Under the Town Planning Ordinance, no person shall undertake or continue a development in a development permission area (DPA) unless the development was a use in existence before the gazetting of the relevant Interim DPA or DPA plans, or is permitted under the DPA plan or the replacement OZP, or has obtained permission from the board. Development not satisfying these criteria is an 'unauthorised development (UD)' subject to enforcement and prosecution action. Currently, about 19 800 hectares of land in the rural area are covered by DPA plans or the replacement OZPs.

    The Planning Authority may serve statutory notices on the respective land owners, occupiers and/or responsible persons, requiring them to discontinue the UD by a specified date unless planning permission for the development is obtained, or demanding a reinstatement of the land. It is an offence in law if the requirements of the notices are not complied with.

    In 2002, 295 new UDs were detected in the rural area. Most were related to uses such as open storage of vehicles, containers and construction machinery/materials; workshops; and container vehicle/trailer parks. The Director of Planning issued 620 warning letters for 225 cases, 680 enforcement notices for 126 cases, and 653 compliance notices for 113 cases. As for prosecution, 44 defendants in 16 cases were convicted. The average fine imposed was $15,870, with a range of $500 to $220,000. During the year, enforcement action resulted in the discontinuation of 145 UDs covering 54 hectares of land, and regularisation through the planning application system of another 204 UDs covering 105 hectares of land.