Forestry Act, 1946

Refusal of limited felling licence in order to preserve amenities.

44.—(1) In this section the expressions “planning district” and “district planning authority” and the word “owner” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by the Town and Regional Planning Acts, 1934 and 1939, for the purposes of those Acts.

(2) The Minister shall not refuse an application for a limited felling licence in respect of a tree solely for the purpose of preserving amenities unless the district planning authority for the planning district in which such tree is situate has consented to such refusal.

(3) Whenever the Minister refuses an application for a limited felling licence in respect of a tree (in this subsection referred to as the protected tree) solely for the purpose of preserving amenities, the owner of the piece of land (in this subsection referred to as the site of the protected tree) on which the tree is growing may, not later than eighty-four days after such refusal, require by notice in writing, the district planning authority for the planning district in which the site of the protected tree is situate to acquire the site of the protected tree, and, in that case, the following provisions shall, unless the requisition is withdrawn under subsection (5) of this section, have effect:—

(a) the said authority shall acquire the site of the protected tree;

(b) the said authority may also, if it so thinks fit, do any one or more of the following things—

(i) acquire any other piece of land (in this subsection referred to as an additional site) which is owned by the person (in this subsection referred to as the requisitor) who made the requisition and which is in the immediate vicinity of the site of the protected tree and on which there is growing any tree the preservation of which appears to the said authority necessary for the preserving of amenities,

(ii) acquire any other land (being land owned by the requisitor and adjoining the site of the protected tree or any additional site so acquired) which is necessary for the protection of the protected tree or the tree on any additional site so acquired,

(iii) acquire any land, in the ownership of the requisitor, or right over land, in the ownership of the requisitor, the acquisition of which is necessary for the purpose of affording convenient access to the site of the protected tree or the tree on any additional site so acquired;

(c) any dispute between the requisitor and the said authority as to whether the said authority is required by or entitled under this subsection to acquire any land or right over land proposed to be so acquired by the said authority or as to the extent of the land or nature of the right over the land proposed to be so acquired by the said authority shall be decided by the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whose decision thereon shall be final.

(4) The provisions, relating to the acquisition of land by a sanitary authority, of the Public Health Acts, 1878 to 1931, as amended by section 68 of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925), and by section 8 of the Local Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1936 (No. 55 of 1936), shall apply to the acquisition under subsection (3) of this section of any land or right over land by a district planning authority as if those provisions were herein re-enacted and made applicable to such acquisition, and, for the purposes of such application,—

(a) the Minister for Local Government and Public Health shall be deemed to have duly made, under section 203 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, a provisional order empowering the said district planning authority to put in force, with reference to such last-mentioned land or right over land, the powers of the Lands Clauses Acts with respect to the purchase and taking of lands otherwise than by agreement,

(b) the said provisional order shall be deemed to have been duly confirmed by the said Minister under section 68 of the said Local Government Act, 1925 ,

(c) subsection (3) of the said section 68 shall have effect as if the words “subject in the case of a confirmation by the Minister to proof that the notice required by this section was duly published” were not contained in the said subsection (3).

(5) Where a district planning authority propose to acquire under paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of this section any land or right over land,—

(a) the said authority shall give to the owner of such land or right, not less than twenty-eight days before such acquisition, a written statement showing the extent and situation of such land or right,

(b) such owner shall be entitled to withdraw his requisition under the said subsection (3) not later than twenty-eight days after the receipt by him of such written statement.