Every public authority and local authority shall, in the performance of its public duties and functions in respect of matters of regional significance, adhere to the provisions of any regional planning scheme that is operative in its district:

“Provided that every local authority affected by a regional planning scheme shall have a right of appeal to the Board at any time against the regional planning scheme so far as there is or would be any conflict between that regional planning scheme and any district scheme.

The Minister shall have a right of appeal to the Board at any time so far as the regional planning scheme in his opinion conflicts with the public interest.

In determining any appeal under the foregoing provisions of this section, the Board shall have full regard to the need for co-ordination of district schemes within the region as well as for the co-ordination of works within any district scheme, and shall direct what amendments (if any) shall be made to either or both of the schemes.

The Regional Planning Authority and the Council shall, where necessary in order to comply with any directions given by the Board under subsection (3) of this section, forthwith amend their respective schemes accordingly.”

Every operative regional planning scheme shall be reviewed by the Regional Planning Authority for the region to which it relates from time to time at intervals of not more than ten years.

Every regional planning scheme which is for the time being due for review shall continue to be operative except so far as it is changed in accordance with this Act. Where any such scheme is changed by the Board on an appeal, the change shall become part of the scheme and shall be operative accordingly.”

Every district scheme, and every review of a district scheme, shall be preceded by a planning data survey of the physical, economic, social, and cultural aspects of the area to which it relates, as required by regulations made under this Act.”

If for any reason, other than to give effect to a decision of the Board or to meet objections that have been heard by the Council or a committee of the Council in accordance with section 25 of this Act, the Council wishes to vary the proposed district scheme, the Council shall publicly notify the nature of the variation and the place or places at which the scheme has been deposited for inspection.

Not later than two weeks after the date of the completion of the public notification, the Council shall send by post, to such of those persons or bodies whose names for the time being appear in the occupiers’ column of the valuation roll for the district of the Council as in the opinion of the Council are likely to be materially affected by the variation, advice as to where the scheme may be inspected and as to the rights of objection and appeal conferred by this Act:

“Provided that failure by the Council to comply with the provisions of this subsection in relation to any complainant shall not affect the validity of any district scheme or make it necessary for the Council to repeat any procedure unless the failure of the Council was deliberate and resulted in injustice to the complainant.

Every such public notification shall call for objections to be lodged at the office of the Council, and shall specify the last date on which any such objections may be received, which date shall not be earlier than six weeks after the date of the completion of the public notification.

Not later than the date of the completion of the public notification, the Council shall forward copies of the proposed variations to the Minister, the Regional Planning Authority, and every local authority having jurisdiction within the district, and to the Council for every adjoining district which has any community of interest in any matter that could be affected by the proposed variations.”

When all appeals under section 26 of this Act have been determined—

Where the boundaries of any district are altered so as to take the whole or any part of any area for which a district scheme has been prepared out of the control of the Council which prepared it,—

Where two or more Councils are united or a new Council is created, any existing draft, proposed, or operative district schemes shall be administered by the new Council which shall, unless otherwise directed by the Governor-General in the Order in Council issued under section 23 of the Local Government Commission Act 1961, forthwith proceed to prepare a new district scheme for the whole of its district.”

Application to the Council for its consent to a conditional use shall be made in accordance with regulations made under this Act notwithstanding anything to the contrary regarding procedure in the operative district scheme.

The Minister and every person who or body which claims to be affected by the application shall have the right to object to the Council against the application being granted, and to be heard by the Council when it considers the application.

After the application and all objections have been considered, the Council may allow or refuse the application; and in allowing the application may impose such conditions, restrictions, and prohibitions as it thinks fit.

Any consent given under this section shall lapse after the expiration of a period of two years from the date when the consent was given, unless the applicant, within that period, has established the use of the land or buildings to which the consent relates for the purpose for which the consent was given or, in the opinion of the Council, is continuing to make substantial progress towards establishing that use.”

Where the Council refuses to consent to any application for consent to a conditional use of any land or building, or consents to any such application subject to any conditions, restrictions, or prohibitions, the applicant for that consent may, within twenty-one days after the date on which the Council refuses its consent or within twenty-one days after the date on which the Council grants its consent subject to any such conditions, restrictions, or prohibitions, appeal to the Board against the refusal of the consent or against any of the conditions, restrictions, or prohibitions imposed by the Council in granting its consent.

Any objector may, within twenty-one days after the date on which the consent is granted by the Council, appeal to the Board against the granting of the consent.”

Any Council may, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, from time to time change any operative district scheme, or, by the substitution of another operative district scheme, cancel any operative district scheme.

Where any change is proposed in respect of a district scheme while it is due for review under section 30 of this Act, the matter shall be dealt with wholly under that section as part of the review.”

Any operative district scheme may at any time and from time to time be reviewed by the Council.

Every district scheme shall from time to time become due for review, and shall forthwith be reviewed by the Council, as soon as any provision thereof has been operative under this Act for five years without confirmation in accordance with section 30a of this Act (as inserted by section 28 of the Town and Country Planning Amendment Act 1966) and without change. Every such scheme shall remain due for review until it has been confirmed as aforesaid or until its provisions have sooner ceased to be operative or have been changed.

