(1) All local
government land (except roads) that is owned by a council or under a council's
care, control and management at the commencement of this section (the
"commencement date") is taken to have been classified as community land
unless—
(a) the
council resolves to exclude the land from classification as community land
within three years after the commencement date; and
(b) the
land is unaffected by provisions of a reservation, dedication, trust or other
instrument that would prevent or restrict its alienation.
(2) Before the council
resolves to exclude land from classification as community land under
subsection (1)(a), it must follow the relevant steps set out in its
public consultation policy.
(3) If land is under
the care, control and management of a council but is not owned by the council,
the council cannot resolve to exclude the land from classification as
community land under subsection (1)(a) without the approval of the owner
of the land.
(4) Local government
land (other than a road) that is acquired by, or is brought under the care,
control and management of, the council after the commencement date is taken to
have been classified as community land unless—
(a) the
council resolves before it becomes local government land that it is to be
excluded from classification as community land under this section; and
(b) the
land is not affected by provisions of a reservation, dedication, trust or
other instrument that would prevent or restrict its alienation.
(4a) Land that formed
a road or part of a road that is vested in a council after the closure of the
road under the Roads (Opening and Closing) Act 1991 is taken to have
been classified as community land unless the council resolves before, or at
the time of, the making of the relevant road process order under that Act that
it is to be excluded from classification as community land under this section.
(5) A council may, by
resolution, classify local government land as community land if the land has
previously been excluded from classification as such.
(6) A council must
give notice in the Gazette of a resolution—
(a) to
exclude land from classification as community land under subsection (4);
or
(b) to
classify, as community land, land that had previously been excluded from
classification as such under subsection (5).
(7) For the purposes
of this section, local government land does not include easements or rights of
way.