Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976

26 Provisions supplementary to s. 25

(1) A person authorised in writing in that behalf by such a council as is mentioned in subsection (1) of the preceding section may enter on any land in the area of the council for the purpose of—

(a) ascertaining whether the land is suitable as the site of works which the council may carry out or for which the council may serve a notice in pursuance of that section; or

(b) carrying out, maintaining, repairing or removing in pursuance of that section any works on behalf of the council; or

(c) ascertaining whether any works carried out by the council in pursuance of that section should be or have been maintained, repaired or removed.

(2) A person authorised by a council to enter on land in pursuance of the preceding subsection—

(a) shall, if so required before or after entering on the land, produce evidence of his authority to enter;

(b) may take with him on to the land such other persons and such equipment as are necessary for achieving the purpose for which he was authorised to enter on the land;

(c) shall, if the land is unoccupied when he enters or the occupier is then temporarily absent, leave the land as effectually secured against trespassers as he found it.

(3) If a person having an interest in or a right over any land suffers damage in consequence of the carrying out, maintaining, repairing or removing of works by a council in pursuance of the preceding section or the exercise by a person authorised by a council of a power conferred by subsection (1) or (2)(b) of this section or a failure of such a person to perform the duty imposed by subsection (2)(c) of this section, the person who suffers the damage shall, subject to the following subsection, be entitled to recover compensation for the damage from the council ; and subsection (5) of section 24 of this Act shall have effect for the purposes of this subsection as if for the reference to subsection (4) of that section there were substituted a reference to this subsection.

(4) No compensation shall be payable by virtue of the preceding subsection, to any person having an interest in the site of the excavation in question, in respect of damage attributable to the presence of permanent works on any land other than damage attributable to interference with an easement or profit.

(5) If a person—

(a) wilfully obstructs another person in the exercise of a power conferred on the other person by subsection (1) or (2)(b) of this section ; or

(b) while another person is on land in pursuance of the said subsection (2)(b) wilfully obstructs him in doing things connected with the works in question; or

(c) without the agreement of the council by which works have been carried out in pursuance of the preceding section, removes or otherwise interferes with the works,

he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

(6) Nothing in the preceding section or the preceding provisions of this section applies to an excavation—

(a) on operational land of statutory undertakers; or

(b) on land of the National Coal Board of such a description as the Secretary of State may specify by regulations made by statutory instrument;

and the definition of " operational land " in section 222 of the [1971 c. 78.] Town and Country Planning Act 1971 shall apply for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection as if in that section " statutory undertakers" had the same meaning as in that paragraph and " undertaking " had a corresponding meaning.