The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Power to stop further development pending proceedings on enforcement notice N.I.

73.— [F1 (1) Where the Department considers it expedient that any relevant activity should cease before the expiry of the period for compliance with an enforcement notice, it may, when it serves the copy of the enforcement notice or afterwards, serve a notice (in this Order 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 to which the enforcement notice relates, or any part of that land specified in the stop notice.

(2) In this Article and Article 67 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 (NI 17) “relevant activity” means any activity specified in the enforcement notice as an activity which the Department requires to cease and any activity carried out as part of that activity or associated with that activity.

(3) A stop notice may not be served where the enforcement notice has taken effect.

(3A) A stop notice shall not prohibit any person from continuing to use any building, caravan or other structure situated upon the land as his permanent residence whether as owner, occupier, tenant, patient, guest or otherwise.

(3B) A stop notice shall not take effect until such date as it may specify (and it cannot be contravened until that date).

(3C) The date specified in a stop notice shall be the date when the notice is served, unless the Department considers that there are special reasons for specifying a later date, but the date specified in the notice shall, in any case, be a date not later than 28 days from the date when the notice is first served on any person.

(3D) A stop notice shall not prohibit the carrying out of any activity if the activity has been carried out (whether continuously or not) for a period of more than 4 years ending with the service of the notice; and for the purposes of this paragraph no account is to be taken of any period during which the activity was authorised by planning permission.

(3E) Paragraph (3D) does not prevent a stop notice prohibiting any activity consisting of, or incidental to, building, engineering, mining or other operations or the deposit of refuse or waste materials.]

(4) A stop notice shall cease to have effect when—

(a) the enforcement notice referred to in it is withdrawn or quashed; or

(b) the[F1 period for compliance with the] enforcement notice expires; or

(c) notice of withdrawal of the stop notice is first served under paragraph (6); or

(d) if or to the extent that the activities prohibited by it cease, on a variation of the enforcement notice referred to in it,[F1 relevant activities].

(5) A stop notice may be served by the Department on any person who appears to it to have an estate 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 Department may display there a notice (in this Article referred to as a “site notice”) stating—

(a) that a stop notice has been served; and

(b) that any person contravening the stop notice may be prosecuted for an offence under this Article, giving the date when the stop notice takes effect and indicating its requirements.

(6) The Department may at any time withdraw a stop notice (without prejudice to its power to serve another)—

(a) by serving notice to that effect on persons served with the stop notice; and

(b) if a site notice was displayed in respect of the stop notice, displaying a notice of the withdrawal in place of the site notice.

[F1 (7) If any person contravenes a stop notice after a site notice has been displayed or the stop notice has been served on him he shall be guilty of an offence.

(7A) An offence under this Article may be charged by reference to any day or longer period of time and a person may be convicted of a second or subsequent offence under this Article by reference to any period of time following the preceding conviction for such an offence.

(7B) References in this Article to contravening a stop notice include causing or permitting its contravention.

(7C) A person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £30,000;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(7D) In determining the amount of any fine to be imposed on a person convicted of an offence under this Article, the court shall in particular have regard to any financial benefit which has accrued or appears likely to accrue to him in consequence of the offence.]

(8) In proceedings for an offence under this Article it shall be a defence for the accused to prove that the stop notice was not served on him and that he did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, of its existence.

(9) 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 Article[F1 68] if it is shown that the Department took all such steps as were reasonably practicable to effect proper service.

F1 2003 NI 8