If at any time any district scheme is due for review and has been continuously due for review for a period of more than one year immediately preceding that time, the Minister, every person, every local authority having jurisdiction in or adjacent to the area to which the district scheme relates, every Regional Planning Authority and joint committee having jurisdiction in or adjacent to that area, and every organisation or society of persons engaged in any profession, calling, or business, or of persons associated with the promotion of any sport or recreation, or associated for any other purpose of public benefit or utility shall have the same rights to object to the scheme and to be heard in support of or opposition to objections, and to appeal, as he or it would have if the scheme had not been made operative but had been publicly notified in accordance with section 22 of this Act:

“Provided that no objection to the existing operative district scheme may be made after the date of public notification of the review of the scheme in accordance with section 22 of this Act:

“Provided also that any objection to the existing operative district scheme shall be deemed to be an objection to the proposed review of the scheme.

Where a review of the district scheme has not been publicly notified in accordance with section 22 of this Act, and the Council has failed to give a decision on any objection lodged in accordance with this section for six months after the date on which that objection is lodged, the objection shall be deemed to be disallowed, and the objector and any person who supports or opposes the objection shall have a right of appeal to the Board in accordance with sections 23 and 26 of this Act. If the Council fails for six months after allowing any such objection to incorporate in the scheme the allowed objection, the objector shall have the right to appeal to the Board to have the scheme changed accordingly.

Every district scheme which is for the time being due for review shall continue to be operative except so far as it is cancelled or changed by the Council in accordance with this Act or amended by the Board. Where any such scheme is amended by the Board, the amendment shall become part of the scheme and shall be operative accordingly.”

Where the Council desires to change or review an operative district scheme under section 29 or section 30 of this Act, it shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, follow the procedure specified for preparation, recommendation, and approval of a district scheme, commencing at the point where (under section 21 of this Act) the scheme is ready for recommendation by resolution of the Council.

For the purpose of making any change or review, the Council shall publicly notify:

Every public work for which the Minister or any local authority having jurisdiction within the district has financial responsibility and requires provision to be made at that time shall be provided for to his or its satisfaction.

Subsections (5) and (6) of section 21 of this Act and subsection (2) of section 22 of this Act shall not apply to any change or review to which this section applies, but, in addition to those provisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder which are otherwise applicable by virtue of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the following provisions shall apply to any such change or review:

Where action is being taken towards confirmation of an existing operative district scheme without change, a memorandum to that effect signed by the Clerk of the Council may be embodied in any notice of the scheme, or submitted or supplied to any person or body, in place of a statement of the scheme or copy of the scheme that would otherwise be required by this Act to be embodied in the notice or submitted or supplied to that person or body.

Where action is being taken towards confirmation of an existing operative district scheme with any change, or towards the changing of an operative district scheme which is not due for review, notice of details of the changes proposed to be made in the existing operative district scheme may be given in place of notice of the scheme, or submitted or supplied instead of submitting or supplying copies of the scheme, whenever that would otherwise be required under the provisions of this Act.

Particulars of every confirmation of, and of all changes made to, any district scheme shall be endorsed on or included in the copy of the scheme which is available for convenient public inspection at the office of the Council, and written notice of the confirmation or of the details of the changes shall be lodged at the places where, and with the officials with whom, the scheme is required to be lodged under subsection (3) of section 28 of this Act.”

Where any Council has not complied with the requirement of this Act to provide by the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seventy-one, an operative district scheme in respect of all land within its district, the Minister shall take such steps as he may consider necessary to have such a district scheme made operative as quickly as possible, and for that purpose may employ planning consultants and such other persons as may be required.

When the Minister has caused the district scheme to be prepared, it shall be submitted to the Council for approval. The Minister may take all or any of the steps prescribed by this Act and any regulations under this Act to enable a scheme to be approved; and if the Council fails or neglects to approve the scheme, the Minister may declare it to be approved and publicly notify the approval with the like effect as if he were the Council.

All costs, charges, and expenses incurred by the Minister in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by or under this section shall be recoverable from the Council as a debt due to the Crown or may be deducted from any money payable by the Crown to the Council.”

Land designated for an existing public work (other than a highway) or for a proposed public work, and land designated for any other existing or proposed purpose in a draft district scheme shall be zoned in that district scheme; and land which is so designated in a proposed or an operative district scheme, if not already zoned, shall be zoned not later than at the next five-yearly review of that scheme; but in either case the zoning shall not have effect in respect of the construction, execution, or operation of the public work designated.

Where any land designated for an existing or proposed public work is not zoned, and the Minister, local authority, or Council having financial responsibility for the public work certifies that the land is not required for the existing or proposed public work for which the land is designated, the land no longer so required shall, unless it is required for some other existing or proposed public work, be included in such zone as the Council shall determine.

Particulars of any such determination shall be publicly notified by the Council, which shall serve such particulars on the owners and occupiers of the land no longer so required and on the occupiers of all property in the vicinity who in the opinion of the Council may be affected by the zoning.

