Section 2: Interpretation

2. Interpretation (1) In this Act— “action area plan” means a development plan referred to in section 14; “advertisement” includes a sign, notice, device or representation, in the nature of an advertisement, visible from any public place or public reserve or from any navigable water; “advertising structure” means a structure used or intended to be used principally for the display of an advertisement; “authorised officer” means a person authorised by the permit authority under section 66; “building” includes— (a) part of a building; [Issue 6] P11 – 2 Revised Laws of Mauritius (b) a manufactured home or part of a manufactured home, a movable dwelling, or a movable structure; and (c) a structure, part of a structure or a temporary structure; “building work” means any physical activity involved in the erection of a building; “coastal frontage land” means that land— (a) the breadth of which shall be reckoned from the line of the seashore which is reached by high water at spring tide, and shall never be less than 81 metres and 21 centimetres; and (b) the boundary of which shall, as far as the locality admits, be parallel to the lines of the coast considered as a whole and without regard to its small irregularities; “commencement of development”, in relation to— (a) the erection of a building, the morcellement of land, or the carrying out of a work, means the physical commencement of building, engineering or construction work relating to the building, morcellement or work on the land to which the development permit applies before the date on which the development permit would otherwise lapse; (b) the use of any land, building or work the subject of a development permit, means the actual commencement of the use before the date on which the development permit would otherwise lapse; “Commission” means the National Planning and Development Commission established under section 6; “completion notice” means a completion notice served under section 33 (2); “development”— (a) means the carrying out of any building, engineering, mining, or other works or operations in, on, under or over land, or the making of any material change to the use of land or to any building or morcellement; (b) includes— (i) use of land; (ii) morcellement; (iii) the erection of a building; (iv) the carrying out of a work; (v) the demolition of a building or work; (vi) any other act, matter or thing that is controlled by a planning instrument; “development permit”— (a) means a permit granted under section 30; P11 – 3 [Issue 5] Planning and Development Act (b) includes a permit to do any act, matter or thing that is controlled by a planning instrument or for which a development permit is expressly required by or under this Act; “development plan” means a local plan, an action area plan or a subject plan; “Director” means the Director of Environment appointed under section 8 (2) of the Environment Protection Act; “EIA” and “preliminary environmental report” have the same meaning as in the Environment Protection Act; “engineering works” includes the formation or laying out of means of access to roads and the erection, construction and laying of pipes and electrical and telecommunication lines and cables above, on or under grounds; “exempt development” means development referred to in section 23; “fire safety” means provision for— (a) the safety of persons in the event of fire; (b) the prevention of fire; (c) the detection of fire; (d) the suppression of fire; or (e) the prevention nvironment Protection Act; “engineering works” includes the formation or laying out of means of access to roads and the erection, construction and laying of pipes and electrical and telecommunication lines and cables above, on or under grounds; “exempt development” means development referred to in section 23; “fire safety” means provision for— (a) the safety of persons in the event of fire; (b) the prevention of fire; (c) the detection of fire; (d) the suppression of fire; or (e) the prevention of the spread of fire; “international organisation” means an international organisation established under an international agreement to which Mauritius is or intends to be a party; “land” includes— (a) the sea or an arm of the sea; (b) a bay, inlet, lagoon, lake or body of water, whether inland or not and whether tidal or non-tidal; (c) a river, stream or watercourse, whether tidal or non-tidal; and (d) a building erected on the land; “local authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act; “local plan” means a development plan referred to in section 14; “local planning area” means— (a) the area for which a development plan is being prepared; and (b) where a development plan has been approved, the area to which it applies; “make safe notice” means a notice issued by a permit authority under section 33 (5); [Issue 5] P11 – 4 Revised Laws of Mauritius “Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of planning and development of land is assigned; “morcellement” means the division of land into 2 or more plots; “morcellement certificate” means a certificate referred to in section 46; “morcellement work” means any physical activity authorised to be carried out under the conditions of a development permit authorising the division of land, as referred to in section 46 (2) (b); “National Development Strategy” means the National Development Strategy adopted under section 12; “occupier” includes a tenant