Town and country planning

It was neither express nor to be implied in relation to s 191 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that uses and operations, if regarded as lawful for all purposes, were to be equivalent to a planning permission. The word “also” in s 191(7) of the Act could be a reference to its additional effect, namely an effect outside the confines of the Act itself. That would be to give a natural construction to s 191, particularly in the light of s 336, which in defining planning permission did not include s 191.

Section 171B of the 1990 Act drew a distinction between change of use and operational development - that was entirely consistent with the approach of the Act. If an individual chose to erect a building without planning permission intended to be used for a purpose which had no planning permission then inevitably he would run the risk that he would have