Uniformity of Laws Act (Northern Ireland) 1922

General safety provisions. N.I.

1 (1) No premises shall be used for any purpose to which this Act applies—

(a) unless the occupier has furnished to the [F1 district council] in writing a statement of his name, the address of the premises, and the nature of the business there carried on:

(b) unless the premises are provided with such means of escape in case of fire as the [F1 district council] may reasonably require, and such means of escape are maintained in good condition and free from obstruction;

(c) if the premises are situated underneath premises used for residential purposes;

(d) if the premises are so situated that a fire occurring therein might interfere with the means of escape from the building of which they form part or from any adjoining building;

(e) where the premises form part of a building, unless such part either:—

(i) is separated from any other part of the building by fire-resisting partitions (including fire-resisting ceilings and floors) and fire-resisting self-closing doors; or

(ii) is so situated and constructed that a fire occurring therein is not likely to spread to other parts of the building, and its use for the purposes to which this Act applies is sanctioned in writing by the [F1 district council] and any conditions attached to such sanction are complied with;

(f) unless the regulations set out in the First Schedule to this Act are duly observed:

(g) unless any regulations are duly observed which may be made by the Ministry of Home Affairs for Northern IrelandF2 (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry” ) with respect to the use upon the premises of any cinematograph or other similar apparatus.

(2) In the case of premises used for any purpose to which this Act applies at the date of the commencement of this Act, the provisions of this section requiring the occupier to furnish a statement to the [F1 district council] shall take effect at the expiration of two months after the commencement of this Act, and the provisions of this section requiring means of escape in case of fire to be provided shall not take effect until the expiration of such period as may be reasonably necessary for enabling the occupier to comply with any requirements of the [F1 district council] in that respect.

(3) Any person aggrieved by any requirement of a [F1 district council], or the refusal of the [F1 district council] to grant any sanction, or by the conditions attached to any such sanction, may, within seven days after being notified of such requirement, refusal or conditions, appeal to a court of summary jurisdiction, provided that he has given not less than twenty-four hours notice in writing of such appeal and of the grounds thereof to the [F1 district council], and the court on any such appeal may make such order as appears to the court to be just, including any order for the payment of costs.

(4) The Ministry may by order, made in accordance with the provisions contained in the Second Schedule to this Act:—

(a) make regulations with respect to the use of any cinematograph or similar apparatus upon any premises used for any purpose to which this Act applies; and

(b) modify or add to the regulations set out in the First Schedule to this Act, and those regulations shall thereupon have effect as so modified or added to.

An order made under this section may apply either generally, or to such classes or descriptions of premises as may be mentioned in the order.

F1 SRO (NI) 1973/341

F2 Functions transf. by SRO (NI) 1973/504