PART 3PROTECTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
30.—(1) The following provisions of this Part of this Schedule have effect unless otherwise agreed in writing between LUL and the Agency.
(2) In this Part of this Schedule—
“the Agency” means the Environment Agency;
“construction” includes execution, placing, altering, replacing, relaying and removal and “construct” and “constructed” are construed accordingly;
“drainage work” means any watercourse and includes any land which provides or is expected to provide flood storage capacity for any watercourse and any bank, wall, embankment or other structure, or any appliance, constructed or used for land drainage, flood defence or tidal monitoring;
“environmental duties” means the Agency’s duties in the Environment Act 1995(), the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006() and the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003();
“the fishery” means any waters containing fish and the spawn, habitat or food of such fish;
“plans” includes sections, drawings, specifications and method statements;
“specified work” means so much of any work or operation authorised by this Order as is in, on, under, over or within 16 metres of a drainage work or is otherwise likely to—
(a)
affect any drainage work or the volumetric rate of flow of water in or flowing to or from any drainage work;
(b)
affect the flow, purity or quality of water in any watercourse or other surface waters or ground water;
(c)
cause obstruction to the free passage of fish or damage to any fishery; or
(d)
affect the conservation, distribution or use of water resources; and
“watercourse” includes all drains.
31.—(1) Before beginning to construct any specified work, LUL must submit to the Agency plans of the specified work and such further particulars available to it as the Agency may within 28 days of the submission of the plans reasonably require.
(2) Any such specified work must not be constructed except in accordance with such plans as may be approved in writing by the Agency, or determined under paragraph 41.
(3) Any approval of the Agency required under this paragraph—
(a)must not be unreasonably withheld;
(b)is deemed to have been given if it is neither given nor refused within 2 months of the submission of the plans for approval and, in the case of a refusal, accompanied by a statement of the grounds of refusal; and
(c)may be given subject to such reasonable requirements as the Agency may make for the protection of any drainage work or the fishery or for the protection of water resources, or for the prevention of flooding or pollution or in the discharge of its environmental duties.
(4) The Agency must use its reasonable endeavours to respond to the submission of any plans before the expiration of the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)(b).
32. Without limitation on the scope of paragraph 31, the requirements which the Agency may make under that paragraph include conditions requiring LUL at its own expense to construct such protective works, whether temporary or permanent, during the construction of the specified works (including the provision of flood banks, walls or embankments or other new works and the strengthening, repair or renewal of existing banks, walls or embankments) as are reasonably necessary—
(a)to safeguard any drainage work against damage; or
(b)to secure that its efficiency for flood defence purposes is not impaired and that the risk of flooding is not otherwise increased,
by reason of any specified work.
33.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any specified work, and all protective works required by the Agency under paragraph 32, must be constructed—
(a)without unreasonable delay in accordance with the plans approved or deemed to have been approved or settled under this Part of this Schedule; and
(b)to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency,
and an officer of the Agency is entitled to watch and inspect the construction of such works.
(2) LUL must give to the Agency not less than 14 days’ notice in writing of its intention to commence construction of any specified work and notice in writing of its completion not later than 7 days after the date on which it is brought into use.
(3) If any part of a specified work or any protective work required by the Agency is constructed otherwise than in accordance with the requirements of this Part of this Schedule, the Agency may by notice in writing require LUL at LUL’s own expense to comply with the requirements of this Part of this Schedule or (if LUL so elects and the Agency in writing consents, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) to remove, alter or pull down the work and, where removal is required, to restore the site to its former condition to such extent and within such limits as the Agency reasonably requires.
(4) Subject to sub-paragraph (5) and paragraph 37, if within a reasonable period, being not less than 28 days from the date when a notice under sub-paragraph (3) is served upon LUL, it has failed to begin taking steps to comply with the requirements of the notice and subsequently to make reasonably expeditious progress towards their implementation, the Agency may execute the works specified in the notice and any expenditure incurred by it in so doing is recoverable from LUL.
(5) In the event of any dispute as to whether sub-paragraph (3) is properly applicable to any work in respect of which notice has been served under that sub-paragraph, or as to the reasonableness of any requirement of such a notice, the Agency must not except in emergency exercise the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (4) until the dispute has been finally determined.
34.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (5) LUL must from the commencement of the construction of the specified works maintain in good repair and condition and free from obstruction any drainage work which is situated within the limits of deviation or on land held by LUL for the purposes of, or in connection with the specified works, whether or not the drainage work is constructed under the powers conferred by this Order or is already in existence.
