Planning and Development Act, 2000

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Acquisition of land for open spaces.

45.—(1) Where—

(a) development is being or has been carried out pursuant to a permission under section 34 ,

(b)     (i) a condition requiring the provision or maintenance of land as open space, being open space to which this section applies, was attached to the permission, or

(ii) it was either explicit or implicit in the application for the permission that land would be provided or maintained as such open space,

(c) the planning authority has served on the owner of the land a written request that, within a period specified in the request (being a period of not less than 8 weeks commencing on the date of the request), he or she will provide, level, plant or otherwise adapt or maintain the land in a manner so specified, being a manner which in its opinion would make it suitable for the purpose for which the open space was to be provided, and

(d) the owner fails to comply or to secure compliance with the request within the period so specified,

the planning authority may, if it thinks fit, publish in a newspaper circulating in the district a notice (an “acquisition notice”) of its intention to acquire the land by order under this section and the acquisition notice shall specify a period (being a period of not less than 4 weeks commencing on the date on which the notice is published) within which an appeal may be made under this section.

(2) Where a planning authority publishes an acquisition notice, it shall serve a copy of the notice on the owner of the land to which the notice relates not later than 10 days after the date of the publication.

(3) Any person having an interest in the land to which an acquisition notice relates may within the period specified in the notice appeal to the Board.

(4) Where an appeal is brought under this section the Board may—

(a) annul the acquisition notice to which the appeal relates, or

(b) confirm the acquisition notice, with or without modification, in respect of all or such part of the relevant land as the Board considers reasonable.

(5) If a planning authority publishes an acquisition notice and either—

(a) the period for appealing against the notice has expired and no appeal has been taken, or

(b) an appeal has been taken against the notice and the appeal has been withdrawn or the notice has been confirmed whether unconditionally or subject to modifications,

the planning authority may make an order in the prescribed form which order shall be expressed and shall operate to vest the land to which the acquisition notice, or, where appropriate, the acquisition notice as confirmed, relates in the planning authority on a specified date for all the estate, term or interest for which immediately before the date of the order the land was held by the owner together with all rights and liabilities which, immediately before that date, were enjoyed or incurred in connection therewith by the owner together with an obligation to comply with the request made under subsection (1)(c).

(6) Where a planning authority has acquired by an order under this section land which is subject, either alone or in conjunction with other land, to a purchase annuity, payment in lieu of rent, or other annual sum (not being merely a rent under a contract of tenancy) payable to the Minister for Agriculture. Food and Rural Development or to the Commissioners, the authority shall become and be liable, as from the date on which the land is vested in them by the vesting order, for the payment to that Minister or to the Commissioners, as the case may be, of the annual sum or such portion thereof as shall be apportioned by that Minister or by the Commissioners, on the land as if the land had been transferred to the authority by the owner thereof on that date.

(7) When a planning authority makes an order under this section in relation to any land, it shall send the order to the registering authority under the Registration of Title Act, 1964 , and thereupon the registering authority shall cause the planning authority to be registered as owner of the land in accordance with the order.

(8) Where a claim is made for compensation in respect of land to which an order under this section relates, the claim shall, in default of agreement, be determined by arbitration under the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919 , in the like manner in all respects as if such claim arose in relation to the compulsory acquisition of land, but subject to the proviso that the arbitrator shall have jurisdiction to make a nil award and to the following provisions:

(a) the arbitrator shall make a nil award, unless it is shown by or on behalf of the owner that an amount equal to the value of the land to which the relevant permission under section 34 relates, being that value at the time when the application for the permission was made, as a result of the development has not been recovered and as a further such result will not in the future be recoverable by disposing of the land which is land to which the permission relates and which is not land to which the order relates, and

(b) in the assessment of the value of the land to which the order relates, no regard shall be had to its value for use other than as open space and a deduction shall be made in respect of the cost of carrying out such works as may be necessary to comply with the request made pursuant to subsection (1)(c).

(9) A planning authority shall enter in the register—

(a) particulars of any acquisition notice published by it,

(b) the date and effect of any decision on appeal in relation to any such notice, and

(c) particulars of any order made under this section,

and every entry shall be made within the period of 7 days commencing on the day of publication, receipt of notification of the decision or the making of the order, as may be appropriate.

(10) This section applies to any form of open space (whether referred to as open space or by any other description in the relevant application for a permission or in a condition attached to the relevant permission), being land which is not described in the application or condition either as private open space or in terms indicating that it is not intended that members of the public are to have resort thereto without restriction.