The list below is a record of advice the Planning Inspectorate has provided in respect of the Planning Act 2008 process.
There is a statutory duty under section 51 of the Planning Act 2008 to record the advice that is given in relation to an application or a potential application and to make this publicly available. Advice we have provided is recorded below together with the name of the person or organisation who asked for the advice and the project it relates to. The privacy of any other personal information will be protected in accordance with our Information Charter which you should view before sending information to the Planning Inspectorate.
Note that after a project page has been created for a particular application, any advice provided that relates to it will also be published under the ‘s51 advice’ tab on the relevant project page.
Advice given between between 1 October 2009 and 14 April 2015 has been archived. View the archived advice.
Manston Airport View all advice for this project
Enquiry
A suite of queries relating to s53 (Rights of Entry) of the Planning Act 2008 and timescales
Advice given
We are processing RiverOak’s application under s53 of the Planning Act 2008 for rights of entry to carry out a range of surveys and site investigations. We consider such application requests in accordance with our Advice Note 5: ‘Section 53 – Rights of Entry’, which you can access at:
attachment 1
We do not publish or provide information regarding a s53 authorisation request, until such a request has been determined. It is not considered necessary to release the correspondence at this time, which is a private matter between the parties involved.
Our advice note explains that there is no prescribed statutory timeframe within which the Inspectorate must make a recommendation, or for the Secretary of State to determine the request for authorisation. However, experience to date indicates that s.53 authorisation requests take on average three months to determine, from the date of receipt of the authorisation request(s). This timeframe can only be a guide and depends on the complexity and number of authorisation requests, the sufficiency of the initial information provided by the applicant and any issues raised in responses from the persons with interest. Applicants will need to be aware of this anticipated timeframe and the potential impact it may have on their overall project programme. There is no automatic grant of authorisation following a period of time after which an authorisation request has been made.
Statutory guidance produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) states that the Government wishes to ensure that the use of s.53 powers is proportionate (The Infrastructure Planning (Fees) Regulations 2010 guidance, DCLG, June 2013). Applicants are expected to act reasonably, first seeking to obtain relevant information or permission to access land directly before seeking authorisation under these provisions. The Inspectorate’s Advice Note highlights that the Secretary of State in determining a request is required to consider Article 1 of the First Protocol of the European Convention which gives a right to peaceful enjoyment of property. Any interference with this right should be lawful and proportionate; interference with the right of individuals to peaceful enjoyment of their property can only be in the public interest. The Secretary of State will consider, in relation to each s.53 authorisation request, whether the authorisation of entry onto third party land would be lawful and proportionate.
Some previous s53 authorisations have been the subject of judicial review. The Inspectorate will always ensure that decisions are underpinned by a robust recommendation based on ‘sufficient information’. In this particular case, the Inspectorate has made requests for further information to the Applicant in order to be able to process the application.
With respect to the minutes of the last meeting between RiverOak and the Inspectorate, minutes of meetings are prepared by the Inspectorate and are circulated to Applicant’s for comment prior to publication, the minutes are therefore agreed between the Applicant and the Inspectorate.
The Inspectorate is committed to continual improvement and is currently reviewing its advice regarding the s53 process. The review will take into account recent court judgements and feedback received from relevant stakeholders. If necessary we will update and publish revised advice in the near future.