or other lawful occupant of premises, not being the owner; “owner”, in relation to any land, includes the owner of the land or the owner of the building found on the land; “parastatal organisation” means any corporate body or association funded in whole, or at least as to 51 per cent in part, from funds derived from taxation, grants or loans from Government or external public financial sources, whether that corporate body or association is required to meet its expenditure from income derived from its activities or is subsidised in whole or in part by public funds; “permit application” means an application for a development permit; “permit authority” means— (a) in the case of an application for a development permit for development other than State-significant development, a local authority; and (b) in the case of an application for a development permit for Statesignificant development, the Minister; “planning agreement” means an agreement provided for in section 35; “planning authority” means the Minister or a local authority, as the case may be; “planning instrument” means a document created under this Act, including a National Development Strategy, planning policy guidance, simplified planning zone scheme and a development plan; “planning policy guidance” means the planning policy guidance issued under section 13; “premises” means— (a) a building of any description or any part of it and the appurtenances to it; (b) a manufactured home, movable dwelling and associated structure; P11 – 5 [Issue 5] Planning and Development e case may be; “planning instrument” means a document created under this Act, including a National Development Strategy, planning policy guidance, simplified planning zone scheme and a development plan; “planning policy guidance” means the planning policy guidance issued under section 13; “premises” means— (a) a building of any description or any part of it and the appurtenances to it; (b) a manufactured home, movable dwelling and associated structure; P11 – 5 [Issue 5] Planning and Development Act (c) land, whether built on or not; (d) a tent; (e) a swimming pool; or (f) a ship or vessel of any description, including a houseboat; “public utility services” includes services for the purpose of transport and telecommunications, for the supply of electricity, gas, water and the disposal of sewage; “State-significant development” means any development prescribed as State-significant development pursuant to section 24; “stop development notice” means a notice issued under section 50; “subject plan” means a development plan referred to in section 14; “Tribunal” has the same meaning as in the Environment and Land Use Appeal Tribunal Act. (2) A reference in this Act to— (a) the use of land includes reference to a change of building use; (b) the erection of a building includes reference to— (i) the rebuilding of, the making of alterations to, or the enlargement or extension of, a building; (ii) the placing or relocating of a building on land; (iii) enclosing a public place in connection with the construction of a building; (iv) erecting an advertising structure in, on or over a public road or public place; or (v) extending a balcony, awning, sunshade or similar structure or an essential service pipe beyond the alignment of a public road or over a public place; (c) the carrying out of a work includes reference to— (i) the rebuilding of, the making of alterations to, or the enlargement or extension of, a building work; or (ii) enclosing a public place in connection with the carrying out of a work; (d) a work includes reference to any physical activity in relation to land that is specified by regulations to be a work for the purposes of this Act but does not include a reference to any activity that is specified by regulations not to be a work for the purposes of this Act; (e) the demolition of a building or work includes reference to enclosing a public place in connection with the demolition of a building or work; [Issue 5] P11 – 6 Revised Laws of Mauritius (f) the morcellement of land includes a division of land by— (i) conveyance, transfer or partition; or (ii) any agreement, dealing, plan or instrument rendering different parts of the land available for separate occupation, use or disposition; (g) the carrying out of development includes reference to the use of land or a building, the morcellement of land, the erection of a building, the carrying out of a work, the demolition of a building or work or the doing of any other act, matter or thing that is controlled by a planning instrument. (3) A reference in this Act to an original document includes a copy of the document which is kept in electronic form. (4) Reference to a local authority means reference to the local authority which has jurisdiction over the area in which the proposed development will take place. [S. 2 amended by s. 165 (13) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011; s. 8 (3) of Act 5 of 2012 w.e.f. 1 October 2012.] trolled by a planning instrument. (3) A reference in this Act to an original document includes a copy of the document which is kept in electronic form. (4) Reference to a local authority means reference to the local authority which has jurisdiction over the area in which the proposed development will take place. [S. 2 amended by s. 165 (13) of Act 36 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011; s. 8 (3) of Act 5 of 2012 w.e.f. 1 October 2012.]