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22 1934

TOWN AND REGIONAL PLANNING ACT, 1934

52. —(1) Whenever the responsible authority has served on any person under this Part of this Act a notice of their intention to exercise in relation to any structure or land a power conferred by this Part of this Act, such person may, before the date stated in such notice for the commencement of such exercise of such power, apply to the Justice of the District Court having jurisdiction in the district in which such structure or land is situate and on notice to the responsible authority, for an order quashing such notice, and thereupon the Justice, unless he is satisfied that circumstances exist entitling the responsible authority to exercise such power in relation to such structure or land in the manner indicated in such notice, may make an order quashing such notice.

PART VI.

Contravention of Planning Schemes.

Penalty for contravention of planning scheme.

49. —(1) Without prejudice to any civil remedy which may be available in the circumstances to the responsible authority or any other person, every person who does any act (whether of commission or omission) which is a contravention of a provision contained in a planning scheme shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding five pounds for every day during which the offence is continued.

(2) The powers of serving notices, entering on land, and doing particular things on such land conferred by this Part of this Act on the responsible authority may be exercised whether proceedings have or have not been taken under this section in respect of the act or default (if any) which occasioned the exercise of such powers.

Powers for preventing etc., contraventions of planning schemes.

50. —For the purposes of preventing or remedying contraventions of the provisions contained in a planning scheme, the following provisions shall, subject to the other provisions of this Part of this Act, have effect, that is to say:—

(a) whenever a structure contravenes a provision contained in such planning scheme, the responsible authority may enter on such structure and there either, as they think proper, demolish and (if necessary) remove such structure or make such alterations in such structure as will bring it into conformity with such provision;

(b) whenever the occupier of any land has, in contravention of a provision contained in such planning scheme, neglected or failed to keep such land in such proper order and condition as is appropriate to the situation of such land, the responsible authority may enter on such land and there do all such things as may be necessary to put such land in such proper order and condition as aforesaid;

(c) whenever any land has been or is being used in a manner which contravenes a provision contained in such planning scheme and the condition, character, or appearance of such land has been or is being altered by such user, the responsible authority may enter on such land and there do all such things as may be necessary to restore such land to its condition, character, and appearance before such user was begun.

Notice of intention to exercise power.

51. —(1) Before exercising in relation to any structure or land a power conferred on them by the next preceding section of this Act, the responsible authority shall serve, on every owner and on every occupier of such structure or land and on every person having a right over or in respect of such structure or land which in the opinion of the responsible authority may be affected by such exercise, a notice stating—

(a) the intention of the responsible authority to exercise such power, and

(b) the structure or land in respect of which such power is intended to be exercised, and

(c) the relevant provision of the planning scheme and the contravention thereof in respect of which such power is intended to be exercised, and

(d) the general nature of the work or things intended to be done in exercise of such power, and

(e) the date on or after which the said intended exercise of such power is intended to be begun.

(2) The date stated in a notice served under this section as the date on or after which the intended exercise of the power therein mentioned is intended to be begun shall not be less than one month after the service of such notice and the responsible authority shall not do any act or thing in exercise of such power in relation to the structure or land mentioned in such notice before the said date.

(3) In this section the word “owner” means, in relation to any land or any structure, any person (other than a mortgagee not in possession) who is for the time being entitled to sell or otherwise dispose of the fee simple of such land or structure or of any term of years for the time being subsisting in respect of such land or structure of which the unexpired residue exceeds three years.

(2) When an application has been made to the District Court under this section, the responsible authority shall not exercise the power mentioned in such notice in relation to the structure or land mentioned in such notice either in the manner indicated in such notice or at all unless or until such application has been finally refused.

Recovery of expenses by responsible authority.

53. —(1) Whenever the responsible authority in exercise of a power conferred by this Part of this Act has done any work or thing on or in respect of any structure or any land and such doing of such work or thing was rendered necessary by any work, act, or thing done or omitted (in this section referred to as the occasioning matter) by any person on or in respect of such structure or such land (as the case may be) after the relevant date, the responsible authority shall, save as is otherwise provided by this section, be entitled to be paid by and to recover (as a civil debt in any court of competent jurisdiction) from the person or the personal representative or successor in title of the person who was responsible for the occasioning matter all expenses reasonably incurred by the responsible authority in doing the said work or thing so done by them as aforesaid.

(2) The responsible authority shall not be entitled to recover under this section expenses incurred by them where either the occasioning matter was done or omitted under and in accordance with a special permission or the occasioning matter was an act which consisted solely of the completion of work which either was begun before and was in progress on the relevant date or was begun under and in accordance with a general permission and in either case was not done in contravention of a special prohibition.

(3) All moneys recoverable under this section by the responsible authority in respect of expenses incurred by such responsible authority shall, immediately upon completion of the work or thing in the doing of which such expenses were so incurred, become and be a charge on the land on which such work or thing was done or, in the case of any work or thing done on or to a structure, on such structure (if and so far as it still exists) and the rateable hereditament or tenement consisting of or including such land or structure.

(4) No matter or thing on which an order of the District Court quashing a notice under this Part of this Act could have been grounded shall be raised or admitted as a defence to proceedings for the recovery under this section (whether by action of debt or by enforcement of the charge created by this section) of expenses incurred by the responsible authority in the execution of any work or thing to which such notice related.

Doing of work by owner or occupier.

54. —(1) Whenever the responsible authority could by a proper exercise under and in accordance with this Part of this Act of a power conferred on them by this Part of this Act do any work or thing on or in respect of any structure or any land, the responsible authority may, if they so think fit, arrange with the owner or the occupier of such structure or such land (as the case may be) that he will himself do such work or thing to the satisfaction of the responsible authority.

(2) Where, in pursuance of an arrangement made under this section, any work or thing is done to the satisfaction of the responsible authority by the owner or the occupier of any structure or any land and the circumstances are such that the responsible authority, if they had done such work or thing themselves, would not have been entitled to recover under this Part of this Act the expenses incurred by them in doing the same, the responsible authority may pay to such owner or such occupier (as the case may be) a reasonable sum in respect of the expenses incurred by him in so doing such work or thing.

Application of provisions relating to compensation.

55. —For the purposes of the provisions of this Act in relation to compensation payable by the responsible authority, any work or thing which is done by the responsible authority in exercise of a power conferred on them by this Act and is so done in consequence of or for the purpose of preventing a contravention of a provision contained in a planning scheme shall be deemed to have been done by the responsible authority under or in pursuance of such provision.

Penalty for obstruction of exercise of powers under this Part of this Act.

56. —Every person who obstructs or interferes with the exercise by the responsible authority of any power vested in them under or by virtue of this Part of this Act shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.