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Declaration of public roads.
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11.—(1) (a) A road authority may, by order, declare any road over which a public right of way exists to be a public road, and every such road shall be deemed to be a public road and responsibility for its maintenance shall lie on the road authority.
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(b) Where a road authority proposes to declare a road to be a public road it shall—
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(i) satisfy itself that the road is of general public utility,
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(ii) consider the financial implications for the authority of the proposed declaration,
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(iii) publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the area where the road which it is proposed to declare to be a public road is located a notice indicating the times at which, the period (which shall be not less than one month) during which and the place where a map showing such road may be inspected and stating that objections or representations may be made in writing to the road authority in relation to such declaration before a specified date (which shall be not less than two weeks after the end of the period for inspection),
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(iv) consider any objections or representations made to it under paragraph (iii) and not withdrawn.
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(2) The consideration of objections or representations and the making of an order under subsection (1) shall be reserved functions.
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(3) The Minister may prescribe criteria for the declaration of roads to be public roads and a road authority shall comply with any such prescribed criteria when exercising its functions under this section.
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(4) Every national road, regional road, motorway, busway and protected road shall be a public road and it shall not be necessary for a road authority to make an order under subsection (1) in relation to any such road.
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(5) A certificate of a road authority that a road is a public road shall be prima facie evidence thereof.
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(6) Every road which, immediately before the repeal of an enactment by this Act, was a public road shall be a public road.
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(7) Any road constructed or otherwise provided by a road authority after the commencement of this section shall, unless otherwise decided by such road authority, be a public road and it shall not be necessary for the authority to make an order under subsection (1) in relation to any such road.
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