Highways Act 1980

334 Savings for Post Office

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, nothing in this Act or in any scheme or order made under it affects any powers or duties of the Post Office under the provisions of the Telegraph Acts or applies to any telegraphic lines placed or maintained by virtue of any of those provisions ; but this subsection does not affect the operation of section 20 above as it has effect in relation to powers of the Post Office by virtue of subsection (9) of that section, or the operation of sections 156 to 159 above.

(2) Where—

(a) land is conveyed by a highway authority in pursuance of section 256 above, or

(b) a highway is stopped up or diverted in pursuance of an order to which this paragraph applies,

and immediately before the conveyance or, as the case may be, the date on which the order comes into force there is under, in, upon, over, along or across the land conveyed or, as the case may be, the highway stopped up or diverted any telegraphic line belonging to or used by the Post Office, then the provisions of subsection (3) below have effect.

Paragraph (b) above applies to the following orders, namely, an order made or confirmed by the Minister under section 14 or 18 above, a public path extinguishment order and a public path diversion order.

(3) In the circumstances mentioned in subsection (2) above, the Post Office have the same powers in respect of the telegraphic line as if the conveyance had not been made or, as the case may be, the order had not come into force; but if the transferee of the land, or, as the case may be, any person entitled to land over which the stopped up or diverted highway subsisted requires the telegraphic line to be altered, paragraphs (1) to (8) of section 7 of the [1878 c. 76.] Telegraph Act 1878 apply to the alteration and accordingly have effect, subject to the necessary modifications, as if references therein to undertakers included references to the person so requiring the line to be altered.

(4) Where in pursuance of an order made by a magistrates' court under section 116 above a highway is stopped up or diverted, the following provisions of this subsection have effect in relation to so much of any telegraphic line belonging to or used by the Post Office as is under, in, upon, over, along or across land which by reason of the stopping up or diversion ceases to be a highway (" the affected line "):—

(a) the power of the Post Office to remove the affected line is exercisable notwithstanding the making of the order, so however that the said power is not exercisable, as respects the whole or any part of the affected line, after the expiration of a period of 3 months from the date of the sending of the notice referred to in subsection (5) below unless before the expiration of that period the Post Office have given notice to the authority on whose application the order was made of their intention to remove the affected line or that part of it, as the case may be;

(b) the Post Office may by notice in that behalf to the said authority abandon the affected line or any part of it, and are to be deemed, as respects the affected line or any part of it, to have abandoned it at the expiration of the said period of 3 months unless before the expiration of that period they have removed it or given notice of their intention to remove it;

(c) the Post Office are entitled to recover from the said authority the expense of providing, in substitution for the affected line and any telegraphic line connected with it which is rendered useless in consequence of the removal or abandonment of the affected line, a telegraphic line in such other place as they may require;

(d) where under paragraph (b) above the Post Office have abandoned the whole or any part of the affected line, it vests in the authority there referred to and the provisions of the Telegraph Acts do not apply in relation to it as respects anything done or omitted after the abandonment.

(5) As soon as practicable after the making of an order under section 116 above the authority on whose application the order was made shall by notice to the Post Office inform them of the making of the order.

(6) Where an order under section 14 or 18 above provides for the alteration of a highway and, immediately before the date on which the order comes into force, there is under, in, upon, over, along or across the highway any telegraphic line belonging to or used by the Post Office, then, if the highway authority for the highway require that line to be altered, paragraphs (1) to (8) of section 7 of the [1878 c. 76.] Telegraph Act 1878 apply in relation to the alteration and accordingly have effect, subject to any necessary modifications, as if references therein to undertakers included references to the highway authority.

This subsection does not have effect so far as it relates to the alteration of any telegraphic line for the purposes of authority's works as defined in Part II of the [1950 c. 39.] Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950.

(7) Where in pursuance of an order under section 14 or 18 above a highway is stopped up or diverted, or an order under either of those sections provides for the alteration of a highway, and, immediately before the date on which the order comes into force, there is under, in, upon, over, along or across the highway any telegraphic line belonging to or used by the Post Office, then, without prejudice to subsections (2), (3) and (6) above, the provisions of subsection (8) below have effect.

(8) In the circumstances mentioned in subsection (7) above, if for purposes connected with the construction or improvement of the trunk road, special road or classified road, as the case may be, to which the order relates or with the execution of any works authorised by the order the Minister or other highway authority by whom the order in question was made requires the telegraphic line to be altered, paragraphs (1) to (8) of section 7 of the Telegraph Act 1878 apply in relation to the alteration and accordingly have effect, subject to any necessary modifications, as if references therein to undertakers included references to the Minister or that other authority.

(9) Without prejudice to the code in Part II of the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 (relations between an authority carrying out road alterations and undertakers whose apparatus is thereby affected)—

(a) any work authorised or required by an order under section 93 above to be done by a highway authority or the owners of a bridge,

(b) any work proposed to be done by a highway authority in exercise of powers conferred on them by section 96 above, and

(c) any work authorised or required by a licence under section 176 above to be done by the person to whom the licence is granted,

is, for the purposes of section 7 of the [1878 c. 76.] Telegraph Act 1878, to be deemed to be work proposed to be done in the execution of an undertaking authorised by an Act of Parliament, and the authority or person carrying out the work are to be deemed to be the undertakers.

(10) Where, in pursuance of any order or scheme made or confirmed under this Act, a navigable watercourse is diverted and, immediately before the date on which the order or scheme comes into force, there is under, in, upon, over, along or across the watercourse, or any towing path or other way adjacent to it, any telegraphic line belonging to or used by the Post Office, the Post Office have the same powers in respect of that line as if the order or scheme had not come into force ; but if—

(a) the highway authority by whom the order or scheme was made, or

(b) any person entitled to land on which so much of the watercourse, towing path or way as is diverted in pursuance of the order or scheme was previously situated,

requires the line to be altered, paragraphs (1) to (8) of section 7 of the Telegraph Act 1878 apply in relation to the alteration and accordingly have effect, subject to any necessary modifications, as if references therein to undertakers included references to the highway authority or to the person so requiring the line to be altered, as the case may be.

(11) For the purposes of the placing or maintenance of overground telegraphic lines under the powers conferred by the Telegraph Acts a bridge constructed or used in accordance with a licence under section 176 above is to be deemed to be part of any highway which it crosses.

(12) The fact that the Telegraph Acts are not expressed to be binding on the Crown does not prevent those Acts having effect in relation to a street or public road, as defined for the purposes of those Acts, which is a trunk road or other highway for which the Minister is the highway authority, as they have effect in relation to any other street or public road as so defined, but this provision is without prejudice to section 20(9) above.

(13) No provision of section 7 of the Telegraph Act 1878 creating a liability to a fine for breach of any obligation applies to an obligation in so far as, by virtue of a provision of this section, it falls to be performed by the Minister.

(14) In this section "alter" and "telegraphic line" have the same meanings respectively as in the Telegraph Act 1878, and " the Telegraph Acts " means the [1863 c. 112.] Telegraph Act 1863, the Telegraph Act 1878, the [1892 c. 59.] Telegraph Act 1892, the [1908 c. 33.] Telegraph (Construction) Act 1908, the [1909 c. 20.] Telegraph (Arbitration) Act 1909, the [1911 c. 39.] Telegraph (Construction) Act 1911 and the [1916 c. 40.] Telegraph (Construction) Act 1916.