Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 (repealed 27.5.1997)

[F1100 Enforcement of orders under sections 49, 49A and 49B.S

(1)Any person who, without the grant of planning permission in that behalf,—

(a)uses land, or causes or permits land to be used,—

(i)for any purpose for which an order under section 49 of this Act has required that its use shall be discontinued; or

(ii)in contravention of any condition imposed by such an order by virtue of subsection (1) of that section; or

(b)resumes, or causes or permits to be resumed, development consisting of the winning and working of minerals [F2or involving the depositing of mineral waste] the resumption of which an order under section 49A of this Act has prohibited; or

(c)contravenes, or causes or permits to be contravened, any such requirement as is specified in section 49A(3) or (4) of this Act,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)Any person who contravenes any requirement of a suspension order or a supplementary suspension order or who causes or permits any requirement of such an order to be contravened shall be guilty of an offence.

(3)Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and

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

(4)If—

(a)any step required by an order under section 49 of this Act to be taken for the alteration or removal of any buildings or works or any plant or machinery; or

(b)any step required by an order under section 49A of this Act to be taken—

(i)for the alteration or removal of plant or machinery; or

(ii)for the removal or alleviation of any injury to amenity; or

(c)any step for the protection of the environment required to be taken by a suspension order or a supplementary suspension order,

has not been taken within the period specified in the order, or within such extended period as the planning authority may allow, the planning authority may enter the land and take that step, and may recover from the person who is then the owner of the land any expenses reasonably incurred by them in doing so.

(5)A planning authority taking any step in terms of subsection (4) of this section may sell any materials removed by them from any land unless those materials are claimed by the owner within three days of their removal by the planning authority; and where such materials have been sold the planning authority shall, after deducting therefrom any expenses recoverable by them from the owner, pay him the proceeds of such sale.

(6)It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he took all reasonable measures and exercised all due diligence to avoid commission of the offence by himself or by any person under his control.

(7)If any person charged with an offence under this section alleges that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person or due to reliance on information supplied by another person, the person charged shall not, without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on the defence unless, within a period ending seven clear days before the hearing, he has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of the other person as was then in his possession.]