Water Resources Act 1991

Chapter III General Duties

15 General duties with respect to the water industry

(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority, in exercising any of its powers under any enactment, to have particular regard to the duties imposed, by virtue of the provisions of Parts II to IV of the [1991 c. 56.] Water Industry Act 1991, on any water undertaker or sewerage undertaker which appears to the Authority to be or to be likely to be affected by the exercise of the power in question.

(2) It shall be the duty of each of the Ministers, in exercising—

(a) any power conferred by virtue of this Act, the [1991 c. 59.] Land Drainage Act 1991, the Water Industry Act 1991 or the [1989 c. 15.] Water Act 1989 in relation to, or to decisions of, the Authority; or

(b) any power which, but for any direction given by one of the Ministers, would fall to be exercised by the Authority,

to take into account the duty imposed on the Authority by subsection (1) above.

16 General environmental and recreational duties

(1) It shall be the duty of each of the Ministers and of the Authority, in formulating or considering any proposals relating to any functions of the Authority—

(a) so far as may be consistent—

(i) with the purposes of any enactment relating to the functions of the Authority; and

(ii) in the case of the Secretary of State, with his duties under section 2 of the [1991 c. 56.] Water Industry Act 1991,

so to exercise any power conferred on him or it with respect to the proposals as to further the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty and the conservation of flora, fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest;

(b) to have regard to the desirability of protecting and conserving buildings, sites and objects of archaeological, architectural or historic interest; and

(c) to take into account any effect which the proposals would have on the beauty or amenity of any rural or urban area or on any such flora, fauna, features, buildings, sites or objects.

(2) Subject to subsection (1) above, it shall be the duty of each of the Ministers and of the Authority, in formulating or considering any proposals relating to the functions of the Authority—

(a) to have regard to the desirability of preserving for the public any freedom of access to areas of woodland, mountains, moor, heath, down, cliff or foreshore and other places of natural beauty;

(b) to have regard to the desirability of maintaining the availability to the public of any facility for visiting or inspecting any building, site or object of archaeological, architectural or historic interest; and

(c) to take into account any effect which the proposals would have on any such freedom of access or on the availability of any such facility.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) above shall apply so as to impose duties on the Authority in relation to-

(a) any proposals relating to the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker;

(b) any proposals relating to the management, by the company holding an appointment as such an undertaker, of any land for the time being held by that company for any purpose whatever (whether or not connected with the carrying out of the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker); and

(c) any proposal which by virtue of section 156(7) of the [1991 c. 56.] Water Industry Act 1991 (disposals of protected land) falls to be treated for the purposes of section 3 of that Act as a proposal relating to the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker,

as they apply in relation to proposals relating to the Authority’s own functions but as if, for that purpose, the reference in subsection (1)(a) above to enactments relating to the functions of the Authority were a reference to enactments relating to that to which the proposal relates.

(4) Subject to obtaining the consent of any navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority before doing anything which causes navigation which is subject to the control of that authority to be obstructed or otherwise interfered with, it shall be the duty of the Authority to take such steps as are—

(a) reasonably practicable; and

(b) consistent with the purposes of the enactments relating to the functions of the Authority,

for securing, so long as the Authority has rights to the use of water or land associated with water, that those rights are exercised so as to ensure that the water or land is made available for recreational purposes and is so made available in the best manner.

(5) It shall be the duty of the Authority, in determining what steps to take in performance of any duty imposed by virtue of subsection (4) above, to take into account the needs of persons who are chronically sick or disabled.

(6) Nothing in this section or the following provisions of this Act shall require recreational facilities made available by the Authority to be made available free of charge.

(7) In this section “building” includes structure.

17 Environmental duties with respect to sites of special interest

(1) Where the Nature Conservancy Council for England or the Countryside Council for Wales are of the opinion that any area of land in England or, as the case may be, in Wales—

(a) is of special interest by reason of its flora, fauna or geological or physiographical features; and

(b) may at any time be affected by schemes, works, operations or activities of the Authority or by an authorisation given by the Authority,

that Council shall notify the fact that the land is of special interest for that reason to the Authority.

(2) Where a National Park authority or the Broads Authority is of the opinion that any area of land in a National Park or in the Broads—

(a) is land in relation to which the matters for the purposes of which sections 2(2) and 16 above have effect are of particular importance; and

(b) may at any time be affected by schemes, works, operations or activities of the Authority or by an authorisation given by the Authority,

the National Park authority or Broads Authority shall notify the fact that the land is such land, and the reasons why those matters are of particular importance in relation to the land, to the Authority.

(3) Where the Authority has received a notification under subsection (1) or (2) above with respect to any land, it shall consult the notifying body before carrying out or authorising any works, operations or activities which appear to the Authority to be likely—

(a) to destroy or damage any of the flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features by reason of which the land is of special interest; or

(b) significantly to prejudice anything the importance of which is one of the reasons why the matters mentioned in subsection (2) above are of particular importance in relation to that land.

(4) Subsection (3) above shall not apply in relation to anything done in an emergency where particulars of what is done and of the emergency are notified to the Nature Conservancy Council for England, the Countryside Council for Wales, the National Park authority in question or, as the case may be, the Broads Authority as soon as practicable after that thing is done.

(5) In this section—

• “the Broads” has the same meaning as in the [1988 c. 4.] Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988; and

• “National Park authority” means a National Park Committee or a joint or special planning board for a National Park.

18 Codes of practice with respect to environmental and recreational duties

(1) Each of the Ministers shall have power by order to approve any code of practice issued (whether by him or by another person) for the purpose of—

(a) giving practical guidance to the Authority with respect to any of the matters for the purposes of which sections 2(2), 16 and 17 above have effect; and

(b) promoting what appear to him to be desirable practices by the Authority with respect to those matters,

and may at any time by such an order approve a modification of such a code or withdraw his approval of such a code or modification.

(2) A contravention of a code of practice as for the time being approved under this section shall not of itself constitute a contravention of any requirement imposed by section 2(2), 16 or 17 above or give rise to any criminal or civil liability; but each of the Ministers shall be under a duty to take into account whether there has been or is likely to be any such contravention in determining when and how he should exercise his powers in relation to the Authority by virtue of this Act, the [1991 c. 59.] Land Drainage Act 1991, the [1991 c. 56.] Water Industry Act 1991 or the [1989 c. 15.] Water Act 1989.

(3) The power of each of the Ministers to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(4) Neither of the Ministers shall make an order under this section unless he has first consulted—

(a) the Authority;

(b) the Countryside Commission, the Nature Conservancy Council for England and the Countryside Council for Wales;

(c) the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England;

(d) the Sports Council and the Sports Council for Wales; and

(e) such water undertakers, sewerage undertakers and other persons as he considers it appropriate to consult.