Physical Planning and Development Control (No. 23 of 2016).

This Act provides rules relative to the physical development of public and private land in Grenada so as to, among other things: (a) ensure that appropriate and sustainable use is made of all publicly-owned and privately owned land in Grenada, in the public interest; b) provide for the orderly, efficient development of the resources of Grenada, taking account of all relevant social, economic and environmental factors, so as to ensure that sustainable use is made of land in the interests of all the people of Grenada; (c) maintain and improve the quality of the physical environment within which human settlements are situated in Grenada; (d) provide for the orderly sub-division of land and the provision of services in relation thereto; (e) foster awareness that all persons and organisations owning, occupying and developing land, have a duty to use that land with due regard for the wider interests, both present and future, of society. The Act also provides for protection of natural and cultural heritage. The Minister charged with the responsibility for planning and development shall secure consistency and continuity in the administration of this Act in accordance with the objects.
The Act establishes the Planning and Development Authority, which shall carry out such functions as are by this Act conferred upon it. The constitution, procedures and finances of the Authority shall be in accordance with the First Schedule. The Act also establishes a Natural and Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee and a Physical Planning Appeals Tribunal.
The Chief Executive Officer shall be responsible for preparing a physical plan for the whole of Grenada and may adopt, with or without variations, a physical plan for any area of Grenada proposed by any person who has an interest in that area, or by a community situated in or the local authority for that area and local or regional plans for parts of Grenada. The main physical plan shall be approved by parliament whereas a local or regional plan shall be submitted to the Authority for approval.
No person shall commence or carry out the development of any land in Grenada without the prior written permission of the Authority, but the Authority may, by an order (“general development order”), provide that the development of land of any class specified in the order is permitted and may be undertaken, either unconditionally or subject to any conditions or restrictions specified in the order, without the prior written permission of the Authority. The Authority may require an Environmental Impact Assessment to be carried out in respect of any application for permission to develop land (development mentioned in the Third Schedule). Any development of land shall be carried out in accordance with the permission granted by the Authority, the approved plan and subject to any conditions which the Authority considers necessary to impose. The Authority may issue Enforcement Notices or Stop Notices in respect of unauthorized development. He or she may also declare special enforcement areas.
The Authority shall function as the national service for purposes of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The Natural and Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee shall provide advice to the Authority. The Authority may make urgent provision for the preservation of any unlisted building, monument or site by issuing an interim preservation order. Every owner and occupier of a listed building, monument or site is responsible for the conservation and rehabilitation of it. The Authority or the Minister may provide for protection of places of natural beauty or natural interest, which are not already protected areas (national parks etc.) by creating environmental protection areas. A special regime shall apply to those areas. The Minister may, by Order, direct the enforcement of any measures recommended by the Authority, or any measures that he thinks expedient for removing or otherwise guarding against any condition that endangers the environment and the probable consequences thereof, or for preventing or mitigating as far as possible, destruction or degradation of the environment.