On 20/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 20/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 20/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 01/09/1995.
16.
—(1) Where the Authority intends to make up, pave, widen, open, enlarge or otherwise improve any existing private street, the Authority may recover the costs and expenses of acquiring the land for, and of making up, widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving the private street, as the case may be, from the owners of the premises —
(a)
fronting, adjoining or abutting on the private street; and
(b)
which do not front, adjoin or abut on the private street, but access to which will be obtained through the private street or the widened, opened, enlarged or otherwise improved private street by means of another street or back-lane, and which, in the opinion of the Authority, will benefit by the making up, widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving of the private street.
(2) The Authority shall cause to be prepared —
(a)
plans and specifications of the street works;
(b)
an estimate of the costs and expenses thereof; and
(c)
a provisional apportionment of the estimated costs and expenses amongst the owners referred to in subsection (1) and the owners of such other premises (if any) as the Authority may, in accordance with subsection (3), decide to include in the provisional apportionment,
and shall serve a notice of its decision in writing upon each such owner, requiring him to execute to the satisfaction and in accordance with the directions in writing of the Authority, such street works within such period as may be specified in the notice commencing from the date of the service of the notice.
(3) In such a provisional apportionment of the costs and expenses of the street works, the apportionment of costs and expenses amongst the owners of the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on the private street or part thereof in respect of which the costs and expenses are to be incurred shall, unless the Authority otherwise decides, be apportioned according to the frontage of the respective premises; but the Authority may, if it thinks fit, decide that in settling the apportionment regard shall be had to the following considerations:
(a)
the degree of benefit to be derived by any premises from the street works; and
(b)
the amount and value of any street works already executed by the owners or occupiers of any such premises,
and the Authority may, if it thinks fit —
(i)
include any premises which do not front, adjoin or abut on the private street or part thereof but access to which is obtained from the street through another street or back-lane and which, in its opinion, will be benefited by the street works; and
(ii)
fix the sum or proportion to be charged against any such premises accordingly.
(4) The Authority may, in any estimate of the costs and expenses of street works, include such reasonable charges in respect of surveys, superintendence and publication and service of notices as it may from time to time determine.
(5) During one month from the date of the service of the notice, the plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment prepared under subsection (2) shall be open to inspection by or on behalf of —
(a)
any person upon whom the notice has been served; or
(b)
the owner of any building or holding listed in the Valuation List of the Comptroller of Property Tax for the time being in force,
at the office of the Authority, and that notice shall state —
(i)
that the aforesaid plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment are so open to inspection as aforesaid during the usual office hours until a day, not less than one month from the date of the service of the notice, upon which the Authority will consider any objection to the proposed street works or to the plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment or any amendment thereof; and
(ii)
that in default of compliance with the requirements of the Authority as stated in the notice, the Authority will itself cause the street works to be executed.
(6) The Authority may, if it thinks fit, pay the whole or any part of the costs and expenses of the street works and if it decides so to pay any part of those costs and expenses —
(a)
the provisional apportionment shall indicate the proportion of the costs and expenses which the Authority has decided to pay; and
(b)
the payment of part of the costs and expenses by the Authority may be made in such a manner as wholly to relieve the owner of any particular premises served with a notice under this section to the exclusion of other owners or to relieve him to a greater extent than other owners.
(7) The Authority may from time to time amend the plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment of any street works, but if by reason of such an amendment the estimate in respect of any private street or part thereof is increased or the provisional apportionment of the costs and expenses of the street works on any premises is increased, the notices previously served shall be withdrawn in the prescribed manner by the Authority and fresh notices based on the amended plans, specifications, estimate and apportionment or any of them shall be served by the Authority in accordance with subsection (5) and the amended plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment shall be similarly open to inspection.
