Highways Act 1980

181 Provisions relating to placing, etc. of certain apparatus in or under a highway. E+W

(1) If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, places any apparatus in or under a highway or breaks open a highway for the purpose of placing, maintaining, repairing or reinstating any apparatus in or under it, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding £20 or, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding £50.

(2) The highway authority for a highway may by a licence granted under this section permit any person to place and leave, or to retain, and thereafter (in either case) to maintain, repair and reinstate, apparatus in or under the highway and to break open and to have access to the highway for those purposes.

(3) The highway authority may, as they think fit—

(a) grant a licence under this section to any person and insert in the licence a provision prohibiting assignment of the licence; or

(b) grant a licence to any person and insert in the licence a provision permitting assignment of the licence; or

(c) grant such a licence to the owner of any premises adjoining the highway and his successors in title, the licence, unless and until withdrawn or surrendered, to be annexed to those premises;

and references in this section and section 182 below to the licensee are references to the person who is for the time being entitled by virtue of such a licence to do anything permitted by it to be done.

(4) No fine, rent or other sum of money is payable in respect of such a licence except—

(a) a reasonable sum in respect of legal or other expenses incurred in connection with the grant of the licence; and

(b) an annual charge of a reasonable amount for administering the licence;

and any such sum is recoverable from the licensee.

(5) Before granting a licence under this section a highway authority shall give not less than 14 days’ notice of their intention so to do to any statutory undertakers. . . F1 whose apparatus or plans for the installation of apparatus are likely to be affected by the works to be authorised by the licence.

(6) [F2 Works carried out by the licensee in pursuance of a licence under this section are not] undertakers’ works within the meaning of section 1 of the M1 Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950.

(7) A licence under this section shall not authorise any interference with the apparatus or works of any statutory undertakers. . . F3 without the consent of those undertakers. . . F3 , nor shall such a licence authorise the installation of any apparatus for the installation or use of which the [F4 licence of the Secretary of State is required] by virtue of any enactment unless and until that licence has been granted.

(8) This section does not apply to the apparatus of statutory undertakers. . . F5 [F6 or to any apparatus which the operator of a telecommunications code system [F7 or a driver information system] places, maintains, repairs or reinstates in or under the highway in question in pursuance of a right conferred by or in accordance with the telecommunications code [F7 or, as the case may be, section 12 of the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989]].

(9) In this section and section 182 below references to statutory undertakers [F8 except in sub-section (8) above, include the operator of a telecommunications code system][F9 or a driver information system].

(10) Where the land on which a highway is situated is owned by the highway authority for the highway, nothing in subsection (4) above is to be taken as affecting the rights of that authority as the owner of that land to grant any person, for such consideration as they think fit, the right to place any thing in or under that land.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by Water Act 1989 (c. 15, SIF 130), ss. 58(7), 101(1), 141(6), 160(1)(2)(4), 163, 189(4)–(10), 190, 193(1), Sch. 26 paras. 3(1)(2), 17, 40(4), 41(1), 57(6), 58, Sch. 27, Pt. I

F2 Words substituted by Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29, SIF 44:1), s. 112(1)(3), Sch. 16 para. 27, Sch. 17 paras. 33, 35(1)

F3 Words repealed by Water Act 1989 (c. 15, SIF 130), ss. 58(7), 101(1), 141(6), 160(1)(2)(4), 163, 189(4)–(10), 190, 193(1), Sch. 26 paras. 3(1)(2), 17, 40(4), 41(1), 57(6), 58, Sch. 27, Pt. I

F4 Words substituted by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 109, Sch. 4 para. 76(12)(a), Sch. 5 para. 45

F5 Words repealed by Water Act 1989 (c. 15, SIF 130), ss. 58(7), 101(1), 141(6), 160(1)(2)(4), 163, 189(4)–(10), 190, 193(1), Sch. 26 paras. 3(1)(2), 17, 40(4), 41(1), 57(6), 58, Sch. 27, Pt. I

F6 Words inserted by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 109, Sch. 4 para. 76(12)(b), Sch. 5 para. 45

F7 Words inserted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 13(1) Sch. 4 para. 3(11)(a)

F8 Words substituted by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 109, Sch. 4 para. 76(12)(c), Sch. 5 para. 45

F9 Words inserted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 13(1), Sch. 4 para. 3(11)(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 181(1): Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 35 (in relation to liability on first and subsequent convictions), 38 (increase of fines) and 46 (substitution of references to levels on the standard scale) apply

C2 S. 181(9): by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 109, Sch. 4 para. 3(1), Sch. 5 para. 45 it is provided that references to British Telecommunications in s. 181(9) cease to have effect

Marginal Citations

M1 1950 c. 39.