The Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991

[F1 Planning agreements N.I.

40.— (1) Any person who has an estate in land may enter into an agreement with the Department (referred to in this Article and Articles 40A and 40B as "a planning agreement"), enforceable to the extent mentioned in paragraph (4)—

(a) facilitating or restricting the development or use of the land in any specified way;

(b) requiring specified operations or activities to be carried out in , on, under or over the land;

(c) requiring the land to be used in any specified way; or

(d) requiring a sum or sums to be paid to the Department on a specified date or dates or periodically.

(2) A planning agreement may—

(a) be unconditional or subject to conditions;

(b) impose any restriction or requirement mentioned in paragraph(1)(a) to (c) either indefinitely or for such period or periods as may be specified; and

(c) if it requires a sum or sums to be paid, require the payment of a specified amount or an amount determined in accordance with the instrument by which the agreement is entered into and, if it requires the payment of periodical sums, require them to be paid indefintely or for a specified period.

(3) Before entering into a planning agreement, the Department shall consult with the district council for the area in which the land which is the subject of the proposed agreement is situated.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5) a planning agreement is enforceable by the Department—

(a) against the person entering into the agreement; and

(b) against any person deriving title from that person.

(5) The instrument by which a planning agreement is entered into may provide that a person shall not be bound by the agreement in respect of any period during which he no longer has an estate in the land.

(6) A restriction or requirement imposed under a planning agreement is enforcable by injunction.

(7) Without prejudice to paragraph (6), if there is a breach of a requirement in a planning agreement to carry out any operations in, on, under or over the land to which the agreement relates, the Department may—

(a) enter the land and carry out the operations; and

(b) recover from the person or persons against whom the agreement is enforceable any expenses reasonably incurred by it in doing so and those expenses shall be a civil debt recoverable summarily.

(8) Before the Department exercises its power under paragraph (7)(a) it shall give not less than 21 days' notice of its intention to do so to any person against whom the planning agreement is enforceable.

(9) Any person who wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of a power under paragraph (7)(a) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(10) A planning agreement may not be entered into except by an instrument under seal which—

(a) states that the agreement is a planning agreement for the purposes of this Article;

(b) identifies the land in which the person entering into the agreement has an estate; and

(c) identifies the person entering into the agreement and states what his estate in the land is.

(11) If a person against whom an agreement is enforceable requests the Department to supply him with a copy of the agreement, it shall be the duty of the Department to do so free of charge.

(12) Any sum or sums required to be paid under a planning agreement and any expenses recoverable by the Department under paragraph (7)(b) shall, until recovered, be deemed to be charged on and payable out of the estate in the land in relation to which they have been incurred, of the person against whom the plannning agreement is enforceable.

(13) The charge created by paragraph (12) shall be enforceable in all respects as if it were a valid mortgage by deed created in favour of the Department by the person on whose estate the charge has been created (with, where necessary, any authorisation or consent required by law) and the Department may excercise the powers conferred by sections 19, 21 and 22 of the Conveyancing Act 1881 (c. 41) on mortgagees by deed accordingly.

(14) In this Article "specified" means specified in the instrument by which the planning agreement is entered into.]

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