(1)Where work for the improvement of any land subject to common rights of pasture has been done by the Minister or the Committee in the exercise of powers conferred by or under Defence Regulations, whether or not possession of the land has been taken in the exercise of the said powers, the expenses reasonably incurred in connection with the work may, in accordance with the provisions of this section, be recovered from the persons who are enjoying (subject to any restriction imposed on the exercise of the said powers) any rights of pasture over the land, whether common rights or other rights, and those expenses may be recovered from the said persons in such proportions as appear to the Minister to be just having regard to the extent to which the said rights are respectively enjoyed by them.
(2)No sum shall be recoverable from any such person under this section unless a notice in writing requiring payment thereof is served on that person by the Minister within one year from the completion of the work in question, and the notice shall specify the sum which the person on whom it is served is required to pay, and the said sum shall be recoverable at the expiration of three months from the date of the service thereof, and shall, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be recoverable by the Minister summarily as a civil debt.
(3)Nothing in this section shall apply to land of which possession has been taken by the Minister or the Committee in the exercise of the powers aforesaid for the purpose of cultivating the land as arable land.