(1) The local planning authority shall consider any objection to, or representation in connection with, a draft local plan made in terms of subsection (2) of section eighteen and—
(a) in so far as it has not been withdrawn, shall refer any such objection to the administrative court for determination or to a local inquiry for investigation; (b) may refer any such representation to a local inquiry for investigation. (2) Where any objection or representation has been referred to a local inquiry, the investigator shall, on the completion of his inquiry, report to the local planning authority which shall—
(a) submit a copy of the report to the Minister, with any comments thereon it wishes to make; and
(b) thereafter give public notice of the recommendations of the investigator, indicating in that notice that copies of the report are available for sale to the public.
(3) A local planning authority shall not approve a draft local plan exhibited in terms of subsection (2) of section eighteen—
(a) until the expiry of a period of six weeks, or such further period as the Minister may in any particular case direct, from—
(i) the closing date for objections or representations in terms of subsection (2) of section eighteen if no such objections or representations have been received; or
(ii) the date of any notice given in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection(2); or
(iii) the date notice of any proposed modification to the draft local plan is submitted to the Minister in terms of proviso (ii) to subsection (4); whichever is the later; and
(b) unless the draft local plan conforms generally with any operative regional plan and master plan for the area concerned.
(4) Subject to this section, the local planning authority may, in respect of a draft local plan which has been exhibited in terms of subsection (2) of section eighteen— (a) approve the plan in the form in which it was so exhibited or as modified in order to take into account the report of an investigator in terms of subsection (2); or
(b) in accordance with the recommendations of an investigator, reject the plan;
and shall give notice in the Gazette of its decision in relation to the local plan and, if the plan has been approved, of the date on which that plan shall, in terms of subsection (5) of section seventy-one, become operative:
Provided that—
(i) where any objection has been referred to the Administrative Court for determination, the local planning authority shall comply with any determination of the Administrative Court;
(ii) the local planning authority shall give notice to the Minister of any modification it proposes to make to the draft local plan.
(5) At any time before a draft local plan has been approved in terms of subsection (4),the Minister may direct that it shall not become operative until it has been approved by him, whereupon—
(a) subsections (3) and (4) of section sixteen shall apply, mutatismutandis, in relation to that local plan; and
(b) subject to paragraph (c), subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) shall not apply in relation to that draft local plan; and
(c) where any objections have been referred to the board for determination or any objections or representations have been referred to a local inquiry for investigation, the Minister shall act in accordance with the determination of the administrative court or take into account the report of the investigator, as the case may be.
(6) Subsections (1) to (5) shall not apply to a scheduled local planning authority but, in the case of such an authority, the draft local plan shall be submitted to the Minister of Environment and Tourism who, in consultation with the Minister, may approve the draft local plan subject to such modifications or reservations, if any, as he deems fit or reject such draft local plan and shall thereafter give notice in a statutory instrument of his decision, which notice shall, if he has approved such draft local plan, specify the date on which the local plan shall, in terms of subsection (5) of section seventy-one, become operative.