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8 Appeals procedure | |
(1) The appeal authority may by regulations make provision with respect to— | |
(a) the procedure which is to be followed in connection with appeals to | |
that authority under section 7, and | |
(b) other matters consequential on or connected with such appeals. | 5 |
(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision— | |
(a) specifying the grounds on which appeals may be made; | |
(b) prescribing the manner in which appeals are to be made; | |
(c) requiring persons making appeals to send copies of such documents as | |
may be prescribed to such persons as may be prescribed; | 10 |
(d) requiring local authorities against whose decisions appeals are made to | |
send to the appeal authority such documents as may be prescribed; | |
(e) specifying, where a local authority are required by virtue of paragraph | |
(d) to send the appeal authority a statement indicating the submissions | |
which they propose to put forward on the appeal, the matters to be | 15 |
included in such a statement; | |
(f) prescribing the period within which a requirement imposed by the | |
regulations is to be complied with; | |
(g) enabling such a period to be extended by the appeal authority; | |
(h) for a decision on an appeal to be binding on persons falling within | 20 |
section 7(2) in addition to the person by whom the appeal was made; | |
(i) for incidental or ancillary matters, including the awarding of costs. | |
(3) Where an appeal is made to the appeal authority under section 7 the appeal | |
authority may appoint a person to hear and determine the appeal on its behalf. | |
(4) The appeal authority may require such a person to exercise on its behalf any | 25 |
functions which— | |
(a) are conferred on the appeal authority in connection with such an | |
appeal by section 7 or 9 or by regulations under this section; and | |
(b) are specified in that person’s appointment; | |
and references to the appeal authority in section 7 or 9 or in any regulations | 30 |
under this section shall be construed accordingly. | |
(5) The appeal authority may pay a person appointed under subsection (3) such | |
remuneration as it may determine. | |
(6) Regulations under this section may provide for any provision of Schedule 20 | |
to the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25) (delegation of appellate functions) to apply | 35 |
in relation to a person appointed under subsection (3) with such modifications | |
(if any) as may be prescribed. | |
(7) In this section, “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the | |
appeal authority. | |
9 Determination or withdrawal of appeals | 40 |
(1) On an appeal under section 7 the appeal authority may allow or dismiss the | |
appeal, either in whole or in part. | |
(2) Where the appeal authority decides to allow such an appeal to any extent, it | |
may do such of the following as it considers appropriate— | |
(a) quash a remedial notice or decision to which the appeal relates; | 45 |
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(b) vary the requirements of such a notice; or | |
(c) in a case where no remedial notice has been issued, issue on behalf of | |
the relevant authority a remedial notice that could have been issued by | |
the relevant authority on the complaint in question. | |
(3) On an appeal under section 7 relating to a remedial notice, the appeal authority | 5 |
may also correct any defect, error or misdescription in the notice if it is satisfied | |
that the correction will not cause injustice to any person falling within section | |
7(2). | |
(4) Once the appeal authority has made its decision on an appeal under section 7, | |
it must, as soon as is reasonably practicable— | 10 |
(a) give a notification of the decision, and | |
(b) if the decision is to issue a remedial notice or to vary or correct the | |
requirements of such a notice, send copies of the notice as issued, | |
varied or corrected, | |
to every person falling within section 7(2) and to the relevant authority. | 15 |
(5) Where, in consequence of the appeal authority’s decision on an appeal, a | |
remedial notice is upheld or varied or corrected, the operative date of the | |
notice shall be— | |
(a) the date of the appeal authority’s decision; or | |
(b) such later date as may be specified in its decision. | 20 |
(6) Where the person making an appeal under section 7 against a remedial notice | |
withdraws his appeal, the operative date of the notice shall be the date on | |
which the appeal is withdrawn. | |
(7) In any case falling within subsection (5) or (6), the compliance period for the | |
notice shall accordingly run from the date which is its operative date by virtue | 25 |
of that subsection (and any period which may have started to run from a date | |
preceding that on which the appeal was made shall accordingly be | |
disregarded). | |
Powers of entry | |
10 Powers of entry for the purposes of complaints and appeals | 30 |
(1) Where, under this Act, a complaint has been made or a remedial notice has | |
been issued, a person authorised by the relevant authority may enter the | |
neighbouring land in order to obtain information required by the relevant | |
authority for the purpose of determining— | |
(a) whether this Act applies to the complaint; | 35 |
(b) whether to issue or withdraw a remedial notice; | |
(c) whether to waive or relax a requirement of a remedial notice; | |
(d) whether a requirement of a remedial notice has been complied with. | |
(2) Where an appeal has been made under section 7, a person authorised— | |
(a) by the appeal authority, or | 40 |
(b) by a person appointed to determine appeals on its behalf, | |
may enter the neighbouring land in order to obtain information required by the | |
appeal authority, or by the person so appointed, for the purpose of | |
determining an appeal under this Act. | |
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(3) A person shall not enter land in the exercise of a power conferred by this | |
section unless at least 24 hours’ notice of the intended entry has been given to | |
every occupier of the land. | |
(4) A person authorised under this section to enter land— | |
(a) shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority before entering; | 5 |
and | |
(b) shall produce such evidence if required to do so at any time while he | |
remains on the land. | |
(5) A person who enters land in the exercise of a power conferred by this section | |
may— | 10 |
(a) take with him such other persons as may be necessary; | |
(b) take with him equipment and materials needed in order to obtain the | |
information required; | |
(c) take samples of any trees or shrubs that appear to him to form part of a | |
high hedge. | 15 |
(6) If, in the exercise of a power conferred by this section, a person enters land | |
which is unoccupied or from which all of the persons occupying the land are | |
temporarily absent, he must on his departure leave it as effectively secured | |
against unauthorised entry as he found it. | |
