(1) Subject to this
section, a local government may request the Minister to reserve under
section 41 any Crown land within its district described in a plan of survey or
sketch plan for the purpose of passage through that land by —
(a)
pedestrians; and
(b)
vehicles used by the holders of the freehold in, and occupiers of, land
adjoining that land; and
(c)
other vehicles permitted access to that land under local laws made under the
Local Government Act 1995 ,
and for any other
compatible purpose.
(2) Before making a
request under subsection (1), a local government must —
(a)
advertise the purpose and details of the request in the prescribed manner; and
(b) send
copies of that advertisement to the holders of the freehold in, and occupiers
of, land adjoining the land in question, to suppliers of public utility
services on the land in question and to the Planning Commission,
and specify in that
advertisement a period of not less than 35 days from the day of that
advertisement during which submissions relating to the request may be lodged
with the local government.
(3) After the expiry
of the period referred to in subsection (2), the local government must send to
the Minister its request, together with copies of any submissions lodged with
it during that period and its comments on those submissions.
(4) The Minister may,
after receiving and considering a request and any accompanying submissions and
comments sent to the Minister under subsection (3) —
(a) by
order —
(i)
grant the request; and
(ii)
place the care, control and management of the mall
reserve with the relevant local government or a State instrumentality;
or
(b)
direct the relevant local government to reconsider the request, having regard
to such matters as the Minister thinks fit to mention in that direction; or
(c)
refuse the request.
(5) On the
registration of an order made under subsection (4)(a) —
(a) any
road within the mall reserve is closed and section 58(6) applies to any such
road as if that road had been closed under section 58; and
(b) the
Minister may by order confer on the management body of the relevant mall
reserve power to grant a lease or licence over, or to mortgage, the whole or
any part of that mall reserve for the purpose referred to in subsection (1),
and a person leasing land from a management body on which that power has been
conferred may, if that lease so provides, sublease the whole or any part of
the land so leased for that purpose.
(6) An order made
under subsection (4)(a) or (5)(b) does not create any interest in Crown land
in the relevant mall reserve in favour of the management body of that mall
reserve.
(7) For the purposes
of —
(a)
obtaining access to land adjoining a mall reserve; or
(b)
installing, maintaining or removing public utility services within a mall
reserve,
the land within the
mall reserve is to be treated as if it were a road.
[Section 59 amended: No. 4 of 2023 s. 92.]