(8) During the period of one month referred to in subsection (5), the owner of any premises shown in the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment as liable to be charged with any part of the costs and expenses of executing the street works may, by notice in writing duly served upon the Authority, object to the execution of the proposed street works and to the plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment or any or more of them or to any amendment thereof pursuant to subsection (7) on any one or more of the following grounds:
(a)
that the alleged private street or part thereof is not or does not form part of a street within the meaning of this Act;
(b)
that the alleged private street or part thereof is (in whole or in part) a public street;
(c)
that there has been some material informality, defect or error in or in respect of the decision, notice, plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment or amendment thereof;
(d)
that the proposed street works are insufficient or unreasonable or the costs and expenses as estimated are excessive;
(e)
that any premises ought to be excluded from or listed in the provisional apportionment;
(f)
that the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment is incorrect in respect of —
(i)
some matter of fact to be specified in the objection; or
(ii)
where the provisional apportionment is made with regard to other considerations than frontage as provided in this section, the degree of benefit derived by any person or the amount and value of any street works already executed by the owner or occupier of any premises.
(9) Objections may be made in writing and in accordance with the prescribed procedure and after valid objections have been inquired into and the persons making them have been allowed an opportunity of being heard in accordance with the prescribed procedure, the Authority may, in its discretion, confirm or amend the plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment.
(10) The plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment so confirmed or amended shall be open to inspection by the persons referred to in subsection (5) during the usual office hours at the office of the Authority and notice in writing stating that they are open to inspection shall forthwith be published in the Gazette and in such other manner as the Authority may determine.
(11) Any person who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Authority may, within 14 days of the publication of the notice under subsection (10), appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(12) If such street works —
(a)
are not commenced within 14 days from the date of such confirmation or amendment or the date on which the plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment are confirmed or amended by the Minister, as the case may be; or
(b)
having been commenced are thereafter suspended or are not completed within the period specified in the notice mentioned in subsection (2),
the Authority may, if it thinks fit, cause them to be executed and completed.
(13) Where the street works have been completed by the Authority and the costs and expenses thereof as incurred by the Authority ascertained —
(a)
the Authority shall cause a final apportionment of the costs and expenses of the street works to be made by dividing the costs and expenses in the same proportions as those in which the estimated costs and expenses were divided in the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment, as the case may be;
(b)
that final apportionment shall be conclusive for all purposes;
(c)
notice of the final apportionment shall be served upon the owners of the premises affected thereby; and
(d)
the sums apportioned thereby shall be recoverable in the manner provided in section 43.
(14) If the costs and expenses incurred in executing the street works as shown in the final apportionment exceed the estimated costs and expenses, the owner may, within 14 days from the date of the notice, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(15) Where street works have been executed to the satisfaction of the Authority under this Part in respect of a private street or part thereof, then on the requisition —
(a)
in the case of street works executed under this section — of the several owners of such of the premises listed in the final apportionment as together have an annual value of more than 50% of the total annual value of the premises so listed; or
(b)
in any other case — of the several owners of such of the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on the private street or part thereof as together have an annual value of more than 50% of the total annual value of the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on the private street or part thereof, as the case may be,
demanding that the private street or part thereof be declared a public street, the Authority shall, after consultation with the Minister, declare it to be a public street and the private street or part thereof shall thereupon become a public street and shall vest in the Government.
(16) The declaration referred to in subsection (15) shall be published in the Gazette.
(17) Where a private street or part thereof that is declared to be a public street and to be vested in the Government comprises separate lots already set aside as part of a street, the declaration shall be registered against those lots under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 157) in respect of registered land and under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 269) in respect of other land.
(18) Where a private street or part thereof that is declared to be a public street and to be vested in the Government comprises premises included in an existing lot or existing lots, the premises forming the street or part of the street shall be excised from the existing lot or lots and the declaration shall be registered against the excised portions under the provisions of the Land Titles Act in respect of registered land and under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act in respect of other land.
(19) Upon such registration, the premises forming the street shall vest in the Government free from all encumbrances and where the premises are held under a statutory land grant such vesting shall not be deemed to create a subdivision within the meaning of the State Lands Act (Cap. 314).