Rights of entry
236.—(1) Any person duly authorised in writing by a council may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose—
(a)of surveying it in connection with—
(i)the preparation, revision or adoption of a local development plan relating to the land under Part 2;
(ii)the making or altering of a simplified planning zone scheme relating to the land;
(iii)any application under Part 3 or 4, or under any order or regulations made thereunder, for any permission, consent, agreement, approval or determination to be given or made in connection with that land or any other land under Part 3 or 4 or under any such order or regulations;
(iv)any proposal by the council to make, issue or serve any order or notice under Part 3 or 4, or under any order or regulations made thereunder;
(b)of ascertaining—
(i)whether any listed building on the land is being maintained in a proper state of repair;
(ii)whether any order or notice made, issued or served as mentioned in paragraph (a)(iv) in respect of the land has been complied with;
(c)of affixing a notice in accordance with section 82(1) or displaying a notice in accordance with section 150(10) or (11).
(2) Any person duly authorised in writing by the Department may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose—
(a)of surveying it in connection with—
(i)the preparation, revision or approval of a local development plan relating to the land under Part 2;
(ii)any application under Part 3 or 4, or under any order or regulations made thereunder, for any permission, consent, agreement, approval or determination to be given or made in connection with that land or any other land under Part 3 or 4 or under any such order or regulations;
(iii)any proposal by the Department to make, issue or serve any order or notice under Part 3 or 4, or under any order or regulations made thereunder, or any notice under section 202;
(b)of surveying any building on the land in connection with a proposal to include the building in, or exclude it from, a list compiled under section 80;
(c)of ascertaining—
(i)whether any listed building on the land is being maintained in a proper state of repair;
(ii)whether any order or notice made, issued or served as mentioned in paragraph (a)(iii) in respect of the land has been complied with;
(d)of displaying a notice in accordance with section 150(10) or (11) (as applied by section 151).
(3) Any member of the planning appeals commission may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying it in connection with the exercise of the functions of the commission under this Act.
(4) Any person, being an officer of the Department of Finance and Personnel or a person duly authorised in writing by the Department of the Environment or a council, may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying it, or estimating its value, in connection with—
(a)any proposal to acquire that land or any other land under this Act or any claim for compensation in respect of any such acquisition;
(b)any claim for compensation in respect of that land under any of sections 181 to 187.
(5) Any power conferred by this section to survey land shall be construed as conferring power to search and bore for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the subsoil or the presence of minerals therein, but a person shall not carry out any works authorised by virtue of this subsection unless notice of that person’s intention to do so was included in the notice required by section 237(1)(b).
(6) Where it is proposed to search or bore in pursuance of subsection (5) in a street within the meaning of the Street Works (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (NI 19)—
(a)Article 15 of that Order (notice of starting date of works), so far as it requires notice to be given to a person having apparatus in the street which is likely to be affected by the works;
(b)Article 29 of that Order (requirements to be complied with where works likely to affect another person’s apparatus in the street); and
(c)Article 42 of that Order (liability for damage or loss caused),
have effect in relation to the searching or boring as if they were street works within the meaning of that Order.