Part 2Crown development applications

Chapter 2Consultation

Duty to respond to consultation

23.—(1) The requirements to consult which are prescribed for the purposes of section 54(2) of the 2004 Act (duty to respond to consultation) are those contained in articles 20, 21 and 22.

(2) For the purposes of section 54(4)(a) of the 2004 Act, an authority or person consulted (“the consultee”) under articles 20, 21 or 22 must give a substantive response to that consultation before the end of—

(a)the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which—

(i)the document on which the consultee's views are sought is sent, or

(ii)where there is more than one such document and they are sent on different days, the last of those documents or notices is sent, or

(b)such other period as may be agreed in writing between the consultee and the Secretary of State.

(3) The Secretary of State must not determine the application before the end of the period within which the consultee must respond in accordance with paragraph (2), unless the Secretary of State has received a substantive response from the consultee before the end of that period.

(4) A substantive response—

(a)in relation to a consultee under articles 20 and 21 is one which—

(i)states that the consultee has no comment to make,

(ii)states that, on the basis of the information available, the consultee is content with the development proposed,

(iii)refers the Secretary of State to current standing advice by the consultee on the subject of the consultation, or

(iv)provides advice to the Secretary of State;

(b)in relation to a consultee under article 22 is one which—

(i)states that the PSI authority has no comment to make, or

(ii)sets out whether the PSI authority considers that the application complies with the spatial development strategy of the authority and the authority’s reasons for taking that view.

(5) In this article, “PSI authority” has the same meaning as in article 22.