[^F1PART I GENERAL

Citation and commencement _I1

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 6th April 1992.

Interpretation _I2

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ;

“advertisement” does not include anything employed wholly as a memorial or as a railway signal;

“area of outstanding natural beauty” means an area designated as such by an order made under section 87 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ( 1 ) ;

“area of special control” means an area designated by an order under regulation 18;

“balloon” means a tethered balloon or similar object;

“deemed consent” has the meaning given by regulation 5;

“discontinuance notice” means a notice served under regulation 8;

^F2...

“express consent” has the meaning given by regulation 5;

“illuminated advertisement” means an advertisement which is designed or adapted to be illuminated by artificial lighting, directly or by reflection, and which is so illuminated;

“National Park” has the meaning given by section 5 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ;

“site” means any land or building, other than an advertisement, on which an advertisement is displayed;

“standard conditions” means the conditions specified in Schedule 1;

“statutory undertaker” includes, in addition to any person mentioned in section 262(1) of the Act, the Civil Aviation Authority, [^F3 , a person who holds a licence under Chapter I of Part I of the Transport Act 2000 (air traffic services) , ^F3] the British Airports Authority, [^F4 the Coal Authority or any licensed operator within the meaning of section 65(1) of the Coal Industry Act 1994 ^F4] , any [^F5 public gas transporter ^F5] within the meaning of Part I of the Gas Act 1986 ( 2 ) , any public electricity supplier within the meaning of Part I of the Electricity Act 1989 ( 3 ) , [^F6 any person who is a licence holder, or who has the benefit of a licence exemption, within the meaning of Part I of the Railways Act 1993 , ^F6] [^F7 any person who holds a [^F8 railway undertaking licence ^F8] granted pursuant to the Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2005 ^F9 ... ; ^F7] [^F10 a universal postal service provider in connection with the provision of a universal ^F10] [^F11 postal service, the Environment Agency, the Natural Resources Body for Wales, any water ^F11] or sewerage undertaker and any [^F12 electronic communications code operator ^F12] ; and [^F13 , subject to paragraph (1A), ^F13] statutory undertaking shall be interpreted accordingly;

^F14...

“vehicle” includes a vessel on any inland waterway; and

“waterway” includes coastal waters.

[^F15 (1A) The undertaking of a universal postal service provider so far as relating to the provision of a universal postal service shall be taken to be his statutory undertaking for the purposes of these regulations; and references in these regulations to his undertaking shall be construed accordingly.^F15]

(2) [^F16 In the application of these Regulations in England, ^F16] “local planning authority” means—

(a)for land in the area of an urban development corporation, except in regulation 18, that corporation where it is the local planning authority for the purposes of sections 220 and 224 of the Act;

(b)for land in a National Park which is land that is not in a metropolitan county, the county planning authority for the area where the land is situated; and

(c)in any other case, the relevant district planning authority or metropolitan district or London borough council.

[^F17 (2A) In the application of these Regulations in Wales “local planning authority” means—

(a)subject to sub-paragraph (b) below, the local planning authority for the area in which the land in question is situated;

(b)for land in the area of any urban development corporation, except in regulation 18, that corporation where it is the local planning authority for the purposes of sections 220 and 224 of the Act.^F17]

[^F18 (2B) For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a)a person who holds a licence under Chapter I of Part I of the Transport Act 2000 shall not be considered to be a statutory undertaker unless the person is carrying out activities authorised by the licence; and

(b)the person’s undertaking shall not be considered to be a statutory undertaking except to the extent that it is the person’s undertaking as licence holder.^F18]

(3) Any reference in these Regulations to a person displaying an advertisement includes—

(a)the owner and occupier of the land on which the advertisement is displayed;

(b)any person to whose goods, trade, business or other concerns publicity is given by the advertisement; and

(c)the person who undertakes or maintains the display of the advertisement.

