Cap. 504 Art. 67Development to require permission.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this article and to the following provisions of this Part, no development shall be carried out except with development permission.

(2) For the purposes of this article, and, unless the context otherwise requires, for all other purposes in this Act, "development" means the carrying out of building, engineering, quarrying, mining or other operations for the construction, demolition or alterations in, on, over, or under any land or the sea, the placing of advertisements, or the making of any material change in use of land or building other than:

(a) maintenance operations, which affect only the interior of a building or do not materially affect the external appearance of the building: Provided that such maintenance works are not contrary to any order made under this Act in relation to the building: Provided further that maintenance operations shall not forestry (including afforestation), except where such use consists of:

(i) the erection of buildings or amounts to intensive raising of crops or animals; or

(ii) the reclamation of land for agriculture by the deposit of material on such land; or

(iii) the conversion to agricultural use of land which is not currently used for agricultural purposes; and

(c) in the case of buildings or other land that are used for a purpose of any class specified in an order made by the Authority under this Act, the use thereof for any other purpose of the same Class.

(3) For the purpose of this article:

(a) the use of a building resulting in an increase or a reduction in the number of dwelling units in which the building was previously used; or

(b) the deposit of materials on land; or

(c) the use for the display of advertisements of any external part of a building that is not normally used for the purpose, involves a material change in the use of that building or land, or part thereof, without prejudice, in the case of advertisements, to any regulations or order made under this Act with respect to their control.

(4) For the purpose of this article, development includes clearing of valleys from accumulated sediment and development in relation to the sea includes land reclamation from the sea, aquaculture and beach developments and their related uses.