Highways Act 1980

4 Agreement for exercise by Minister of certain functions of local highway authority as respects highway affected by construction, etc. of trunk road

(1) The Minister and a local highway authority may enter into an agreement for providing, in relation to a highway specified in the agreement, being a highway that crosses or enters the route of a trunk road or is or will be otherwise affected by the construction or improvement of a trunk road, that any functions specified in the agreement, being functions of improvement exercisable as respects that highway by the local highway authority, shall be exercisable by the Minister on such terms and subject to such conditions (if any) as may be so specified.

(2) Where under an agreement made under this section any function of a local highway authority is exercisable by the Minister, then, for the purpose of exercising that function the Minister shall have the same powers under this Act (including highway land acquisition powers) as the local highway authority have for that purpose, and in exercising that function and those powers he shall have the like rights and be subject to the like liabilities as that authority.

(3) Where for purposes connected with any function exercisable by him under an agreement made under this section the Minister proposes to construct a new highway, every council (other than the council of a district) in whose area the proposed highway is situated shall be a party to the agreement and the agreement shall provide for a local highway authority specified in the agreement to become the highway authority for the highway on its completion.

(4) An agreement under this section made between the Minister and any other highway authority may provide for the payment of contributions—

(a) by the Minister to that other authority in respect of any additional liabilities imposed on that other authority in consequence of the provisions of the agreement ;

(b) to the Minister by that other authority in respect of liabilities so imposed on the Minister, being liabilities which would otherwise have fallen to be discharged by that other authority ;

and may also provide for the determination by arbitration of disputes as to the payment of such contributions.

(5) Any local highway authority who are a party to an agreement made under this section may contribute towards any expenses incurred by the Minister in executing any works to which the agreement relates.