(4) Except in Class A in Schedule 2, any reference in these Regulations to the land, the building, the site or the premises on which an advertisement is displayed includes, in the case of an advertisement which is displayed on, or which consists of, a balloon, a reference to the land, the building, the site or other premises to which the balloon is attached and to all land, buildings or other premises normally occupied therewith.

Application _I3

3.—(1) These Regulations apply to the display on any site in England and Wales of any advertisement.

(2) Parts II and III of these Regulations do not apply to any advertisement falling within a description set out in Schedule 2 provided it complies with any conditions and limitations specified in that Schedule; and—

(a)in the case of an advertisement falling within Class G, it complies with the standard conditions set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 5 of Schedule 1; or

(b)in any other case, it complies with all the standard conditions.

Powers to be exercised in the interests of amenity and public safety _I4

4.—(1) A local planning authority shall exercise their powers under these Regulations only in the interests of amenity and public safety, taking account of any material factors, and in particular—

(a)in the case of amenity, the general characteristics of the locality, including the presence of any feature of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest, disregarding, if they think fit, any advertisement being displayed there;

(b)in the case of public safety—

(i)the safety of any person who may use any road, railway, waterway, dock, harbour or aerodrome;

(ii)whether any display of advertisements is likely to obscure, or hinder the ready interpretation of, any road traffic sign, railway signal or aid to navigation by water or air.

(2) In determining an application for consent for the display of advertisements, or considering whether to make an order revoking or modifying a consent, the local planning authority may have regard to any material change in circumstances likely to occur within the period for which the consent is required or granted.

(3) Unless it appears to the local planning authority to be required in the interests of amenity or public safety, an express consent for the display of advertisements shall not contain any limitation or restriction relating to the subject matter, content or design of what is to be displayed.

(4) A consent for the display of advertisements shall take effect as consent for the use of the site for the purposes of the display, whether by the erection of structures or otherwise, and for the benefit of any person interested in the site.

Requirement for consent _I5

5. —(1) No advertisement may be displayed without consent granted by the local planning authority or by the Secretary of State on an application in that behalf (referred to in these Regulations as “express consent”), or granted by regulation 6 (referred to in these Regulations as “deemed consent”), except an advertisement displayed in accordance with paragraph (2) below.

(2) The display—

(a)outside any area of special control, of such an advertisement as is mentioned in regulation 3(2); or

(b)within an area of special control, of such an advertisement as is so mentioned, other than one falling within Class A in Schedule 2,

is in accordance with this paragraph.

PART II DEEMED CONSENT

Deemed consent for the display of advertisements _I6

6.—(1) Subject to regulations 7 and 8, and in the case of an area of special control also to regulation 19, deemed consent is hereby granted for the display of an advertisement falling within any class specified in Part I of Schedule 3, subject—

(a)to any conditions and limitations specified in that Part in relation to that class; and

(b)to the standard conditions.

(2) Part II of Schedule 3 applies for the interpretation of that Schedule.

Directions restricting deemed consent _I7

7.—(1) If the Secretary of State is satisfied, upon a proposal made to him by the local planning authority, that the display of advertisements of any class or description specified in Schedule 3, other than Class 12 or 13, should not be undertaken in any particular area or in any particular case without express consent, he may direct that the consent granted by regulation 6 for that class or description shall not apply in that area or in that case, for a specified period or indefinitely.

(2) Before making any such direction, the Secretary of State shall—

(a)where the proposal relates to a particular area, publish, or cause to be published, in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality, and on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, a notice that such a proposal has been made, naming a place or places in the locality where a map or maps defining the area concerned may be inspected at all reasonable hours; and

(b)where the proposal relates to a particular case, serve, or cause to be served, on the owner and occupier of the land affected and on any other person who, to his knowledge, proposes to display on such land an advertisement of the class or description concerned, a notice that a proposal has been made, specifying the land and the class or description of advertisement in question.