(2) If any such drainage work which LUL is liable to maintain is not maintained to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency, the Agency may by notice in writing require LUL to repair and restore the work, or any part of such work, or (if LUL so elects and the Agency in writing consents, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), to remove the work and restore the site to its former condition, to such extent and within such limits as the Agency reasonably requires.
(3) Subject to paragraph 37, if, within a reasonable period being not less than 28 days beginning with the date on which a notice in respect of any drainage work is served under sub-paragraph (2) on LUL, LUL has failed to begin taking steps to comply with the reasonable requirements of the notice and has not subsequently made reasonably expeditious progress towards their implementation, the Agency may do what is necessary for such compliance and may recover any expenditure reasonably incurred by it in so doing from LUL.
(4) In the event of any dispute as to the reasonableness of any requirement of a notice served under sub-paragraph (2), the Agency must not except in a case of emergency exercise the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (3) until the dispute has been finally determined.
(5) This paragraph does not apply to—
(a)drainage works which are vested in the Agency, or which the Agency or another person is liable to maintain and is not prevented by the powers conferred by the Order from doing so; and
(b)any obstruction of a drainage work for the purpose of a work or operation authorised by this Order and carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Schedule.
35. Subject to paragraph 37, if by reason of the construction of any specified work or of the failure of any such work the efficiency of any drainage work for flood defence purposes is impaired, or that drainage work is otherwise damaged, such impairment or damage must be made good by LUL to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agency and if LUL fails to do so, the Agency may make good the impairment or damage and recover from LUL the expense reasonably incurred by it in doing so.
36.—(1) LUL must take all such measures as may be reasonably practicable to prevent any interruption of the free passage of fish in the fishery during the construction of any specified work.
(2) If by reason of—
(a)the construction of any specified work; or
(b)the failure of any such work,
damage to the fishery is caused, or the Agency has reason to expect that such damage may be caused, the Agency may serve notice on LUL requiring it to take such steps as may be reasonably practicable to make good the damage, or, as the case may be, to protect the fishery against such damage.
(3) Subject to paragraph 37, if within such time as may be reasonably practicable for that purpose after the receipt of written notice from the Agency of any damage or expected damage to a fishery, LUL fails to take such steps as are described in sub-paragraph (2), the Agency may take those steps and may recover from LUL the expense reasonably incurred by it in doing so.
(4) Subject to paragraph 37, in any case where immediate action by the Agency is reasonably required in order to secure that the risk of damage to the fishery is avoided or reduced, the Agency may take such steps as are reasonable for the purpose, and may recover from LUL the reasonable cost of so doing provided that notice specifying those steps is served on LUL as soon as reasonably practicable after the Agency has taken, or commenced to take, the steps specified in the notice.
37. Nothing in paragraphs 33(4), 34(3), 35, 36(3) and 36(4) authorises the Agency to execute works on or affecting a railway forming part of the authorised works without the prior consent in writing of LUL such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
38. LUL must indemnify the Agency in respect of all costs, charges and expenses which the Agency may reasonably incur or have to pay or which it may sustain—
(a)in the examination or approval of plans under this Part of this Schedule; and
(b)in the inspection of the construction of the specified works or any protective works required by the Agency under this Part of this Schedule.
39.—(1) Without affecting the other provisions of this Part of this Schedule, LUL must indemnify the Agency from all claims, demands, proceedings, costs, damages, expenses or loss, which may be made or taken against, recovered from, or incurred by, the Agency by reason of—
(a)any damage to any drainage work so as to impair its efficiency for the purposes of flood defence;
(b)any damage to the fishery;
(c)any raising or lowering of the water table in land adjoining the authorised works or any sewers, drains and watercourses;
(d)any flooding or increased flooding of any such lands; or
(e)inadequate water quality in any watercourse or other surface waters or in any groundwater,
which is caused by the construction of any of the specified works or any act or omission of LUL, its contractors, agents or employees whilst engaged upon the work.
(2) The Agency must give to LUL reasonable notice of any such claim or demand and no settlement or compromise may be made without the agreement of LUL which agreement must not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
40. The fact that any work or thing has been executed or done by LUL in accordance with a plan approved or deemed to be approved by the Agency, or to its satisfaction, or in accordance with any directions or award of an arbitrator, does not relieve LUL from any liability under the provisions of this Part of this Schedule.
41. Any dispute arising between LUL and the Agency under this Part of this Schedule, if the parties agree, is to be determined by arbitration under article 48 (arbitration), but otherwise is to be determined by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Transport acting jointly on a reference to them by LUL or the Agency, after notice in writing by one to the other.