The Airports (Northern Ireland) Order 1994

Procedure for making of orders

1.—(1) Before making the order the Department shall publish in the Belfast Gazette and once at least in each of two successive weeks in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land to which the order relates is situated a notice—

(a)stating that the Department proposes to make the order;

(b)specifying the land to which the proposed order relates and stating the general effect of the proposed order;

(c)specifying a place in that locality where a copy of the draft of the proposed order and of any relevant map or plan may be inspected by any person free of charge at all reasonable hours during a period of not less than 6 weeks from the date of the last publication of the notice; and

(d)stating that, within that period, any person may, by notice in writing to the Department, inform it of the grounds on which he objects to the making of the order.

(2) In relation to an order under Article 10 or 11, references in sub-paragraph (1) and in the following provisions of this Schedule to the land to which the order relates shall be construed as references to the road to which the order relates.

2.  The Department shall, not later than the date on which the notice referred to in paragraph 1 is last published, serve a copy thereof together with a copy of a draft of the order and of any relevant map or plan on—

(a)the district council in whose district any of the land to which the order relates is situated;

(b)in the case of an order under Article 7, every person appearing to the Department to be the owner, lessee, or occupier of any land to which the order relates;

(c)in the case of an order under Article 10, the owner of any cables, mains, sewers, pipes, wires or other apparatus placed under, in, on, over, along or across any road to which the order applies.

3.—(1) If, before the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph 1(c), the Department receives an objection from any person on whom a copy of the notice is required to be served under paragraph 2 or from any other person appearing to it to be affected, it may—

(a)cause a public local inquiry to be held; or

(b)afford to any person by whom such an objection has been made an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Department for the purpose.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 4 the Department—

(a)shall disregard any objection which is withdrawn; and

(b)may disregard any objection if it is satisfied that the objection relates exclusively to matters which can be dealt with in assessing compensation under Schedule 3.

4.  After considering—

(a)any objections duly made to the proposed order; and

(b)in a case where a public local inquiry is held under paragraph 3(1)(a) or a hearing is held under paragraph 3(1)(b), the report of the person who held that inquiry or hearing,

the Department may make the order either without modification or subject to such modifications as it thinks fit.

5.  Immediately after the order is made, the Department shall publish in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality in which the land to which the order relates is situated a notice—

(a)stating that the order has been made;

(b)specifying the land to which the order relates and stating the general effect of the order; and

(c)specifying a place in that locality where a copy of the order and of any relevant map or plan may be inspected by any person free of charge at all reasonable hours.

6.  The Department shall serve a copy of the notice referred to in paragraph 5 on every person who has duly objected to the making of the order.

7.  Any expenses incurred by the Department in exercising, in relation to an order in respect of any airport, its functions under the preceding provisions of this Schedule may be recovered from the airport operator summarily as a civil debt or in any court of competent jurisdiction.