20. — (1) Where any structure or other land, door, gate, window, tree pole or post situated in the functional area of any local authority is in or is visible from a public place and it appears to the local authority that it is in the interests of amenity or of the environment of an area that any article or advertisement exhibited thereon should be removed or any defacement thereof by writing or other marks should be removed or otherwise remedied or that other specified steps should be taken in relation to the article, advertisement or defacement, as the case may be, the local authority may serve a notice on the occupier requiring the occupier—

(a) to remove the article or advertisement, or remove or otherwise remedy the defacement, or to take other specified steps in relation to the article, advertisement or defacement, as the case may be, and

(b) to take other specified steps to prevent a recurrence of the exhibition or defacement, as the case may be.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) shall—

(a) identify the structure or other land, door, gate, window, tree, pole or post to which it relates,

(b) state the grounds on which it is issued, and

(c) specify the time, not being a period of less than 7 days, within which it is to be complied with.

(3) An occupier on whom a notice under this section is served may, within such time as may be specified in the notice, make submissions in writing to the local authority concerned regarding the terms of the notice and the authority, after consideration of any such submissions, may amend the notice.

(4) An occupier on whom a notice under subsection (1) has been served shall, within the time specified in the notice, comply with its terms.

(5) Where an occupier contravenes subsection (4), the local authority concerned may, by its employees or agents—

(a) give effect to the terms of the notice, and

(b) where necessary for that purpose, by its employees or agents enter on the structure or other land concerned or the structure or other land on which is situated the door, gate, window, tree, pole or post concerned,

and may recover the expenditure reasonably incurred by it in so doing from the occupier as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(6) A local authority may, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by it and the occupier concerned, in the case of an article, advertisement or defacement to which subsection (1) applies—

(a) by its employees or agents remove the article or advertisement or remedy the defacement or, as may be appropriate, take other steps in relation to it, and

(b) for those purposes, by its employees or agents, enter on the structure or other land concerned or the structure or other land on which is situated the door, gate, window, tree, pole or post concerned.

(7) An occupier who contravenes subsection (4) or a person who obstructs or impedes—

(a) a local authority or its employees or agents acting in the exercise of the functions conferred on a local authority by subsection (5) or (6), or

(b) a person or the person's employees or agents while engaged in complying with the terms of a notice issued under subsection (1),

shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) In a prosecution for an offence in respect of a contravention of subsection (4), it shall be a defence to show that the exhibition of the advertisement concerned was in accordance with a permission under Part IV of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963.

(9) Any development, within the meaning of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, carried out pursuant to a notice issued under subsection (1), shall be exempted development within the meaning of that Act.