Highways Act 1980

59 Recovery of expenses due to extraordinary traffic

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, where it appears to the highway authority for a highway maintainable at the public expense, by a certificate of their proper officer, that having regard to the average expense of maintaining the highway or other similar highways in the neighbourhood extraordinary expenses have been or will be incurred by the authority in maintaining the highway by reason of the damage caused by excessive weight passing along the highway, or other extraordinary traffic thereon, the highway authority may recover from any person (" the operator") by or in consequence of whose order the traffic has been conducted the excess expenses.

(2) In subsection (1) above " the excess expenses " means such expenses as may be proved to the satisfaction of the court having cognizance of the case to have been or to be likely to be incurred by the highway authority by reason of the damage arising from the extraordinary traffic; and for the purposes of that subsection the expenses incurred by a highway authority in maintaining a highway are (without prejudice to the application of this section to a by-pass provided under this Act for use in connection with a cattle-grid) to be taken to include expenses incurred by them in maintaining a cattle-grid provided for the highway under this Act.

(3) If before traffic which may cause such damage commences the operator admits liability in respect of such traffic, then—

(a) the operator and the highway authority may agree for the payment by the operator to the highway authority of a sum by way of a composition of such liability, or

(b) either party may require that the sum to be so paid shall be determined by arbitration ;

and where a sum has been so agreed or determined the operator is liable to pay that sum to the highway authority and is not liable to proceedings for the recovery of the excess expenses under subsection (1) above.

(4) Any sums recoverable under this section are recoverable in the High Court or, if the claim does not exceed £500, in the county court in the district in which the highway or any part of it is situated.

(5) Proceedings for the recovery of any sums under this section shall be commenced within 12 months from the time at which the damage has been done or, where the damage is the consequence of any particular building contract or work extending over a long period, not later than 6 months from the date of completion of the contract or work.

(6) In the application of this section to highways for which the Minister is the highway authority the words " by a certificate of their proper officer" in subsection (1) are to be omitted.