Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890

Means of ingress to and egress from places of public resort.

36.(1) Every building which, after the adoption of this part of this Act in any urban district, is used as a place of public resort, shall, to the satisfaction of the urban authority, be substantially constructed and supplied with ample, safe, and convenient means of ingress and egress for the use of the public, regard being had to the purposes for which such building is intended to be used, and to the number of persons likely to be assembled at any one time therein.

(2) The means of ingress and egress shall during the whole time that such building is used as a place of public resort be kept free and unobstructed to such extent as the urban authority shall require.

(3) An officer authorised in writing by the urban authority, and producing his authority if so required, may at all reasonable times enter any such building to see that the provisions of this section are carried into effect.

(4) Any person who being the occupier or manager, or in the case of a building let for any period less than one year the owner of any building used as aforesaid, uses the same or suffers the same to be used in contravention of this section, or fails to comply with the provisions of this section in respect thereof, shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

(5) Where any alteration in the building is required in order to give proper means of ingress or egress, the court may refuse to inflict a penalty for an offence under this section until a reasonable time has been allowed for making such alteration, but the court may make such order as they think fit for the closing, or otherwise, of the building during such time.

(6) For the purposes of this section the expression “place of public resort” means a building used or constructed or adapted to be used either ordinarily or occasionally as a church, chapel, or other place of public worship (not being merely a dwelling-house so used), or as a theatre, public hall, public concert-room, public ball-room, public lecture-room, or public exhibition room, or as a public place of assembly for persons admitted thereto by tickets or by payment, or used, or constructed, or adapted to be used, either ordinarily or occasionally for any other public purpose, but shall not include a private dwelling-house used occasionally or exceptionally for any of those purposes.

Provided that this section shall not extend to any building used as a church or chapel or other place of public worship before or at the time of the adoption of this part of this Act.