires authorities to cancel old planning documents when new ones are adopted and authorizes the Secretary of State to cancel joint plans if the participating authorities request it.
It also mandates that for a joint plan to be valid, every participating authority must formally adopt it, and it establishes that the Secretary of State must treat the participating authorities as a single group if stepping in to take over the preparation of an unsatisfactory plan.
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