(3) Any notice under paragraph (2) above shall state that any objection to the making of a direction may be made to the Secretary of State in writing within such period (not being less than 21 days from the date when the notice was given) as is specified in the notice.

(4) The Secretary of State shall not make a direction under this regulation until after the expiry of the specified period.

(5) In determining whether to make a direction, the Secretary of State—

(a)shall take into account any objections made in accordance with paragraph (3) above;

(b)may modify the proposal of the local planning authority if—

(i)he has notified, in writing, that authority and any person who has made an objection or representation to him of his intention and his reasons for it and has given them a reasonable opportunity to respond; and

(ii)the intended modification does not extend the area of land specified in the proposal.

(6) Where the Secretary of State makes a direction, he shall send it to the local planning authority, with a statement of his reasons for making it, and shall send a copy of that statement to any person who has made an objection in accordance with paragraph (3) above.

(7) Notice of the making of any direction for a particular area shall be published by the local planning authority in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality and, unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs, on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, and such notice shall—

(a)contain a full statement of the effect of the direction;

(b)name a place or places in the locality where a copy of the direction and of a map defining the area concerned may be seen at all reasonable hours; and

(c)specify a date when the direction shall come into force, being at least 14 and not more than 28 days after the first publication of the notice.

(8) Notice of the making of any direction for a particular case shall be served by the local planning authority on the owner and on any occupier of the land to which the direction relates, and on any other person who, to the knowledge of the authority, proposes to display on such land an advertisement of the class or description affected.

(9) A direction for an area shall come into force on the date specified in the notice given under paragraph (7) above, and a direction for a particular case shall come into force on the date on which notice is served on the occupier or, if there is no occupier, on the owner of the land affected.

Discontinuance of deemed consent _I8

8.—(1) The local planning authority may serve a notice requiring the discontinuance of the display of an advertisement, or of the use of a site for the display of an advertisement, for which deemed consent is granted under regulation 6 if they are satisfied that it is necessary to do so to remedy a substantial injury to the amenity of the locality or a danger to members of the public: but in the case of an advertisement within Class 12 in Schedule 3, they may not do so if the advertisement is also within Class F or Class G in Schedule 2.

(2) A discontinuance notice—

(a)shall be served on the advertiser and on the owner and occupier of the site on which the advertisement is displayed;

(b)may, if the local planning authority think fit, also be served on any other person displaying the advertisement;

(c)shall specify the advertisement or the site to which it relates;

(d)shall specify a period within which the display or the use of the site (as the case may be) is to be discontinued; and

(e)shall contain a full statement of the reasons why action has been taken under this regulation.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5) below, a discontinuance notice shall take effect at the end of the period (being at least 8 weeks after the date on which it is served) specified in the notice.

(4) If an appeal is made to the Secretary of State under regulation 15, the notice shall be of no effect pending the final determination or withdrawal of the appeal.

(5) The local planning authority, by a notice served on the advertiser, may withdraw a discontinuance notice at any time before it takes effect or may, where no appeal to the Secretary of State is pending, from time to time vary a discontinuance notice by extending the period specified for the taking effect of the notice.

(6) The local planning authority shall, on serving on the advertiser a notice of withdrawal or variation under paragraph (5) above, send a copy to every other person served with the discontinuance notice.

PART III EXPRESS CONSENT

[^F19Applications for express consent

9.—(1) An application for express consent must be made to the local planning authority.

(2) Subject to paragraph 6, the application must be made electronically or in hard copy on a form published by the Welsh Ministers or a form substantially to the same effect.

(3) The applicant must—

(a)include the particulars specified in the form; and

(b)send with the application (whether electronically or otherwise) a plan which—

(i)is drawn to an identified scale,

(ii)shows the direction of north,

(iii)identifies the location of the site by reference to at least two named roads, and

(iv)identifies the proposed position of the advertisement.

(4) Unless an application is made electronically or the local planning authority indicates that fewer copies are required, three copies of the completed form and the plan must accompany the application.

