Singapore legislation
Clause 19
Clause 19
Paving, etc., of private streets
(1)
Where any private street or part of a private street in the opinion of the Director requires the execution in respect of it of street works, the Director may from time to time decide with respect to such private street or part thereof to execute such street works as he considers necessary and the expenses incurred by the Director in executing such street works shall be apportioned (subject as in this section mentioned) among the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on such private street or part thereof, and any such decision may include several private streets or parts thereof or may be limited to any part or parts of a private street.
(2)
The Director shall cause to be prepared plans and specifications of the street works and an estimate of the expenses thereof and a provisional apportionment of such estimated expenses amongst the owners of the said premises and shall serve a notice of such decision in the prescribed form upon each of the owners of such premises and upon the owners of such other premises, if any, which the Director in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section decides to include in the provisional apportionment, requiring them to execute to the satisfaction and in accordance with the directions in writing of the Director, such street works within such period as may be specified in the notice commencing from the date of the service of such notice.
(3)
In such provisional apportionment of expenses of street works, the apportionment of expenses against the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on such private street or part thereof in respect of which the expenses are to be incurred shall, unless the Director otherwise decides, be apportioned according to the frontage of the respective premises; but the Director may, if he thinks fit, decide that in settling the apportionment regard shall be had to the following considerations: —
the degree of benefit to be derived by any premises from such street works; and
the amount and value of any street works already executed by the owners or occupiers of any such premises;and the Director may also, if he thinks fit, 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 his opinion will be benefited by the street works and may fix the sum or proportion to be charged against any such premises accordingly.
(4)
The Director in any estimate of the expenses of street works may include such reasonable charges in respect of surveys, superintendence and publication and service of notices as he may from time to time determine.
(5)
During one month from the date of the service of the said notice, the said plans, specifications, estimate and provisional apportionment shall be open to inspection by or on behalf of any person upon whom such notice has been served and by or on behalf of the owners 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 Director, and the said notice shall state that the aforesaid plan, specification, 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 such notice upon which the Director will consider any objections to the proposed street works or to the plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment or any amendment thereof, and shall also state that in default of compliance with the requirements of the Director as stated in the said notice, the Director will himself cause the street works to be executed.
(6)
The Government may, if it thinks fit, pay the whole or any part of the expenses of the street works and if it decides so to pay any part of such expenses, the provisional apportionment shall indicate the proportion of such expenses which the Government has decided to pay, and the payment of part of such expenses 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 such other owners or to relieve him to a greater extent than other owners.
(7)
The Director may from time to time amend the plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment for 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 cost of such street works on any premises is increased, such notices previously served shall be withdrawn in the prescribed manner by the Director and fresh notices based on the amended plan, specification, estimate and apportionment or any of them shall be served by the Director in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and the amended plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment shall be similarly open to inspection.
(8)
During the period of one month referred to in subsection (5) of this section, the owner of any premises shown in the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment as liable to be charged with any part of the expenses of executing the street works may, by notice in writing in the prescribed form duly served upon the Director, object to the execution of the proposed street works and to the plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment or any one or more of them or to any amendment thereof pursuant to subsection (7) of this section on any one or more of the following grounds: —
that the alleged private street or part thereof is not or does not form part of a street within the meaning of this Ordinance;
that the alleged private street or part thereof is (in whole or in part) a public street;
that there has been some material informality, defect or error in or in respect of the decision, notice, plan, specification, estimate or provisional apportionment or amendment thereof;
that the proposed street works are insufficient or unreasonable or that the expenses as estimated are excessive;
that any premises ought to be excluded from or listed in the provisional apportionment;
that the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment is incorrect in respect of some matter of fact to be specified in the objection or (where the provisional apportionment is made with regard to other considerations than frontage as provided in this section) in respect of 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 Director may at his discretion confirm or amend the plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment.
(10)
The plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment so confirmed or amended shall be open to inspection by the persons referred to in subsection (5) of this section during the usual office hours at the office of the Director and notice in the prescribed form stating that they are open to inspection shall forthwith be published in the Gazette and in such other manner as the Director may determine.
(11)
Any person who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Director may within fourteen days of the publication of the notice under subsection (10) of this section appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(12)
If such street works are not commenced within fourteen days from the date of such confirmation or amendment or the date on which the plan, specification, estimate and provisional apportionment are confirmed or amended by the Minister, as the case may be, or having been commenced are thereafter suspended or are not completed within the period specified in the notice mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, the Director may, if he thinks fit, cause the same to be executed and completed.
(13)
When the street works have been completed and the expenses thereof ascertained, the Director shall cause a final apportionment of the cost of such street works to be made by dividing the expenses in the same proportions as those made in which the estimated expenses were divided in the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment (as the case may be) and such final apportionment shall be conclusive for all purposes and notice of such final apportionment shall be served upon the owners of the premises affected thereby; and the sums apportioned thereby shall be recoverable in the manner provided in section 157 of this Ordinance.
(14)
If the expenses incurred in executing the street works as shown in the final apportionment shall exceed the estimated expenses as shown in the provisional apportionment or amended provisional apportionment (as the case may be) the owners of the premises affected shall not be liable to pay that part of such expenses as shown in the final apportionment which are in excess of a sum equal to the estimates shown in the said provisional apportionment plus ten per centum thereof.
(15)
Where street works have been executed to the satisfaction of the Director under this Part of this Ordinance in respect of a private street or part of a private street, not being less than thirty-six feet wide, then on the requisition —
in the case of street works executed under the provisions of 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 fifty per centum of the total annual value of the premises so listed; or
in any other case of the several owners of such of the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on such private street or part of a private street as together have an annual value of more than fifty per centum of the total annual value of the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on such private street or part of the private street as the case may be, demanding that the private street or part of the private street be declared a public street, the Minister shall in writing under his hand declare the same to be a public street and such street shall thereupon become a public street and shall vest in the Government and for ever afterwards be repaired by the Government.
(16)
Such declaration shall be published in the Gazette.
(17)
Where the street or part of the street which is declared to be a public street and to be vested in the Government, is comprised of separate lots already set aside as part of a street, the declaration shall be registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Ordinance, 1956 (Ord. 21 of 1956), in respect of registered land, and under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Ordinance (Cap. 255) in respect of other land.
(18)
Where the street or part of the street, which is declared to be a public street and to be vested in the Government, is comprised of premises included in an existing lot or existing lots, the premises forming such street or part of the street shall be excised from the existing lot or lots and the declaration shall be registered against such excised portions under the provisions of the Land Titles Ordinance, 1956 (Ord. 21 of 1956), in respect of the registered land and under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Ordinance (Cap. 255) in respect of other land.
(19)
Upon such registration the premises forming such street shall vest in the Government free from all incumbrances and where such premises are held under a Statutory Land Grant such vesting shall not be deemed to create a subdivision within the meaning of the Crown Lands Ordinance (Cap. 244).