S.L. 549.44 Art. 17Power to make conservation orders.

(1) The competent authority may make in respect of any site, within a protected site, a conservation order to contribute towards ensuring the protection of biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora or fauna and to maintain and restore natural habitats and species of wild flora and fauna or geological, geomorphological or physiographic features. The conservation order shall specify those operations or activities which appear to the competent authority likely to destroy or damage the flora, fauna, or habitat by reason of which the site is a protected site, including its geological, geomorphological or physiographic features.

(2) The competent authority shall publish such details of such a conservation order in the Gazette and on the competent authority’s website. The competent authority shall also notify any one of the owners of any site subject of a conservation order, and shall also affix such a notice on site. If none of such owners is known, or if it is not reasonably possible to effect service on such owners, the said notice shall only be affixed on site and no service on such owners as aforesaid need be made. Notice of such conservation order shall be registered in an index held for that purpose. The said index shall be held in an electronic form in such a way that researches to determine whether a site is subject to an order may be carried out.

(3) The competent authority shall provide the details of the relevant protected sites under these regulations to the Lands Authority.

(4) Upon request, the competent authority shall issue a certificate which indicates the status of a particular site on the payment of such fee as may be prescribed.

(5) A conservation order made under this regulation may contain such conditions and other provisions, as the competent authority may deem necessary or expedient; and a conservation order may regulate any matter affecting the site. Conservation orders may be amended or revoked by a further order.

(6) In respect of any site within a special area of conservation or a special protection area the competent authority shall also have power to require the owner, by notice in writing, to undertake such works generally, or as may be specified in the notice, as may be necessary to ensure that no further deterioration occurs. In default, the competent authority may give a further notice to the owner to carry out and complete the works within a specified time, and if the owner is still in default it may itself carry out, or cause to be carried out, the necessary works and recover the cost thereof from the owner of the site.

(7) For the purpose of this regulation, "site" includes a single property or more than one property, irrespective of who is the owner of that property, which forms part of the site, which is subject to a conservation order.