Office of Public Sector Information
PART 2 continued
(9) Where subsection (8) above applies, the council may by notice in writing, specifying the offence and the provision of this section to which the notice relates, require—
(a) the registered keeper of the vehicle to give them such information as they may require as to the identity of the person responsible;
(b) any other person to give them any information which it is in that person’s power to give and which may lead to the identification of the person responsible.
(10) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he fails to comply with a requirement of a notice under subsection (9) above or knowingly or recklessly gives false information in relation to the notice.
(11) In any proceedings for failing to comply with such a requirement brought against the registered keeper of the vehicle it shall be a defence if he shows to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained who was the person responsible.
(12) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (10) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(13) Where on summary trial of an information for an offence referred to in subsection (10) above—
(a) it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, on oath or in manner prescribed by rules made under section 144 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43), that a requirement under subsection (9) above to give information as to the identity of the person responsible on the particular occasion to which the information relates has been served on the accused; and
(b) a written statement that the accused was the person responsible on that occasion is produced to the court; and
(c) the statement purports to be signed by the accused,
the court may accept that statement as evidence that the accused was the person responsible.
(14) In this section—
(a) an “amenity site” means a place provided by a council in compliance with a duty to provide places where refuse may be deposited, by virtue of section 1 of the 1978 Act;
(b) “local authority” means a borough council, a district council, or (in the case of a county in which there are no district councils) a county council;
(c) “registered keeper” in respect of a vehicle at any time means the person in whose name the vehicle was at that time registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (c. 22).
(1) Section 3(2) (requirement to give notice to occupier) of the 1978 Act does not apply where the vehicle is abandoned on any relevant land in Greater London.
(2) This section is without prejudice to section 3(2A) of the 1978 Act (no requirement to give notice to occupier in the case of vehicle abandoned on a road).
(3) In this section, “relevant land” means land to which the public has access, and does not include any—
(a) land within the curtilage of a dwelling;
(b) driveway giving access to a dwelling;
(c) fuel or field garden allotment within the meaning of section 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (c. 67).
(1) Section 4 (disposal of abandoned vehicles) of the 1978 Act shall have effect in the area of a borough council in accordance with this section.
(2) For subsection (5), there is substituted—
“(5) The local authority shall permit a person to remove a vehicle from their custody before it is disposed of by the local authority in pursuance of this section, if that person—
(a) satisfies the authority that—
(i) he is its owner; and
(ii) either of subsections (5A) or (5B) below applies; and
(iii) he is insured to drive the vehicle; and
(b) gives a bond in the prescribed sum to the authority in the case—
(i) where no current licence is displayed on the vehicle; or
(ii) where no test certificate is shown to the authority, in the case where section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) (obligatory test certificates) applies to the vehicle; and
(c) pays to the authority such sums in respect of its removal and storage as may be prescribed.
(5A) This subsection applies if the person in question has not been offered the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty under section 2A above.
(5B) This subsection applies if the person in question has been offered the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty under section 2A above and—
(a) he has paid it; or
(b) he has not paid it and the period mentioned in section 2A(2)(a) above has not expired; or
(c) he has not paid it and the period within which proceedings may be instituted for the offence in question has expired and no such proceedings have been issued;
(d) he has not paid it and proceedings for the offence have been instituted but not determined.
(5C) A bond under subsection (5)(b) above shall be repaid by the authority to the person who gave it once the authority is satisfied that a current licence has been obtained and can be displayed on the vehicle, or a test certificate has been issued in respect of the vehicle, as the case may be.
(5D) In subsection (5)(b) “prescribed sum” means such sum as may be prescribed by a joint committee established under section 101(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) and consisting of at least one representative from each London borough council.”.
(1) Subject to section 30 (designation procedure for enforcement action zones) of this Act, a borough council (or two or more borough councils acting jointly) may designate an area of land in which, in their opinion, it is expedient that enhanced environmental crime enforcement action should be enabled.
(2) An area designated under this section shall be known as an enforcement action zone and in this section and the said section 30 the council or councils designating the zone shall be known as the “designating authority”.
(3) The area designated under this section may comprise two or more parcels of land which—
(a) need not be contiguous; and
(b) need not be in the area of the same borough council.
(4) In deciding whether to designate any area of land, the designating authority shall have regard to such matters as they think fit.
(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) above, among the matters to which the designating authority may have regard in deciding whether to include a particular area of land in an order under this section, are—
(a) the level of environmental crime in the area;
(b) the nature of use of land in the area;
(c) the location of schools, playgrounds, recreation grounds, parks and other open spaces in the area;
(d) the living conditions of those who live in the area and the social conditions and general environment of the area.
(6) A designating authority may by resolution bring to an end a designation under this section.
(7) In this section, “environmental crime” means criminal activity which is related to the degradation of the amenity of an area.
(1) Before designating any area under section 29 (enforcement action zones) of this Act, the designating authority shall publish, or cause to be published, in at least one local newspaper circulating in the locality, a notice that such a proposal has been made, naming a place or places in the locality where a map or maps defining the area concerned may be inspected at all reasonable hours.
(2) Any notice under subsection (1) above shall state that any objection to the proposal may be made to the proper officer of any one of the borough councils of whom the designating authority is comprised, in writing within such period (not being less than 21 days from the date when the notice was given), as is specified in the notice.
(3) The designating authority shall not designate an area under this section until after the expiry of the specified period.
(4) In determining whether to designate an area under this section, the authority—
(a) shall take into account any objections made in accordance with subsection (2) above;
(b) may modify the proposal if—
(i) they have notified, in writing, any person who has made an objection or representation to them of their intention and their reasons for it and has given them a reasonable opportunity to respond; and
(ii) the intended modification does not extend the area of land specified in the proposal.
(5) Where the authority designates an area under this section, they shall notify any person who has made an objection in accordance with subsection (2) above.
(6) The designation shall not come into effect until the approval of the Secretary of State has been obtained.
(7) Any approval given by the Secretary of State under subsection (6) above—
(a) shall not be given until the designating authority has notified the Secretary of State that they have designated the area in accordance with this section;
(b) shall be given in writing to the designating authority; and
(c) may require the designating authority to make such modifications to the designation as he thinks appropriate.
(8) The designating authority shall comply with any requirements made under subsection (7)(c) above.
(9) Notice of the coming into effect of the designation of a particular area shall be published by the authority in at least one local newspaper circulating in the locality and on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, and such notice shall—
(a) contain a full statement of the effect of the designation;
(b) describe any modifications made in accordance with any requirements made under subsection (7)(c) above;
(c) name a place or places in the locality where a copy of the designation and of a map defining the area concerned may be seen at all reasonable hours; and
(d) specify a date when the designation shall come into effect, being at least 14 and not more than 28 days after the publication of the notice in the London Gazette.
(10) A designation shall come into effect on the date specified in the notice given under subsection (9) above.
(1) If an enforcement action zone is established in an area, the enactments set out in the first column in Part 1 of the table in Schedule 2 to this Act shall as respects offences committed in the zone apply and have effect as if amended in accordance with the second column of that Part of that table.
(2) The enactments set out in the first column in Part 2 of the table in the said Schedule 2 shall apply and have effect in a borough as if amended in accordance with the second column of that Part of that table.
(1) In section 215 of the Planning Act (power to require proper maintenance of land) as it applies in Greater London, “the condition of land” includes the condition of vegetation which is growing on or overhanging the land in question.
(2) In section 217 of the Planning Act (appeal to magistrates' court against section 215 notice), subsection (1)(b) shall not apply in Greater London in respect of a notice so far as it relates to the condition of vegetation which is growing on or overhanging land.
London Local Authorities Act 2007