Highways Act 1980

285 Power of Minister and Greater London Council to execute in Greater London road improvements not involving widening

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, where either the Minister of Transport or the Greater London Council (" the Council"), after consultation with the highway authority, are of the opinion that, with a view to facilitating the movement of traffic it is expedient for works to be executed for the improvement of a highway in Greater London to which this section applies, being works which the highway authority could execute and which do not involve the widening of the highway, then—

(a) the highway authority shall, within 3 months of being notified of that fact, inform the Minister or, as the case may be, the Council whether they are prepared to undertake those works and, if so, within what time; and

(b) if the Minister or, as the case may be, the Council at the expiration of the said 3 months are not satisfied that the highway authority will with reasonable dispatch undertake those works (or within the said 3 months are satisfied that they will not), the Minister or, as the case may be, the Council may execute those works or other works appearing to him or them to secure the same or an equivalent improvement of the highway.

For the purposes of this subsection it is not to be treated as widening a highway to take into the highway land not forming part of it but situated within its outer limits.

(2) The highways to which subsection (1) above applies are highways for which a London borough council or the Common Council are the highway authority and also, where the power under that subsection is exercised by the Minister, metropolitan roads.

(3) The Minister shall exercise his powers under subsection (1) above only if he considers it necessary in connection with any order made or proposed to be made by him under section 6 or section 9 of the [1967 c. 76.] Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 by virtue of section 84A(2) or (4) of that Act.

(4) Where the Minister or the Council execute or propose to execute works under this section for the improvement of a highway, then for the purpose of or in connection with the execution of those works—

(a) he or they shall (subject to the following provisions of this section) have all the powers and rights, and be subject to all the obligations and liabilities, of the highway authority; and

(b) he or they may exercise of his or their own motion any powers which, if the works were executed by the highway authority, he or they could exercise on the application of that authority; and

(c) he or they may do or require the highway authority to do anything which that authority has power to do in some capacity other than that of highway authority.

(5) Where the Minister or the Council execute works under this section for the improvement of a highway the amount of his or their expenses in connection therewith, as certified by him or them, shall (except, where the expenses are the Minister's, in so far as they may be met by any grant made by the Minister) be paid to him or, as the case may be, them on demand by the highway authority; and that authority have the like power of raising money required to make such payment, and the like right to recover the whole or any part of any sum paid, as if the expenses of the Minister or the Council had been incurred in executing the works as their agent.

(6) Subsection (4) above does not transfer to the Minister or the Council in connection with the execution of any works any powers, rights, obligations or liabilities of a highway authority under any enactment to which this subsection applies ; but where the Minister or the Council proceed under this section to execute works in a highway, any such enactment applies in relation to those works as if the Minister or the Council were acting as agent of the highway authority, but so that the highway authority are to comply with any directions of the Minister or, as the case may be, the Council as to the exercise of their powers and rights.

This subsection applies to the [1950 c. 39.] Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 and, in the case of any works, to such other enactments as the Minister or the Council may specify for this purpose in a notice given by him or them to the highway authority.

(7) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this section, the powers exercisable under this section by the Minister or the Council in place of a highway authority include any power of that authority to acquire land, or an interest or right in, over or under land ; and any land, or any interest or right in, over or under land, acquired by the Minister or the Council by virtue of this section shall be acquired in the name and on behalf of the highway authority, and shall vest in that authority accordingly.

(8) A highway authority shall produce to the Minister or, as the case may be, the Council such documents relating to matters affecting the exercise of the Minister's or the Council's powers under this section, and furnish him or them with such other information relating to those matters, as he or they may require in connection with the exercise of those powers or any proposal to exercise them.