Part 4 Closing of public roads
Division 1 Closing of public roads by Minister
33 Proposal to close public road
(1) The Minister may, whether or not on an application under section 34, propose the closing of a public road other than a freeway.(2) The RTA may propose the closing of a freeway.
34 Applications for closing of public road
(1) An application for the closing of a public road (other than a freeway) may be made:(a) in the case of a Crown road, by any person, and(b) in the case of any other public road, by the roads authority for the road or by any other public authority.(2) An application may be transferred, in accordance with the regulations:(a) in the case of a Crown road, to any person, and(b) in the case of any other public road, to the roads authority for the road or to any other public authority.(3) The Minister may from time to time, by notice in writing served on an applicant, require the applicant to lodge with the Minister:(a) any fee required to cover the cost of processing the application, and(b) any sum of money necessary to defray a cost incurred by the Minister or any other person with respect to the proposed closing of the road, and(c) any further information relevant to the application.(4) Such a notice may be served either before or during the consideration of the application.(5) An application is taken to have been abandoned if any requirement of the notice is not complied with within the period specified in the notice.
35 Publication of proposal to close public road
(1) The Minister (or, in the case of the proposed closing of a freeway, the RTA) must cause notice of the proposed closing of a public road to be published in a local newspaper.(2) The notice:(a) must identify the road that is proposed to be closed, and(b) must state that any person is entitled to make submissions to the Minister (or, in the case of the proposed closing of a freeway, to the RTA) with respect to the closing of the road, and(c) must indicate the manner in which, and the period (being at least 28 days) within which, any such submission should be made.
Any person may make submissions to the Minister (or, in the case of the proposed closing of a freeway, to the RTA) with respect to the closing of the road.
(1) After considering any submissions that have been duly made with respect to the proposal, the Minister (or, in the case of the proposed closing of a freeway, the RTA) may, by notice published in the Gazette, close the public road concerned.(2) However, a public road may not be closed:(a) in the case of a classified road—unless the RTA consents to the closure of the road, or(b) in the case of a road owned by a council—unless the council consents to the closure of the road, or(c) in the case of a classified road that is owned by a council—unless both the RTA and the council consent to the closure.
38 Effect of notice of closure
(1) On publication of the notice closing the public road concerned:(a) the road ceases to be a public road, and(b) the rights of passage and access that previously existed in relation to the road are extinguished.(2) The land comprising a former road:(a) in the case of a freeway, remains vested in the RTA, and(b) in the case of a public road that was previously vested in a council (other than a public road in respect of which no construction has ever taken place), remains vested in the council, and(c) in any other case, becomes (or, if previously vested in the Crown, remains) vested in the Crown as Crown land.
Division 2 Closing of temporary public roads
39 Roads authority may close temporary public road
(1) A roads authority may, by notice published in the Gazette, close a temporary public road if, and only if, the road does not give access to an isolated road.(2) On the publication of the notice:(a) the temporary public road ceases to be a public road, and(b) the rights of passage and access that previously existed in relation to the road are extinguished.
40 Land to be transferred to original subdivider etc
(1) A roads authority that closes a temporary public road must take reasonable steps to notify the original subdivider, or the original subdivider’s successor in title, of the fact of the closing of the temporary public road and of that person’s right to the ownership of the land on which it was situated.(2) At any time within 5 years after the road is closed, the original subdivider, or the original subdivider’s successor in title, may apply to the roads authority to become the owner of the land on which the road was situated.(3) If no application is made within 5 years after the road is closed or if such an application is made but is rejected or withdrawn, the rights of the original subdivider, and of each of the original subdivider’s successors in title, cease.(4) The roads authority must convey or transfer the land to an applicant if satisfied that the applicant is the original subdivider or the original subdivider’s successor in title.(5) No stamp duty is payable under the Stamp Duties Act 1920 in respect of the conveyance or transfer of the land and no fee is payable for the registration or recording under any Act of the conveyance or transfer of the land.(6) In this section, original subdivider, in relation to a temporary public road, means the person who owned the land comprised in the temporary public road immediately before the land was subdivided to create the temporary public road.
Division 3 Closing of public roads by compulsory acquisition
41 Compulsory acquisition of land operates to close public road
A public road that is compulsorily acquired under this or any other Act or law ceases to be a public road as a consequence of its compulsory acquisition.
42 Disposal of Crown land arising from closure of public road
(1) Crown land forming part of a former public road may not be dealt with otherwise than under the Crown Lands Acts.(2) The provisions of:(a) section 35 of the Crown Lands Act 1989 (Assessment of land), and(b) Part 3 of that Act (Land assessment),do not apply to the sale or lease of the land if it is sold or leased to a public authority or to an owner or lessee of land adjoining the former public road.
43 Disposal of land comprising former public road owned by council
(1) This section applies to land vested in a council and forming part of a former public road.(2) Land to which this section applies is operational land for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1993 unless, before the land becomes vested in the council, the council resolves that it is to be community land, in which case the land is community land.(3) If the land is disposed of by sale, the proceeds of sale (less the costs of the sale) are to be paid to the council.(4) Money received by a council from the proceeds of sale of the land is not to be used by the council except for acquiring land for public roads or for carrying out road work on public roads.
44 Land of former public road may be given in compensation
Land forming part of a former public road may be given, by or with the consent of the person in whom it is vested, in compensation for other land acquired for the purposes of this Act.
45 Transfer of land following variation or revocation of road widening order
(1) This section applies to land that is owned by a council as a result of:(a) some other roads authority having made a road widening order under Division 2 of Part 3, and(b) the land having been acquired under Division 3 of Part 12, and(c) the land having become part of a public road, and the council having become the owner of the land, by operation of section 14.(2) If land to which this section applies ceases to be subject to the road widening order because of the variation or revocation of the order, the land ceases to be part of the public road.(3) The roads authority that made the road widening order may, by the same order as that by which the road widening order is varied or revoked or by a subsequent order published in the Gazette, declare that it acquires the land under this section.(4) The declaration operates to transfer the land from the council concerned to the roads authority.