(7) A person who intentionally obstructs a person acting in the exercise of the | 20 |
powers under this section is guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on | |
summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. | |
Enforcement powers etc. | |
11 Offences | |
(1) Where— | 25 |
(a) a remedial notice requires the taking of any action; and | |
(b) that action is not taken in accordance with that notice within the | |
compliance period or (as the case may be) by the subsequent time by | |
which it is required to be taken, | |
every person who, at a relevant time, is an owner or occupier of the | 30 |
neighbouring land is guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary | |
conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. | |
(2) In subsection (1) “relevant time”— | |
(a) in relation to action required to be taken before the end of the | |
compliance period, means a time after the end of that period and before | 35 |
the action is taken; and | |
(b) in relation to any preventative action which is required to be taken after | |
the end of that period, means a time after that at which the action is | |
required to be taken but before it is taken. | |
(3) In proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (1) it shall be | 40 |
a defence for him to show that he did everything he could be expected to do to | |
secure compliance with the notice. | |
(4) In any such proceedings against a person, it shall also be a defence for him to | |
show, in a case in which he— | |
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(a) is not a person to whom a copy of the remedial notice was sent in | |
accordance with a provision of this Act, and | |
(b) is not assumed under subsection (5) to have had knowledge of the | |
notice at the time of the alleged offence, | |
that he was not aware of the existence of the notice at that time. | 5 |
(5) A person shall be assumed to have had knowledge of a remedial notice at any | |
time if at that time— | |
(a) he was an owner of the neighbouring land; and | |
(b) the notice was at that time registered as a local land charge. | |
(6) Section 198 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (c. 20) (constructive notice) shall be | 10 |
disregarded for the purposes of this section. | |
(7) Where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) and it appears | |
to the court— | |
(a) that a failure to comply with the remedial notice is continuing, and | |
(b) that it is within that person’s power to secure compliance with the | 15 |
notice, | |
the court may, in addition to or instead of imposing a punishment, order him | |
to take the steps specified in the order for securing compliance with the notice. | |
(8) An order under subsection (7) must require those steps to be taken within such | |
reasonable period as may be fixed by the order. | 20 |
(9) Where a person fails without reasonable excuse to comply with an order under | |
subsection (7) he is guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary | |
conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. | |
(10) Where a person continues after conviction of an offence under subsection (9) | |
(or of an offence under this subsection) to fail, without reasonable excuse, to | 25 |
take steps which he has been ordered to take under subsection (7), he is guilty | |
of a further offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not | |
exceeding one-twentieth of that level for each day on which the failure has so | |
continued. | |
12 Power to require occupier to permit action to be taken by owner | 30 |
Section 289 of the Public Health Act 1936 (c. 49) (power of court to require | |
occupier to permit work to be done by owner) shall apply with any necessary | |
modifications for the purpose of giving an owner of land to which a remedial | |
notice relates the right, as against all other persons interested in the land, to | |
comply with the notice. | 35 |
13 Action by relevant authority | |
(1) This section applies where— | |
(a) a remedial notice requires the taking of any action; and | |
(b) that action is not taken in accordance with that notice within the | |
compliance period or (as the case may be) after the end of that period | 40 |
when it is required to be taken by the notice. | |
(2) Where this section applies— | |
(a) a person authorised by the relevant authority may enter the | |
neighbouring land and take the required action; and | |
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(b) the relevant authority may recover any expenses reasonably incurred | |
by that person in doing so from any person who is an owner or occupier | |
of the land. | |
(3) Expenses recoverable under this section shall be a local land charge and | |
binding on successive owners of the land and on successive occupiers of it. | 5 |
(4) Where expenses are recoverable under this section from two or more persons, | |
those persons shall be jointly and severally liable for the expenses. | |
(5) A person shall not enter land in the exercise of a power conferred by this | |
section unless at least 7 days’ notice of the intended entry has been given to | |
every occupier of the land. | 10 |
(6) A person authorised under this section to enter land— | |
(a) shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority before entering; | |
and | |
(b) shall produce such evidence if required to do so at any time while he | |
remains on the land. | 15 |
(7) A person who enters land in the exercise of a power conferred by this section | |
may— | |
(a) use a vehicle to enter the land; | |
(b) take with him such other persons as may be necessary; | |
(c) take with him equipment and materials needed for the purpose of | 20 |
taking the required action. | |
(8) If, in the exercise of a power conferred by this section, a person enters land | |
which is unoccupied or from which all of the persons occupying the land are | |
temporarily absent, he must on his departure leave it as effectively secured | |
against unauthorised entry as he found it. | 25 |
(9) A person who wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of powers | |
under this section to enter land and take action on that land is guilty of an | |
offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level | |
3 on the standard scale. | |
14 Offences committed by bodies corporate | 30 |
(1) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved to | |
have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable | |
to any neglect on the part of— | |
(a) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body | |
corporate, or | 35 |
(b) any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, | |
he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to | |
be proceeded against and punished accordingly. | |
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection | |
(1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with | 40 |
his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate. | |
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