(5) Where the application is one to which directions given by the Welsh Ministers under regulation 10 apply, the applicant must send with the application (whether electronically or otherwise) such particulars, plans or information specified or referred to in those directions as may have been notified to the applicant by the local planning authority.

(6) An application made on or after 30 April 2012 and before 31 May 2012, otherwise than by a local planning authority, may be made in writing on a form devised by the local planning authority.

(7) Where an application is made electronically, the applicant is taken to have agreed—

(a)to the use by the local planning authority of electronic communication for the purposes of the application;

(b)that the applicant’s address for that purpose is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with, the application; and

(c)that deemed agreement under this paragraph subsists until the applicant gives notice in writing—

(i)withdrawing any address notified to the authority for that purpose, or

(ii)revoking that deemed agreement,

and such withdrawal or revocation is final and takes effect on a date specified by the applicant in the notice at least seven days after the date on which the notice is given.

(8) An application made electronically must, unless the contrary is proved, be treated as having been delivered at 9.00 a.m. on the next working day after the day on which it is transmitted.

(9) This regulation applies to applications for renewal consent as it applies to applications for consent.

(10) An application for the renewal of an express consent may not be made more than 6 months before the date on which the consent is due to expire.^F19]

[^F20Application of section 77 of the Act to applications for express consent

9A.—(1) Section 77 (Reference of applications to Secretary of State) of the Act shall apply to applications for express consent made by an interested planning authority pursuant to these regulations subject to the following adaptations and modifications—

(a) in subsection (1) for “applications for planning permission, or for the approval of any local planning authority required under a development order” substitute “applications for the display of advertisements pursuant to regulations made under section 220 of this Act ”; and

(b)subsections (4) and (6) shall be omitted.

(2) Where the Secretary of State gives a direction pursuant to section 77 of the Act in respect of an application for express consent to display an advertisement, regulations 12 (duty to consult), 13 (power to deal with applications) and 14 (notification of decision) of the principal regulations shall apply to that application subject to the following adaptations, modifications and exceptions—

(a)any references to a local planning authority shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State;

(b)regulation 12(1)(c) shall not apply; and

(c) in regulation 14(1) for “applicant” substitute “interested planning authority.”. ^F20]

Secretary of State’s directions _I9

10. The Secretary of State may give directions to a local planning authority, either generally or in relation to a particular case or class of case, specifying the kinds of particulars, plans or information to be contained in an application for express consent.

Receipt of applications _I10

11. On receipt of an application for express consent, the local planning authority—

(a)shall send an acknowledgement in writing to the applicant and, in the case of a county planning authority, shall also send a copy of the application and the accompanying plans to the district planning authority within whose area any part of the application site is situated;

(b)may direct the applicant in writing to provide one of their officers with such evidence as may reasonably be called for to verify any particulars or information given to them.

Duty to consult _I11

12.—(1) Before granting an express consent, a local planning authority shall consult—

(a)any neighbouring local planning authority, any part of whose area appears likely to be affected;

(b)where the application relates to land in a National Park [^F21 in England^F21] which is land that is not in a metropolitan county, the district planning authority for the area in which the land is situated;

(c)where they consider that a grant of consent may affect the safety of persons using any trunk road (as defined in section 329 of the Highways Act 1980(4)) in England, the Secretary of State for Transport;

(d)where they consider that a grant of consent may affect the safety of persons using any railway, waterway, dock, harbour or aerodrome (civil or military), the person responsible for the operation thereof, and, in the case of coastal waters, the Corporation of Trinity House.

(2) The local planning authority shall give anyone whom they are required to consult at least 14 days' notice that the relevant application is to be considered and shall take into account any representations made by any such person.

