Part I - Other Considerations - Richmond Valley Council

Richmond Valley Development Control Plan 2012I2. Development In, On, Over or Under aPublic RoadThe term public road is defined within the Roads Act 1993 and applies topublic lands declared by reservation to be road. Public roads therefore form anetwork of corridors that provide access for the conveyance of vehicular,pedestrian, and stock traffic throughout the landscape. Public roads may be:‣ formed—it contains a constructed and maintained carriageway, or‣ unformed—there has never been a constructed and maintainedcarriageway—these are commonly known a “paper roads”.A public road may also be leased:‣ as an enclosure permit—where an unformed public road is leased to anadjoining property owner and is often fenced into the property.;‣ for commercial purposes—such as alfresco dining, footpath trading,roadside vending; and‣ for encroachments of structures—such as awnings over the footpath, organtries to carry services from one side of the road to the other.All works and activities within public roads need the consent of the owner.They may also require development consent and/or some other approval,such as under the Roads Act 1993, or Local Government Act 1993. It is thepurpose of this Chapter to explain the minimum standards for construction in,on, over or under a public road and to identify the requirements for consent orapproval.Extract from Roads Act 1993public road means:(a) any road that is opened or dedicated as a public road, whether under this or any otherAct or law, and(b) any road that is declared to be a public road for the purposes of this Act.I2.1 ObjectivesThe objectives of this Chapter are to:‣ identify development standards for various types of construction whereerected in, on, over or under a public road, and‣ outline Council’s administrative requirements for the erection ofstructures in, on, over or under a public road.I2.2 Design principles(1) Ownership of Public RoadsPublic roads consist of public land, so they are available for the entirecommunity to use for access whether formed, unformed, or leased. They arehowever also owned and controlled by either Council or the Department ofPart I – Other Considerations – Dev. In, On, Over or Under a Public Road I.25