Applications for development by statutory undertakers

Water companies, electricity distributors, railway operators and sewerage undertakers carry out most of their work without a planning application, because Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 grants them rights that no ordinary developer has. For a site promoter trying to work out whether a neighbouring substation, pumping station or cable route will be consulted on, the first question is which Part of the Order applies, and the second is whether that Part attaches a prior approval step.

Where no prior approval applies, there is no application, no publicity and no third party involvement at all.

Rights granted to statutory undertakers

The term statutory undertaker is defined in section 262 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and it covers persons authorised by an enactment to carry on a railway, tramway, road transport, water transport, canal, dock, harbour, pier or lighthouse undertaking. Gas, electricity, water and sewerage undertakers are treated as statutory undertakers for relevant planning purposes under their own legislation.

The rights are spread across several Parts of Schedule 2.

Each Part sets its own limits, usually by reference to building volume, height, ground area and distance from a highway or a dwelling. The limits are the whole protection: inside them there is no planning control beyond the general conditions, and outside them the undertaker needs permission like anyone else.

Operational land is a related idea worth knowing. Several Parts apply only to land used for the purposes of the undertaking, so a depot held as an investment rather than operationally may fall outside the right.

Where prior approval still applies

Prior approval is the exception rather than the rule in this area, and the clearest example is telecommunications. Part 16 requires an operator to apply to the authority for a determination as to whether prior approval is required for the siting and appearance of certain masts and apparatus, with a defined period for the authority to respond.

Several other Parts require advance notice without conferring the same control. Road and service works often require notification to the highway authority under separate street works legislation rather than under the planning Order, which produces the common confusion that a notice has been served but the council has no planning say.

Where a prior approval route exists, the authority's control is limited to the matters the Order names, usually siting and appearance. It cannot refuse the principle. That distinction matters when a parish council writes in objecting to the need for a mast rather than to its position.

Development outside the rights

Three routes take over when the permitted development limits are exceeded.

A full planning application is the normal one. Statutory undertakers apply like any other applicant, and the development plan and material considerations apply, though the operational need for the facility is usually weighty. Expect a Planning Statement that leads on the statutory duty to supply, the technical constraints on siting and the alternatives considered.

Nationally significant infrastructure takes a different path. Under the Planning Act 2008, projects above defined thresholds, including large generating stations, electricity lines above stated voltages and some water and waste water projects, are consented by a development consent order after examination by the Planning Inspectorate. That process replaces planning permission and a long list of other consents.

Specialist regimes cover the rest. Overhead electricity lines are consented under section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, railway works can use an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992, and development authorised by a government department can carry deemed planning permission under section 90 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Consultation with the local authority

Where a full application is made, the authority consults in the ordinary way and neighbours receive notice. Where the undertaker relies on permitted development, no consultation duty arises under the planning Order, though many utilities consult voluntarily on larger schemes because it reduces objections later.

Statutory consultee duties run the other way too. Water and sewerage undertakers, National Highways and Network Rail are themselves consulted on applications affecting their apparatus or network, and their responses sit on the case file. If you are trying to understand what a utility has said about your scheme, the method for getting consultee responses and the officer's case file applies directly.

Ownership is a recurring complication. Undertakers often hold easements rather than freeholds, so an applicant building near apparatus may need to serve notice on the undertaker as a person with an interest, which is where ownership certificates A to D become relevant.

Land acquisition and compulsory powers

Most statutory undertakers hold compulsory purchase powers under their own enactments, and some can acquire rights such as easements rather than land. Those powers are separate from planning permission, and an undertaker can hold one without the other.

For a landowner, the practical effect is that refusing access rarely stops a scheme and often changes the terms. Negotiated agreements normally produce better compensation and better reinstatement conditions than a compulsory process, and they can be made conditional on the route or the position of apparatus.

Where a development consent order is sought, compulsory acquisition powers can be included in the order itself, and affected landowners become interested parties in the examination.

Objecting to undertaker development

Be realistic about the available routes, because the answer depends entirely on which consent regime applies.

1. Where the work is permitted development with no prior approval step, there is nothing to object to in planning terms. The useful route is direct engagement with the undertaker's scheme team, and in some cases the sector regulator.
2. Where a prior approval route exists, write to the authority within the period, and address only the matters the authority controls, usually siting and appearance.
3. Where a full application is made, object as you would to any application, on material planning considerations.
4. Where a development consent order is sought, register as an interested party with the Planning Inspectorate during the relevant period. Missing that window substantially reduces your involvement.
5. Where you believe the right does not apply, say why in writing to the local planning authority and ask it to investigate. The authority can serve a planning contravention notice and, where the right does not apply, take enforcement action.

Crown development follows its own rules again, and the parallel is set out in Crown land applications and the urgent Crown route.

Checking whether a right applies

Work through it in order rather than guessing from the body's name.

First, confirm the body's statutory status for the particular undertaking. A company that supplies water in one area may not be an undertaker for an unrelated activity elsewhere.

Second, identify the Part and Class relied on, and read the limitations in full, including the interpretation paragraph at the end of the Part, which often carries the definitions that decide the point.

Third, check whether the land is operational land for the undertaking, where the Class requires it.

Fourth, check the geographical restrictions. Several Classes are restricted or disapplied on article 2(3) land, which covers conservation areas, National Parks, the Broads, National Landscapes and World Heritage Sites, and an Article 4 direction can remove a right entirely.

Fifth, check environmental impact assessment. Permitted development rights do not apply to development requiring an environmental impact assessment, so screening comes first where the project is of a type and scale that may qualify.

Then write the conclusion down with the Class reference. A note that says which Class, which limits and which date it was checked is worth far more in a year's time than a recollection that someone thought it was permitted.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it, and read the current text of the relevant Part.

If your own scheme sits next to utility apparatus, enter the site postcode on PlanScope to see which supporting documents it is likely to need. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.