Power to deal with applications _I12

13.—(1) Subject to regulation 19, where an application for express consent is made to the local planning authority, they may—

(a)grant consent, in whole or in part, subject to the standard conditions and, subject to paragraphs (3) to (6) below, to such additional conditions as they think fit; or

(b)refuse consent; or

(c)decline to determine the application in accordance with section 70A(5) of the Act, which shall apply in relation to the application subject to the modifications specified in Part I of Schedule 4, the provisions of that section as modified being set out in Part II of that Schedule.

(2) An express consent may be—

(a)for the display of a particular advertisement or advertisements with or without illumination, as the applicant specifies;

(b)for the use of a particular site for the display of advertisements in a specified manner, whether by reference to the number, siting, size or illumination of the advertisements, or the structures intended for such display, or the design or appearance of any such structure, or otherwise; or

(c)for the retention of any display of advertisements or the continuation of the use of a site begun before the date of the application.

(3) The conditions imposed under paragraph (1)(a) above may in particular include conditions—

(a)regulating the display of advertisements to which the consent relates;

(b)regulating the use for the display of advertisements of the site to which the application relates or any adjacent land under the control of the applicant, or requiring the carrying out of works on any such land;

(c)requiring the removal of any advertisement or the discontinuance of any use of land authorised by the consent, at the end of a specified period, and the carrying out of any works required for the reinstatement of the land.

(4) The local planning authority shall not, under paragraph (1)(a) above, impose any condition in relation to the display of an advertisement within any class specified in Schedule 3 more restrictive than those imposed by that Schedule in relation to that class.

(5) Subject to paragraph (4) above, an express consent shall be subject to the condition that it expires at the end of—

(a)such period as the local planning authority may specify in granting the consent; or

(b)where no period is so specified, a period of 5 years.

(6) A local planning authority may specify a period under paragraph (5)(a) above as a period running from the earlier of the following, namely the date of the commencement of the display or a specified date not later than 6 months after the date on which the consent is granted.

[^F22Applications by an interested planning authority

13A.—(1) An application for express consent made by an interested planning authority (whether solely or jointly with any other person) to display an advertisement shall be determined by the authority concerned unless the application is referred to the Secretary of State under section 77 of the Act for determination by him.

(2) Any consent granted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall expire—

(a)at the end of such period as the authority may specify in granting the consent; or

(b)where no period is so specified, at the end of a period of 5 years; or

(c)the date on which the interested planning authority ceases (whether solely or jointly) to display the advertisement,

whichever is the earlier.^F22]

Notification of decision _I13

14.—(1) The grant or refusal of an express consent by a local planning authority shall be notified in writing to the applicant within a period of 8 weeks from the date of the receipt of the application or such longer period as the applicant may, before the expiry of that period, agree in writing.

(2) The authority shall state in writing their reasons for—

(a)any refusal of consent in whole or in part;

(b)any decision to impose any condition under regulation 13(1)(a) on a consent, except a condition specified in Schedule 3 in relation to a class within which the advertisement falls; and

(c)any condition whereby the the consent expires before the expiry of 5 years from the date on which it is granted, except when the consent is granted for the period for which it was applied for.

Appeals to the Secretary of State _I14

15.—(1) Sections 78 and 79 of the Act(6) shall apply, in relation to applications for express consent under these Regulations, subject to the modifications specified in Part III of Schedule 4.

^F23(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) Where a discontinuance notice is served under regulation 8, sections 78 and 79 of the Act shall apply subject to the modifications specified in Part V of Schedule 4.

Revocation or modification of express consent _I15

16.—(1) If a local planning authority are satisfied that it is expedient, they may by order revoke or modify an express consent, subject to paragraphs (2) to (7) below.

(2) An order under paragraph (1) above shall not take effect without the approval of the Secretary of State.

(3) When an authority submit an order under paragraph (1) above to the Secretary of State for approval, they shall serve notice on the person who applied for the express consent, the owner and the occupier of the land affected and any other person who, in their opinion, will be affected by the order, specifying a period of at least 28 days from the service of the notice within which objection may be made.

