The Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

[F1Fixed penalty notices for offences under Articles 21 and 22N.I.

22A.—(1) This Article applies where on any occasion an authorised officer of a district council has reason to believe that a person has committed an offence under Article 21 or 22 in the district of that council.

(2) The authorised officer may give that person a notice offering him the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for the offence by payment of a fixed penalty to the council.

(3) Where a person is given a notice under this Article in respect of an offence—

(a)no proceedings may be instituted for that offence before the expiration of the period of 14 days following the date of the notice; and

(b)he may not be convicted of that offence if he pays the fixed penalty before the expiration of that period.

(4) A notice under this Article must give such particulars of the circumstances alleged to constitute the offence as are necessary for giving reasonable information of the offence.

(5) A notice under this Article must also state—

(a)the period during which, by virtue of paragraph (3), proceedings will not be taken for the offence;

(b)the amount of the fixed penalty; and

(c)the person to whom and the address at which the fixed penalty may be paid.

(6) Without prejudice to payment by any other method, payment of the fixed penalty may be made by pre-paying and posting a letter containing the amount of the penalty to the person mentioned in paragraph (5)(c) at the address so mentioned.

(7) Where a letter is sent in accordance with paragraph (6) payment is to be regarded as having been made at the time at which that letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.

(8) The form of a notice under this Article is to be such as the Department may by order prescribe.

(9) In any proceedings a certificate which—

(a)purports to be signed on behalf of the chief finance officer of the council, and

(b)states that payment of a fixed penalty was or was not received by a date specified in the certificate,

is evidence of the facts stated.

(10) In this Article—

“authorised officer”, in relation to a council, means—

(a)

an employee of the council who is authorised in writing by the council for the purposes of giving notices under this Article;

(b)

any person who, in pursuance of arrangements made with the council, has the function of giving such notices and is authorised in writing by the council to perform that function;

(c)

any employee of such a person who is authorised in writing by the council for the purpose of giving such notices;

“chief finance officer”, in relation to a council, means the person having responsibility for the financial affairs of the council.]