15.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) below, the undertaker may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the carrying out or maintenance of the authorised project and for that purpose may inspect, lay down, take up and alter pipes and may, on any land within the Order limits, make openings into, and connections with, the watercourse, public sewer or drain.
(2) Any dispute arising from the making of connections to or the use of a public sewer or drain by the undertaker pursuant to paragraph (1) is determined as if it were a dispute under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991(1) (right to communicate with public sewers).
(3) The undertaker must not discharge any water into any watercourse or public sewer drain, except with the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as that person may reasonably impose, but must not be unreasonably withheld.
(4) The undertaker must not carry out any works to any public sewer or drain pursuant to article 15(1) except—
(a)in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval must not be unreasonably withheld; and
(b)where that person has been given the opportunity to supervise the making of the opening.
(5) The undertaker must not, in carrying out or maintaining works pursuant to this article damage or interfere with the bed or banks of any watercourse forming part of a main river as defined under section 113(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991.
(6) The undertaker must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged into a watercourse or public sewer or drain pursuant to this article is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance, oil or matter in suspension.
(7) This article does not authorise any water discharge or groundwater activity for which an environmental permit is required by regulation 12 (requirement for an environmental permit) of the 2016 Regulations.
(8) In this article—
(a)“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain which either belongs to a sewerage undertaker, the Environment Agency, an internal drainage board or a local authority or one which such body has permissive rights over; and
(b)other expressions, excluding watercourse, used both in this article and in the 2016 Regulations have the same meaning as in those Regulations.
(9) If a person who receives an application for consent or approval fails to notify the undertaker of a decision within 56 days of receiving an application for consent under paragraph (3) or approval under paragraph (4)(a) that person is deemed to have granted consent or given approval, as the case may be.
Commencement Information
I1Art. 15 in force at 3.8.2023, see art. 1
16.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this article, the undertaker may at its own expense carry out such protective works to any building lying within the Order limits as the undertaker considers necessary or expedient.
(2) Protective works may be carried out—
(a)at any time before or during the carrying out of any part of the authorised project in the vicinity of the building; or
(b)after the completion of that part of the authorised project in the vicinity of the building at any time up to the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which that part of the authorised project is commissioned.
(3) For the purpose of determining how the powers under this article are to be exercised, the undertaker may enter and survey any building falling within paragraph (1) and any land within its curtilage.
(4) For the purpose of carrying out protective works under this article to a building, the undertaker may (subject to paragraphs(5) and (6))—
(a)enter the building and any land within its curtilage; and
(b)where the works cannot be carried out reasonably conveniently without entering land that is adjacent to the building but outside its curtilage, enter the adjacent land (but not any building erected on it).
(5) Before exercising—
(a)a power under paragraph (1) to carry out protective works to a building;
(b)a power under paragraph (3) to enter a building and land within its curtilage;
(c)a power under paragraph (4)(a) to enter a building and land within its curtilage; or
(d)a power under paragraph (4)(b) to enter land,
the undertaker must, except in the case of emergency, serve on the owners and occupiers of the building or land not less than 14 days’ notice of its intention to exercise the power and, in a case falling within sub-paragraph (a) or (c), specifying the protective works proposed to be carried out.
(6) Where a notice is served under paragraph (5)(a), (c) or (d), the owner or occupier of the building or land concerned may, by serving a counter-notice within the period of 10 days beginning with the day on which the notice was served, require the question of whether it is necessary or expedient to carry out the protective works or to enter the building or land to be referred to arbitration under article 39 (arbitration).
(7) The undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of any building or land in relation to which powers under this article have been exercised for any loss or damage arising to them by reason of the exercise of the powers.
(8) Where—
(a)protective works are carried out under this article to a building; and
(b)within the period of five years beginning with the day on which the part of the authorised project carried out in the vicinity of the building is commissioned it appears that the protective works are inadequate to protect the building against damage caused by the carrying out or use of that part of the authorised project,
the undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of the building for any loss or damage sustained by them.
(9) Nothing in this article relieves the undertaker from any liability to pay compensation under section 152 of the 2008 Act (compensation in case where no right to claim in nuisance).
(10) Any compensation payable under paragraph (7) or (8) must be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 of the 1961 Act (determination of questions of disputed compensation).
(11) Section 13 (refusal to give possession to acquiring authority) of the 1965 Act applies to the entry onto, or possession of land under this article to the same extent as it applies to the compulsory acquisition of land under this Order by virtue of section 125 (application of compulsory acquisition provisions) of the 2008 Act.
(12) In this article “protective works”, in relation to a building, means—
(a)underpinning, strengthening and any other works the purpose of which is to prevent damage that may be caused to the building by the carrying out, maintenance or use of the authorised project; and
(b)any works the purpose of which is to remedy any damage that has been caused to the building by the carrying out, maintenance or use of the authorised project.
Commencement Information
I2Art. 16 in force at 3.8.2023, see art. 1
17.—(1) The undertaker may for the purposes of this Order enter on any land shown within the Order limits or any land which may be affected by the authorised project and—
(a)survey or investigate the land;
(b)without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (a), make trial holes or bore holes in such positions on the land as the undertaker thinks fit to investigate the nature of the surface layer, subsoil and groundwater and remove soil and groundwater samples;
(c)without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (a), carry out ecological or archaeological investigations on such land, including the digging of trenches; and
(d)place on, leave on and remove from the land apparatus for use in connection with the survey and investigation of land and making of trial holes, bore holes or trenches.
(2) No land may be entered or equipment placed or left on or removed from the land under paragraph (1) unless at least 14 days’ notice has been served on every owner and occupier of the land.
(3) Any person entering land under this article on behalf of the undertaker—
(a)must, if so required on entering the land, produce written evidence of their authority to do so; and
(b)may take with them such vehicles and equipment as are necessary to carry out the survey or investigation or to make the trial holes, bore holes or trenches.
(4) No trial holes, bore holes or trenches may be made under this article—
(a)in land forming a railway without the consent of Network Rail(2);
(b)in land held by or in right of the Crown without the consent of the Crown;
(c)in land located within the highway boundary without the consent of the highway authority; or
(d)in a private street without the consent of the street authority,
but such consent must not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
(5) The undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of the land for any loss or damage arising by reason of the exercise of the authority conferred by this article, such compensation to be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 (determination of questions of disputed compensation) of the 1961 Act.
(6) If either a highway authority or a street authority which receives an application for consent fails to notify the undertaker of its decision within 56 days of receiving the application for consent—
(a)under paragraph (4)(c) in the case of a highway authority; or
(b)under paragraph (4)(d) in the case of a street authority;
that authority is deemed to have granted consent.
(7) Section 13 (refusal to give possession to acquiring authority) of the 1965 Act applies to the entry onto, or possession of land under this article to the same extent as it applies to the compulsory acquisition of land under this Order by virtue of section 125 (application of compulsory acquisition provisions) of the 2008 Act.
Commencement Information
I3Art. 17 in force at 3.8.2023, see art. 1
1991 c. 56. Section 106 was amended by sections 35(8)(a) and 43(2) of and paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (c. 43) and sections 36(2) and 99(2), (4), (5)(a), (5)(b), (5)(c) of the Water Act 2003 (c. 37) and section 32, and paragraph 16(1) of and Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (c. 29).
As defined in Part 4 of Schedule 9 (Protection of Railway Interests).