(4) If, within the period specified in the notice, an objection to the order is received by the Secretary of State from any person on whom notice was served, the Secretary of State shall, before approving the order, give to that person and to the local planning authority an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by him.

(5) The power to make an order under this regulation may be exercised—

(a)in a case which involves the carrying out of building or other operations, at any time before those operations have been completed;

(b)in any other case, at any time before the display of advertisements is begun.

(6) In a case to which paragraph (5)(a) above applies, the revocation or modification of consent shall not affect such operations as have already been carried out.

(7) The Secretary of State may approve an order submitted to him under this regulation either without modification or subject to such modifications as he considers expedient.

Compensation for revocation or modification _I16

17.—(1) Where—

(a)an order under regulation 16 takes effect; and

(b)within 6 months of its approval a claim in writing is served on the local planning authority, either by delivery at or by post to their offices,

the authority shall pay compensation to the claimant for any loss or damage suffered in the circumstances and to the extent specified in paragraph (2) below.

(2) Compensation is payable if, and to the extent that, the claimant has—

(a)incurred expenditure in carrying out abortive work, including the preparation of plans or similar material;

(b)otherwise sustained loss or damage directly attributable to the order, other than loss or damage consisting of any depreciation in value of any interest in land,

but excluding any work done, or loss or damage arising out of anything done or not done, before the grant of consent.

PART IV AREAS OF SPECIAL CONTROL

Area of Special Control Orders _I17

18.—(1) Every local planning authority shall from time to time consider whether any part or additional part of their area should be designated as an area of special control.

(2) An area of special control shall be designated by an area of special control order made by the local planning authority and approved by the Secretary of State, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 5.

(3) An area of special control order may be revoked or modified by a subsequent order made by the authority and approved by the Secretary of State, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 5.

(4) Where an area of special control order is in force, the local planning authority shall consider at least once in every 5 years whether it should be revoked or modified.

(5) Before making an order under this regulation, a local planning authority shall consult—

(a)where it appears to them that the order will be likely to affect any part of the area of a neighbouring local planning authority, that authority;

(b)where the order will relate to any land in a National Park which is land that is not in a metropolitan county, any district planning authority within whose area any of that land is situated.

(6) A local planning authority shall not exercise their power under this regulation in the interests of public safety within the meaning of regulation 4(1).

Control in areas of special control _I18

19.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, no advertisements may be displayed in an area of special control unless they fall within—

(a)Classes B to J in Schedule 2;

(b)Classes 1 to 3, 5 to 7 and 9 to 14 in Schedule 3;

(c)paragraph (2) below.

(2) Advertisements of the following descriptions displayed with express consent come within this paragraph—

(a)hoardings or similar structures to be used only for the display of notices relating to local events, activities or entertainments;

(b)any advertisement for the purpose of announcement or direction in relation to buildings or other land in the locality, where reasonably required having regard to the nature and situation of such buildings or other land;

(c)any advertisement required in the interests of public safety;

(d)any advertisement which could be displayed by virtue of paragraph (1)(b) above but for some non-compliance with a condition or limitation imposed by Schedule 3 as respects size, height from the ground, number or illumination or but for a direction under regulation 7;

(e)any advertisement within Class 4A, 4B or 8 in Schedule 3.

(3) Express consent may not be given for the display in an area of special control of an illuminated advertisement falling within sub-paragraph (2)(a) or (b) above.

(4) Without prejudice to paragraph (2) above, where an area is designated as an area of special control, advertisements within paragraph (5) below which are being displayed immediately before the relevant order comes into force may continue to be displayed, but only for the period specified in relation thereto in that paragraph.

(5) The advertisements and specified periods mentioned in paragraph (4) above are—

(a)any advertisement within Class 4A or 4B in Schedule 3 for which express consent has not been granted, 5 years from the date on which the order comes into force;

(b)any advertisement within Class 8 for which express consent has not been granted, 1 year from the date on which the order comes into force or 2 years from the date on which the advertisement was first displayed, whichever period expires later;

(c)any advertisement for which express consent has been granted, 6 months from the date on which the order comes into force or for the remainder of the period of the express consent, whichever period expires later.

