Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963

Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1919” means the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919 ;

“the Act of 1934” means the Town and Regional Planning Act, 1934 (repealed by this Act);

“advertisement” means any word, letter, model, balloon, kite, poster, notice, device or representation employed for the purpose of advertisement, announcement or direction;

“advertisement structure” means any structure which is a hoarding, scaffold, framework, pole, standard, device or sign (whether illuminated or not) and which is used or intended for use for exhibiting advertisements;

“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, the use of land for turbary, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes, and “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;

“alteration” includes any plastering or painting which materially alters the external appearance of a structure so as to render such appearance inconsistent with the character of the structure or of neighbouring structures;

“appointed day” means—

(a) if a day is appointed under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 1 of this Act, that day, and

(b) if a day is not appointed under that paragraph, the day appointed under paragraph (b) of that subsection with respect to the relevant area;

“building regulations” has the meaning assigned to it by section 86;

“car park” has the same meaning as in section 101 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ;

“development” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3, and “develop” shall be construed accordingly;

“development plan” has the meaning appropriate in accordance with subsection (9) of section 19;

“exempted development” has the meaning specified in section 4;

“exhibit”, in relation to an advertisement, includes affix, inscribe, print, paint and otherwise delineate;

“fence” includes a hoarding or similar structure;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“land” includes any structure and any land covered with water (whether inland or coastal) and, in relation to the acquisition of land, includes any interest or right in or over land (including an interest or right granted by or held from the authority acquiring the land);

“local authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 ;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government;

“non-municipal town” means a place (not being a county borough, borough, urban district or town in which the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854 , is in operation) which is designated a town in the report of the census of population taken in the year 1956;

“obsolete area” means an area consisting of land (in this definition referred to as the principal land) which, in the opinion of the planning authority, is badly laid out or the development of which has, in their opinion, become obsolete, together with such land contiguous or adjacent to the principal land as, in the opinion of the planning authority, is necessary for the satisfactory development or user of the principal land;

“owner”, in relation to land, means, a person, other than a mortgagee not in possession, who, whether in his own right or as trustee or agent for any other person, is entitled to receive the rack rent of the land or, where the land is not let at a rack rent, would be so entitled if it were so let;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“public place” means any street, road, seashore or other place to which the public have access whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;

“public road” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ;

“the register” means the register kept under section 8;

“reserved function” means—

(a) with respect to the council of a county or an elective body for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1955, a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1955,

(b) with respect to the corporation of a county borough, a reserved function for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough;

“road” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ;

“scheduled town” means—

(a) any town specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act, or

(b) any non-municipal town specified in Part II of that Schedule;

“seashore” has the same meaning as in the Foreshore Act, 1933 ;

“special amenity area order” means an order confirmed under section 43;

“statutory undertaker” means a person authorised by a British or Saorstát Éireann statute or an Act of the Oireachtas or an order having statutory force to construct, work, or carry on a railway, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, gas, electricity, or other public undertaking;

“structure” means any building, erection, structure, excavation, or other thing constructed, erected, or made on, in, or under any land, or any part of a structure so defined, and, where the context so admits, includes the land on, in, or under which the structure is situate;

“unauthorised structure” means—

(a) in relation to a structure in an area in relation to which a resolution under section 26 of the Act of 1934 was passed, a structure other than—

(i) a structure in existence when that resolution was passed,

(ii) a structure for which there was a general or special permission under that Act, being a permission which has not been revoked,

(iii) a structure the construction, erection or making of which was the subject of a permission for development granted under section 26 of this Act, being a permission which has not been revoked, or which exists as a result of the carrying out on or after the appointed day of exempted development,

(iv) a structure for the retention of which a permission was granted under section 27 of this Act, being a permission which has not been revoked,

(v) a structure which, immediately before the appointed day, had the protection afforded by section 15 of the Act of 1934, or

(b) in relation to a structure in any other area, a structure other than—

(i) a structure in existence on the commencement of the appointed day, or

(ii) a structure the construction, erection or making of which was the subject of a permission for development granted under section 26 of this Act, being a permission which has not been revoked, or which exists as a result of the carrying out on or after the appointed day of exempted development;

“unauthorised use” means, in relation to land, use commenced on or after the appointed day, the change in use being a material change and being development other than development the subject of a permission granted under section 26 of this Act or exempted development;

“use”, in relation to land, does not include the use of the land by the carrying out of any works thereon;

“works” includes any act or operation of construction, excavation, demolition, extension, alteration, repair or renewal.

(2) In this Act “planning authority” means—

(a) in the case of a county exclusive of any borough or urban district therein, the council of the county,

(b) in the case of a county or other borough, the corporation of the borough, and

(c) in the case of an urban district, the council of the district,

and references to the area of the planning authority shall be construed accordingly.

(3) A reference in this Act to contravention of a provision includes, where appropriate, a reference to refusal or failure to comply with that provision.

(4) Any reference in this Act to performance of functions includes, with respect to powers, a reference to exercise of powers.

(5) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

(6) (a) A town specified in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act shall be taken for the purposes of this Act as comprising the area declared by the council of the county in which the town is situate to be comprised therein for those purposes.

(b) Declaration of any such area shall be a reserved function.

(7) In subsection (1) of section 22 , subsection (1) of section 26 , subsection (1) of section 27 , subsection (2) of section 30 , subsection (2) of section 31 , subsection (2) of section 32 , subsection (2) of section 33 , subsection (2) of section 35 , subsection (3) of section 36 and subsection (3) of section 37 of this Act—

(a) the references to the provisions of the development plan shall, until that plan is made, be construed as references to the provisions which the planning authority consider will be included in that plan;

(b) the references to the provisions of any special amenity area order relating to the area of the planning authority shall be construed as including references to any provisions which the planning authority consider will be included in a special amenity area order relating to their area.

(8) The Minister may by order vary the First Schedule to this Act by addition or deletion, but, where any such order is proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.