Section 23Part 3 — Control of Development of Land
Stop notice
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Where in respect of any land the Director —
has served a copy of an enforcement notice requiring a breach of planning control to be remedied; but
considers it expedient to prevent before the expiry of the period allowed for compliance with the enforcement notice the carrying on of any activity which is or is included in a matter alleged by the notice to constitute the breach, then, subject to the following provisions of this section, the Director may, at any time before the notice takes effect, serve a notice (in this Act referred to as a "stop notice") referring to and having annexed to it a copy of the enforcement notice and prohibiting the carrying out of that activity on the land, or on any part of the land specified in the stop notice.
A stop notice shall not prohibit —
the use of any building as a dwelling-house; or
the taking of any steps specified in the enforcement notice as required to be taken in order to remedy the breach of planning control,
and where an activity has been carried out (whether continuously or otherwise) without planning permission on land for a period which commenced more than twelve months before the date on which a stop notice is served, the stop notice shall not prohibit the carrying out of that activity on that land unless it is, or is incidental to, building engineering or other operations.
A stop notice shall cease to have effect when —
the enforcement notice is withdrawn or quashed;
the period allowed for compliance with the enforcement notice expires; or
notice of the withdrawal of the stop notice is first served under subsection (5),
and a stop notice shall also cease to have effect if or to the extent that the activities prohibited by it cease, on a variation of the enforcement notice, to be included in the matters alleged by the enforcement notice to constitute a breach of planning control.
A stop notice may be served by the Director on any person who appears to the Director to have an interest in the land or to be engaged in any activity prohibited by the notice; and where a stop notice has been served in respect of any land, the Director may display on the land a notice (in this section referred to as a "site notice") stating that a stop notice has been served and that any person contravening it may be prosecuted for an offence under this section, giving the date when the stop notice takes effect and indicating its requirements.
The Director may, at any time, withdraw a stop notice (without prejudice to the power to serve another) by serving a notice to that effect on the persons served with the stop notice and, if a site notice was displayed in respect of the stop notice, by displaying a notice of the withdrawal in place of the site notice.
Subject to subsection (7), a person who contravenes, causes or permits the contravention of a stop notice —
after a site notice has been displayed; or
if a site notice has not been displayed, more than two days after the stop notice has been served on that person,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars, and if the offence is continued after conviction, commits a further offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one thousand dollars for each day on which the offence is continued.
In proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that the stop notice was not served on the accused and that the accused did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, of its existence.
A stop notice shall not be invalid by reason that a copy of the enforcement notice to which it relates was not served as required by section 18(1), if it is shown that the Director took all such steps as were reasonably practicable to effect proper service.
Any reference in this section to the period allowed for compliance with an enforcement notice shall be construed in accordance with section 20(1) or 21(1).
Defined Terms
stop noticesite notice