§ 13 — Authority may carry out encroachment notice

13.—(1) Subject to section 15, where a person who is required by section 12(5) to comply with an encroachment notice relating to any State land, fails to do so within the compliance period and does not give the Authority an objection to that encroachment notice within the objection period, the Authority may do all or any of the following:(a)

carry out, or cause to be carried out, all or any thing or work specified in the encroachment notice;

(b)

direct the person to deposit (within a period that the Authority may specify, being at least 7 days after the direction is given) an amount with the Authority that the Authority considers necessary for the purpose of paragraph (a).

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an authorised officer may, with any assistance that the officer considers necessary for the purpose of exercising a power under subsection (1)(a) —(a)

demolish or remove any structure erected on, under or over the State land, and then move or remove from the State land the structure to store at a holding yard and dispose of the resulting debris from the demolition;

(b)

move or remove from the State land any vehicle or vessel (or part thereof), any animal (dead or alive), waste or goods or any other thing (whether or not of a similar kind) by any reasonable means to store at a holding yard, including by towing the vehicle, vessel, goods or thing to a holding yard;

(c)

use reasonable force, including cutting or breaking open any lock, seal, fastener or other device on or connected to any vehicle or vessel (or part thereof), any animal (dead or alive), waste, goods, structure or other thing (whether or not of a similar kind) mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b); or

(d)

carry out any works specified in the notice in order to rectify any damage to or to otherwise restore the State land concerned.

(3) The power conferred on an authorised officer under subsection (2)(b) may be exercised whether or not the owner, driver, rider or person in charge of the removed material is present at the time of its removal.

(4) When any removed material is moved or removed by an authorised officer under subsection (2)(a) or (b), the officer concerned must as soon as practicable give notice of the moving or removal and the grounds of doing so to the owner of that removed material, if known, except that the notice is not required to be given where the moving or removal is made in the presence of the owner or the owner’s agent.

(5) Where it appears to the Commissioner of Lands that any removed material —(a)

is perishable;

(b)

may rapidly depreciate in value; or

(c)

is of such a nature or in such condition that it would be dangerous, not reasonably practicable or unduly costly for the Authority to retain custody of the removed material,

the Commissioner of Lands may, instead of storing the removed material at a holding yard, cause it —

(d)

to be sold (by public auction or otherwise) at once and the proceeds of sale to be paid into the Consolidated Fund; or

(e)

to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Lands thinks fit.

(6) If a person who appears, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Lands, to be the owner of any removed material moved or removed under subsection (1) and not to be a person in default with complying with the encroachment notice concerned, claims —(a)

after that removed material has been sold, destroyed or disposed of under subsection (5); but

(b)

before the end of one year starting the date the removed material was moved or removed under subsection (1),

the Authority may compensate, out of the funds of the Authority, the person for the loss of the removed material, less reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Authority in storing and selling, destroying or disposing of the removed material.

—(1) Subject to section 15, where a person who is required by section 12(5) to comply with an encroachment notice relating to any State land, fails to do so within the compliance period and does not give the Authority an objection to that encroachment notice within the objection period, the Authority may do all or any of the following:(a)

carry out, or cause to be carried out, all or any thing or work specified in the encroachment notice;

(b)

direct the person to deposit (within a period that the Authority may specify, being at least 7 days after the direction is given) an amount with the Authority that the Authority considers necessary for the purpose of paragraph (a).

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an authorised officer may, with any assistance that the officer considers necessary for the purpose of exercising a power under subsection (1)(a) —(a)

demolish or remove any structure erected on, under or over the State land, and then move or remove from the State land the structure to store at a holding yard and dispose of the resulting debris from the demolition;

(b)

move or remove from the State land any vehicle or vessel (or part thereof), any animal (dead or alive), waste or goods or any other thing (whether or not of a similar kind) by any reasonable means to store at a holding yard, including by towing the vehicle, vessel, goods or thing to a holding yard;

(c)

use reasonable force, including cutting or breaking open any lock, seal, fastener or other device on or connected to any vehicle or vessel (or part thereof), any animal (dead or alive), waste, goods, structure or other thing (whether or not of a similar kind) mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b); or

(d)

carry out any works specified in the notice in order to rectify any damage to or to otherwise restore the State land concerned.

(3) The power conferred on an authorised officer under subsection (2)(b) may be exercised whether or not the owner, driver, rider or person in charge of the removed material is present at the time of its removal.

(4) When any removed material is moved or removed by an authorised officer under subsection (2)(a) or (b), the officer concerned must as soon as practicable give notice of the moving or removal and the grounds of doing so to the owner of that removed material, if known, except that the notice is not required to be given where the moving or removal is made in the presence of the owner or the owner’s agent.

(5) Where it appears to the Commissioner of Lands that any removed material —(a)

is perishable;

(b)

may rapidly depreciate in value; or

(c)

is of such a nature or in such condition that it would be dangerous, not reasonably practicable or unduly costly for the Authority to retain custody of the removed material,

the Commissioner of Lands may, instead of storing the removed material at a holding yard, cause it —

(d)

to be sold (by public auction or otherwise) at once and the proceeds of sale to be paid into the Consolidated Fund; or

(e)

to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner of Lands thinks fit.

(6) If a person who appears, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Lands, to be the owner of any removed material moved or removed under subsection (1) and not to be a person in default with complying with the encroachment notice concerned, claims —(a)

after that removed material has been sold, destroyed or disposed of under subsection (5); but

(b)

before the end of one year starting the date the removed material was moved or removed under subsection (1),

the Authority may compensate, out of the funds of the Authority, the person for the loss of the removed material, less reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the Authority in storing and selling, destroying or disposing of the removed material.