The Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985

Byelaws for protection of nature reservesN.I.

19.—(1) Subject to this Article, the Department may make byelaws for the protection of any nature reserve, not being a nature reserve provided under Article 22 by a district council, in relation to which a declaration under Article 16(1) or Article 18(1) is in force.

(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), byelaws under this Article may—

(a)provide for prohibiting or restricting the entry into, or movement within, the nature reserve of persons, vehicles, boats and animals;

(b)prohibit or restrict the killing, taking, molesting or disturbance of living creatures of any description in the nature reserve, the taking, destruction or disturbance of eggs, larvae or other immature stage, of any such creature, the taking of, or interference with, vegetation of any description in the nature reserve, or the doing of anything therein which will interfere with the soil or damage any object in the reserve;

(c)prohibit or restrict the shooting of birds or of birds of any description within such area surrounding or adjoining the nature reserve (whether the area be of land or of sea) as is requisite for the protection of the nature reserve;

(d)regulate or prohibit the taking away of soil, turf, sand or minerals of any description;

(e)prohibit or restrict, or provide for prohibiting or restricting, the lighting of fires in the nature reserve, or the doing of anything likely to cause fire in the nature reserve; and

(f)provide for the issue, on such terms and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the byelaws, of permits authorising entry into the nature reserve or the doing of anything therein which would otherwise be unlawful, whether under the byelaws or otherwise.

(3) Before making byelaws under this Article the Department shall consult the Committee for Nature Conservation.

(4) The Department shall not make byelaws as respects any land declared to be a national nature reserve under Article 18(1)(c) except on the application of the approved body concerned.

(5) Byelaws under this Article shall not interfere with the exercise by any person of a right vested in him as owner, lessee or occupier of land in a nature reserve or with the exercise of any public right of way or of any statutory functions of any local or public authority in relation to any such land.

(6) Where the exercise of any right vested in a person by reason of his being entitled to any estate in land is prevented or hindered by virtue of byelaws made under paragraph (2)(c), he shall be entitled to receive from the Department in respect thereof compensation calculated by reference to the depreciation of the value of that estate in land.

(7) Any dispute arising on a claim for compensation under paragraph (6) shall, in the absence of agreement be referred to and determined by the Lands Tribunal.

(8) In this Article “approved body” has the meaning given in Article 18(3).