Malawi
Urban Areas (Public and Private Streets) Act
Chapter 23:02
- Commenced on 20 July 1956
- [This is the version of this document at 31 December 2014.]
- [Note: This version of the Act was revised and consolidated in the Fifth Revised Edition of the Laws of Malawi (L.R.O. 1/2018), by the Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice under the authority of the Revision of the Laws Act.]
Part I – General
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Urban Areas (Public and Private Streets) Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“Council” means Municipal Council or Town Council within the meaning of the Local Government (Urban Areas) Act;[Cap. 22:01]“court” means a Resident Magistrate or a magistrate of the first grade having jurisdiction in an Urban Area;“owner” means—(a)in relation to freehold property (excluding public land) the person owning such property; and(b)in relation to leasehold or other immoveable property, the person holding such property directly from the Government or from the owner of the freehold estate or from a Council as lessee or licensee,and includes—(i)any agent who receives rents or profits for any such person;(ii)any superintendent, overseer or manager of any such person in respect of any holding on which he resides as superintendent, overseer or manager;“Planning Area” means a Planning Area so declared under the Town and Country Planning Act, within which an Urban Area is included;[Cap. 23:01]“Planning Committee” means a Planning Committee appointed under the Town and Country Planning Act;[Cap. 23:01]“private street” means any street other than a public street;“private street works” means the doing in relation to a private street of any of the following things, that is to say, the levelling, paving, flagging, metaling, macadamizing, asphalting, gravelling, kerbing, channelling or lighting thereof or the making of a sewer or drain, or the making of a carriage-way or footpath whether by the doing of any of the foregoing things or otherwise;“public street” means any street declared to be a public street by a resolution passed under section 6(1) subject to any amendment by the court made under this Act and any other street declared to be a public street under any of the other provisions of this Act;“street” means any highway, road, lane, thoroughfare, footway, court, square or passage within the area of an Urban Area, used or intended to be used as a means of access to two or more premises or areas of land in different occupation, whether the public have a right of way thereover or not, and includes all channels, ditches, drains, sidewalks, bridges, culverts and other works appurtenant thereto;“Urban Area” means a Municipality or a Township within the meaning of the Local Government (Urban Areas) Act.[Cap. 22:01]3. Operation of the Act
The Minister may, from time to time, by order, apply all or any of the provisions of this Act to any Urban Area or part thereof and upon the publication of any such order the said provisions shall extend to and be in force in the Urban Area or such part thereof as may be specified in the order.4. Borrowing powers
Any Council may, for the purpose of carrying out any works under this Act and with the sanction of the Minister, raise loans on such terms and conditions as the Minister may approve.Part II – Public streets
5. Responsibility for repair and maintenance of public streets
A Council shall bear the cost of and shall be responsible for the repair and maintenance of any public street in trust to keep and maintain the same in a reasonable state of repair for the use and benefit of the general public.6. Council to declare public streets
7. Power to construct new streets and to acquire land for the purpose
A Council may make and construct new streets and may by agreement acquire land for such purpose, and may by resolution declare any such street to be a public street, giving notice thereof in accordance with section 28 (3).8. Power to close public streets temporarily
A Council may, if it deems it necessary, temporarily close any public street.9. Notice of intention to close
A Council shall, whenever practicable, give at least seven days’ notice of its intention to close temporarily, any public street by notice published in the Gazette and in a newspaper circulating in Malawi and by posting up notices in or near the street to be closed.10. Procedure for stopping up, diverting or turning public streets
11. Application for order that a public street shall cease to be repairable by Council
12. Register of public streets to be kept and amended in terms of court’s order
The Council shall keep a register of public streets and whenever, under the terms of an order of the court, a public street is stopped up, diverted or turned or ceases to be a public street repairable by the Council, the Council shall amend such register accordingly.13. Planning approval necessary before construction, stopping up, diverting, turning or. discontinuing use by public of public streets
14. Planting of trees and laying out grass margins
15. General offences
Any person who—Part III – Private street works
16. Making of private streets or widening, etc., of existing private streets
17. Conditions may be imposed by Councils and Planning Committees
18. Planning approval to be obtained
19. Approved plans, etc., to be complied with
20. Power for Council to undertake private street works
21. Appeals by persons aggrieved by resolution to do any private street works or by provisional apportionment of costs thereof
22. Power to amend proposals
The Council may, from time to time, amend the plans, sections, specifications, estimates and provisional apportionments of any private street works, but if the total amount of the estimate in respect of any street or part of a street is increased, such estimate and the provisional apportionment of the cost thereof shall be published in the manner prescribed in section 20 (7) and shall be open to inspection at a place to be notified in the Gazette and in such newspaper at all reasonable times, and copies thereof shall be served on the owners of the premises affected thereby; and objections may be made to the increase and apportionment, and, if made, shall be dealt with and determined in the like manner as objections to the original proposals.23. Apportionment of expenses of private street works and objections and appeals in connexion therewith
24. Unpaid apportionments to be a charge on the land
25. Recovery of expenses by action
If it thinks fit the Council may from time to time (in addition and without prejudice to any other remedy) recover, as a simple contract debt, by action in any court of competent jurisdiction, from the owner for the time being of any premises in respect of which any sum is due in respect of private street works, the whole or any portion of such sum, together with interest at rate not exceeding font pounds per centum per annum from the date that the final apportionment is rendered to the owner until payment thereof.26. Temporary construction of private street works
27. Incidental works
A Council may include many works to be done under this Part, with respect to any street or part of a street, any works which they think necessary for bringing the street or part of a street as regards sewerage, drainage, levels or other matters, into conformity with any other streets (whether repairable or not by the Council) including the provision of separate sewers for the reception of sewage and of surface water respectively:Provided that in the case of any private street or part of any private street, the expenses only of such works so included as shall be required to be executed so as to bring any such street or part thereof up the standard of the specification presented in the Schedule shall be apportioned among the lands fronting, adjoining, abutting on or served by such street or part thereof and shall be recoverable by the Council from the owners of such lands.28. Adoption of, private streets as public streets
29. Liability on change of ownership
30. Penalties
Any person who commits an offence against any of the provisions of this Part shall be liable to a fine of £100 or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for six months and the Council may, at the expense of such person, take such steps as may be necessary to do anything omitted to be done in contravention of this Part or to remove or restore to its original condition any work or thing so done, and such expense shall be recoverable as a civil debt.Part IV – Miscellaneous
31. Numbering of houses and naming of street
32. Owner to have bridge over drain leading to his house
If the owner or occupier of any house or premises adjoining a street by the side of which a drain has been made or excavated requires a means of access to such house or premises from such street, he shall place over such drain a bridge, platform or arch which shall be constructed in a permanent form of material and which shall in no case cover less than four feet of the length of such drain and which, where there is a sidewalk or footpath to such street, shall extend to the side of such sidewalk or footpath nearest such house or premises and the Council, where any such owner or occupier has any access to any house or premises so situated without such bridge, platform or arch, may call upon such owner or occupier forthwith to construct the same, and, if he shall fail to do so within a reasonable time, may cause the same to be done and recover the cost incurred from such owner or occupier.33. Application to Government
This Act shall bind the Government unless there is something in the subject or context inconsistent with its so doing.History of this document
20 July 1956
Commences.