Highways Act 1980

157 Half-yearly programmes to be prepared of repair and improvement works in Greater London

(1) With a view to securing that the times for the execution of works of road maintenance and improvement by various highway authorities within Greater London may be so arranged as to mitigate as far as possible the congestion of traffic due to the closing of highways for the purposes of the execution of such works, every highway authority for highways within Greater London have the duty imposed by subsection (2) below.

(2) The duty referred to in subsection (1) above is a duty to prepare and, except in the case of the Greater London Council, to submit to that Council in accordance with subsections (3) and (4) below statements of works of road maintenance and road improvement.

(3) The statements required by subsection (2) above of highway authorities, other than the Greater London Council, shall be submitted to the Council, and the statements required by the Council shall be prepared by them, on or before such half-yearly dates in each year as the Council may by order fix and shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Council may require, or in the case of a statement prepared by them, think fit, of the works specified in subsection (4) below.

(4) The works referred to in subsection (3) above are all works of road maintenance and improvement proposed to be begun or continued by the authority during the period of 6 months commencing at the expiration of such interval, not being less than 2 months, from the half-yearly dates referred to in subsection (3) above as the Council may by order fix, being works of such a nature as will involve the closing to vehicular traffic of any part of any highway to which this section applies either absolutely or to the extent of one-third or more of the width of the carriageway.

(5) The Council shall consider in relation to one another the proposals contained in the statements submitted to, or prepared by, them under this section and after consultation with the appropriate commissioner of police and the London Transport Executive shall draw up schemes prescribing the times during which the several works are to be begun and the order in which they are to be executed, or prohibiting or restricting the execution of any of the works.

(6) The Council shall send copies of each such scheme drawn up by them to all highway authorities and undertakers affected by it, and—

(a) if, within 14 days from the date on which copies of any scheme have been so sent, no objection in writing to the scheme has been received by the Council from any highway authority or undertakers affected by it, or every objection so made has been withdrawn, the Council may by order confirm the scheme;

(b) if any objection so made to a scheme has been received by the Council within that time and has not been withdrawn, the Council may, after considering the objection, either by order confirm the scheme, with or without amendments, or revoke the scheme;

and upon the confirmation of a scheme drawn up by the Council under this section it shall, subject to subsection (7) below, become final and binding on all the highway authorities affected, other than the Minister of Transport, and shall not be subject to appeal to any court.

(7) Nothing in this section—

(a) prevents a highway authority from carrying out works in a highway in the case of emergency, or

(b) empowers the Council to impose any obligation on a highway authority to incur any expenditure on or in connection with the construction or improvement of a highway without the consent of that authority.

(8) The highways to which this section applies are such highways, or highways of such classes, being in either case highways maintainable at the public expense within Greater London and consisting of or comprising a carriageway, as may be prescribed by an order made by the Council.

(9) In this section and sections 158 to 160 below " undertakers" means the Post Office and persons having powers to break up or open highways in Greater London for the purposes of any sewerage system, or any water, gas, electricity, tramway or other undertaking.