The owners and occupiers of the land no longer so required, and every person who claims to be affected by the zoning under subsection (2) of this section, may appeal to the Board against the determination of the Council within twenty-one days after the date of the completion of the public notification of the determination of the zoning.

Where any land is designated in an operative district scheme for a proposed public work, the subdivision of that land or the carrying out of any work thereon (including the making of any structure or excavation), whether public or private, shall not be allowed without the consent of the Minister, local authority, or Council having financial responsibility for the proposed public work. Any such consent may be issued subject to any conditions that the Minister, local authority, or Council having financial responsibility as aforesaid may think fit to impose.

Where any land is designated in an operative district scheme for any purpose other than a public work or a proposed public work, the subdivision of that land or the carrying out of any work thereon (including the making of any structure or excavation) or the use of that land for any other purpose which is inconsistent with the designated purpose shall, in the absence of anything to the contrary in the district scheme, be deemed to be a conditional use of the land.”

The provisions of any Act as to the minimum width of roads and streets giving access to land that is sold or subdivided into allotments for the purpose of sale shall be deemed not to be contravened if they are of the minimum width specified in an operative district scheme; and accordingly an owner may sell any part of his land or subdivide his land for the purpose of sale without having to comply with any conditions (other than conditions as to building lines) imposed by any such provisions if the land being sold or each lot in the subdivision has a frontage to any road or street having such a minimum width:

“Provided that no such road or street shall be of less width than forty feet.

Any district scheme may provide for the cancellation, as from the time when the district scheme becomes operative and with or without substitution of any provision under this Act, of any condition with respect to building line or any similar condition or restriction imposed under any Act; and the title to any land affected shall be noted accordingly by the District Land Registrar on application by the Council or by any person having an estate or interest in the land affected.”

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33 of this Act, the Minister, any local authority or public authority, or the owner or occupier of the land concerned, may apply to the Council in accordance with this section and with regulations made under this Act to grant an exception to any provision of an operative district scheme or a proposed district scheme by consenting to a specified departure.

The Council may consent to such a specified departure only where—

The consent of the Council hereunder may be granted unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Council thinks fit.

In the granting or refusal of any consent to a specified departure, the public interest shall be the paramount consideration.

The Minister, and every Regional Planning Authority and local authority having jurisdiction in or adjacent to the area to which the application for consent to the departure relates, and every person who or body that claims to be affected by the application, shall have the right to object to the Council against the application being granted and to be heard by the Council when it considers the application.

The applicant and the Minister and any person, authority, or body who or that objected to the Council against the application for consent to the specified departure may, within twenty-one days after the date on which the Council consents to or refuses to grant the departure, appeal to the Board against that decision.

In deciding any appeal under this section, the Board shall observe the principles specified in subsection (2) of this section, unless for reasons to be specified by the Board some dispensation from those principles is considered by the Board to be warranted in the public interest.”

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 63 of the Municipal Corporations Act 1954 and section 71 of the Counties Act 1956:

The procedure for the institution, hearing, and determination of objections and applications shall be in accordance with regulations under this Act, and, in the absence of any such regulations or so far as any such regulations do not extend, the Council or its committee shall determine the procedure.”

Every Council shall keep at the office of the Council—

The public shall have the right to inspect, during ordinary office hours, without fee, the documents referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

Every Council shall, without delay, send to the Branch Manager of the Valuation Department in whose district land affected by the district scheme is situated a copy of all variations, changes, amendments, departures, requirements, conditional uses, and changes of use, made, granted, or consented to under this Act.”

Where any Magistrate is satisfied on an application in writing made on oath that there is reasonable cause to believe that there may be grounds for the exercise of the powers of any Council under section 34a of this Act (which was inserted by section 21 of the Town and Country Planning Amendment Act 1957), or that any person is committing an offence against this Act in respect of any land or building, the Magistrate may, by warrant under his hand, authorise an officer of the Council named in the warrant, together (where the warrant provides) with any constable, to enter and search the land and buildings, if necessary by force, at such time or times in the day or night as are mentioned in the warrant. Every such warrant shall continue in force until the purpose for which it was granted has been satisfied.”

Every person commits an offence against this Act who fails to comply with or acts in contravention of any condition, restriction, obligation, prohibition, or covenant which has been imposed by the Board or the Council in exercising any power conferred by this Act, or who (before the expiry of the time provided by this Act for the lodging of any appeal) does any act or thing against the doing of which an appeal to the Board could be lodged, or who (before an appeal which has been lodged with the Board has been decided or withdrawn) does any act or thing the subject of that appeal.”

Every person who commits an offence against this Act is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and if the offence is a continuing one to a further fine not exceeding five pounds for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues.”

The period during which each stage of development is to be undertaken.”

The designation of land for public works or for proposed public works differentiating between Government and local works.”

Control of development in areas containing earthquake faults or land likely to be affected by geothermal activity, flooding, erosion, land slip, and subsidence, and other special areas.”