The Secretary of State shall by order (in this Act referred to as a "development order") provide for the granting of planning permission.
A development order may either—
itself grant planning permission for development specified in the order or for development of any class specified; or
in respect of development for which planning permission is not granted by the order itself, provide for the granting of planning permission by the local planning authority (or, in the cases provided in the following provisions, by the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers) on application to the authority (or, in the cases provided in the following provisions, on application to the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers) in accordance with the provisions of the order.
A development order may be made either—
as a general order applicable, except so far as the order otherwise provides, to all land, or
as a special order applicable only to such land or descriptions of land as may be specified in the order.
In this Act, references to a development order are—
in relation to England, references to a development order made by the Secretary of State;
in relation to Wales, references to a development order made by the Welsh Ministers.