Section 293D: Crown development: applications to the Secretary of State

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 · 1990 c. 8View on legislation.gov.uk

Part XIII: Application of Act to Crown Land

This section applies where—

the appropriate authority intends to make a relevant application, and
the authority considers that the development to which it relates is of national importance.

The appropriate authority may make the application to the Secretary of State under this section.

In this section and section 293E, "relevant application" means—

an application for planning permission, or permission in principle, for the development of land in England, or
an application for approval of a matter that, as defined by section 92, is a reserved matter in the case of an outline planning permission for the development of land in England,

but does not include an application of the kind described in section 73(1) or an application of a description excluded by regulations.

After receiving the application, the Secretary of State must give a notice to the appropriate authority stating whether the Secretary of State considers the development to be of national importance.

If the Secretary of State considers the development to be of national importance, the Secretary of State must proceed to determine the application.

If the Secretary of State considers that the development is not of national importance, the Secretary of State may take the steps referred to in either subsection (7) or, where it applies, subsection (9).

The Secretary of State may—

refer the application to the local planning authority to whom it could otherwise have been made, and
direct that the application—
is to be treated as having been made to the authority (and not to the Secretary of State under this section), and
is to be determined by that authority accordingly.

Subsection (9) applies where—

the application could otherwise have been made to the Secretary of State under section 62A, and
the appropriate authority has given notice to the Secretary of State that the authority consents to the application being treated as having been made to the Secretary of State under that section.

The Secretary of State may—

direct that the application is to be treated as having been made to the Secretary of State under section 62A (and not to the Secretary of State under this section), and
determine the application accordingly.

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Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.