(6) Nothing in paragraphs (1) to (5) above shall—

(a)affect a notice served at any time under regulation 8;

(b)override any condition imposed on a consent, whereby an advertisement is required to be removed;

(c)restrict the powers of a local planning authority, or of the Secretary of State, in regard to any contravention of these Regulations;

(d)render unlawful the display, pursuant to express consent or to Class 14 in Schedule 3, of an advertisement mentioned in paragraph 2(d) or (e) above.

PART V MISCELLANEOUS

Repayment of expense of removing prohibited advertisements _I19

20. The time limit prescribed for the purpose of making a claim for compensation under section 223 of the Act for the recovery of expenses reasonably incurred is a period of 6 months from the completion of the works.

Register of applications _I20

21.—(1) Every local planning authority shall keep a register containing particulars of—

(a)any application made to them for express consent for the display of an advertisement, including the name and address of the applicant, the date of the application and the type of advertisement concerned;

(b)any direction given under these Regulations relating to the application;

(c)the date and effect of any decision of the local planning authority on the application;

(d)the date and effect of any decision of the Secretary of State on an appeal.

(2) The register shall include an index to enable a person to trace any entry therein.

(3) Any part of the register which relates to land within a particular part of the area of a local planning authority may be kept at a place within or convenient to that part of their area.

(4) Subject to paragraph (3) above, the register shall be kept at the office of the local planning authority.

(5) Every entry in the register consisting of particulars of an application shall be made within 14 days of the receipt of that application.

(6) The register shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable hours.

Directions requiring information _I21

22. The Secretary of State may give a direction to a local planning authority, or to such authorities generally, requiring them to provide him with information required for the purpose of any of his functions under these Regulations.

Exercise of powers by the Secretary of State _I22

23.—(1) If it appears to the Secretary of State, after consultation with the local planning authority, that—

(a)a discontinuance notice should be served under regulation 8; or

(b)an area of special control order, or an order revoking such an order, should be made under regulation 18,

he may himself serve such a notice or make such an order.

(2) Where the Secretary of State proposes to exercise his powers under paragraph (1) above, the provisions of regulations 8 and 15 (in relation to sub-paragraph (a)), and of regulation 18 and Schedule 5 (in relation to sub-paragraph (b)), shall apply as they apply to the action of a local planning authority, with such modifications as may be necessary.

Discontinuance notice in respect of authority’s advertisement _I23

24.—(1) If the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is necessary to remedy a substantial injury to the amenity of the locality or a danger to members of the public, he may serve a discontinuance notice under regulation 8 in relation to an advertisement [^F24 displayed by an interested planning authority^F24] .

(2) Paragraphs (2), (5) and (6) of regulation 8 shall apply to a discontinuance notice to which paragraph (1) above applies as if references to the local planning authority were references to the Secretary of State.

(3) Paragraph (3) of regulation 15 shall apply to a discontinuance notice to which paragraph (1) above applies, with such modifications as may be necessary.

Extension of time limits _I24

25. The Secretary of State may, in any particular case, extend the time within which anything is required to be done under these Regulations or within which any objection, representation or claim for compensation may be made.

Cancellation or variation of directions _I25

26. Any power conferred by these Regulations to give a direction includes power to cancel or vary the direction by a subsequent direction.

Contravention of Regulations _I26

27. A person displaying an advertisement in contravention of these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction of an offence under section 224(3) of the Act(7) to a fine of an amount not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale and, in the case of a continuing offence, one-tenth of level 3 on the standard scale for each day during which the offence continues after conviction.

Statutory Instruments revoked _I27

28. The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1989(8), the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Amendment) Regulations 1990(9) and the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1990(10) are hereby revoked.