Roads (Scotland) Act 1984

151 Interpretation. S

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “approaches”, in relation to a bridge or tunnel, includes the facings of any embankment or cutting adjacent to the bridge or tunnel;

• [F1 “appropriate environmental body” is to be construed in accordance with section 20A(6) of this Act;]

• “building” includes any erection, however, and with whatever material, it is constructed and any part of a building;

• “carriageway” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (2) below;

• “cattle-grid” has the meaning given by section 41(6) of this Act;

• “classified road” shall be construed in accordance with section 11 of this Act;

• “common” has the same meaning as in the M1 Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947;

• “cycle track” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (2) below;

• “days” means clear days;

• [F2 “driver information system” has the same meaning as in Part II of the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989, and references to an “operator” of a driver information system are references to an operator licensed under that Part of that Act;]

• “enactment” includes an enactment in this Act or in a local or private Act and a provision of an order, a scheme, regulations or any other instrument made under or confirmed by a public general, local or private Act;

• [F1 “environmental assessment” means an assessment in accordance with Council Directive No. 85/337/EEC;]

• [F1 “environmental statement” has the meaning provided by section 20A(2) of this Act;]

• “footpath” shall be construed in accordance with subsections (2) and (3)(a) and (b), and “footway” in accordance with subsection (2), below;

• “frontager”, in relation to a road or proposed road, means the owner of any land fronting or abutting it;

• “improvement”, in relation to a road, means the doing of anything for the benefit of road users, or any class of road users, beyond that which is essential to placing the road in a proper state of repair, and includes the improvement of the amenity—

(a) of the road; and

(b) of land abutting on, or adjacent to, the road;

• “local authority” means a regional or islands council;

• “local roads authority” has the meaning given by paragraph (a) of the definition of “roads authority” in this subsection;

• “maintenance” includes—

(a) repair; and

(b) watering to allay dust but, without prejudice to subsection (1) of section 25 of the M2 Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 (restriction of powers of local authorities as regards street cleansing), not such cleansing as an islands or district council are required by subsections (1) and (3) of that section to undertake;

• “navigation authority” means persons authorised by any enactment to work, maintain, conserve, improve or control any canal or other inland navigation, navigable river, estuary, harbour or dock;

• “notice” means notice in writing;

• “obstruction” includes obstruction of view;

• “occupier” means the person in occupation or having the charge, management or control of land, either on his own account or as the agent of another person;

• “open space” has the same meaning as in the M3 Acquisition of Land (Authorisition Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947;

• “operator”, in relation to a telecommunications code system, has the same meaning as in paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the M4 Telecommunications Act 1984;

• “owner”—

(a) in relation to land means, subject to paragraph (b) below, the person for the time being entitled to receive, or who would, if the same were let, be entitled to receive, the rents of the land, and includes a trustee, factor, tutor or curator, and in the case of public or municipal property applies to the persons to whom the management thereof is entrusted; and

(b) in relation to special roads (whether existing or proposed) includes any person who under the Lands Clauses Acts would be entitled to sell and convey the land to promoters of an undertaking and also includes a lessee under a lease the unexpired portion of which exceeds three years;

• “pedal cycle” means a cycle whose motive power is provided solely by the legs of its rider or riders or which complies with the requirements specified in Regulation 4 of the M5 Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983;

• “private road” means any road other than a public road;

• “proposed road” means (without prejudice to the definition in this subsection of “proposed public road”) a new road in course of construction, or proposed to be constructed, by or on behalf of any person;

• “proposed public road” means either—

(a) a new road in course of construction, or proposed to be constructed, by or on behalf of a roads authority; or

(b) an existing road which is a prospective public road within the meaning of the [F3 Part IV of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991];

• “public road” means a road which a roads authority have a duty to maintain;

• “railway undertakers” means persons authorised by any enactment to carry on a railway undertaking;

• “road” means, subject to subsection (3) below, any way (other than a waterway) over which there is a public right of passage (by whatever means [F4 and whether subject to a toll or not]) and includes the road’s verge, and any bridge (whether permanent or temporary) over which, or tunnel through which, the road passes; and any reference to a road includes a part thereof;

• “roads authority” means—

(a) in relation to a road or proposed road other than any such as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of this definition, the regional or islands council within whose area the road is (such council being in this Act referred to as a “local roads authority”); and

(b) in relation to a trunk road (whether existing or in course of construction) or, without prejudice to section 4 of this Act, to a special road provided by him under section 7(5) (or to be provided by him under section 7(5)(a) or (b)) or to any other road constructed (or to be constructed) by him under section 19(1) of this Act, the Secretary of State; and references to “they” in relation to a roads authority shall be taken to relate also to the Secretary of State;

• “special road authority” has the meaning given by section 7(4) of this Act;

• “special road” means a road provided or to be provided in accordance with a scheme under section 7 of this Act;

• “statutory undertakers” has the same meaning as in section 275 of the M6 Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 except that it includes

  (a)

  F5 the Post Office

  (b)

  F6 except in sections 133 and 140(4) of this Act, the operator of any telecommunications code system [F7 and

  (c)

  except in section 140(4) of this Act, the operator of any driver information system;]

• “swing bridge” includes any opening bridge operated by mechanical means;

• “telecommunication apparatus”, “the telecommunications code” and “telecommunications code system” have the same meanings as in paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the M7 Telecommunications Act 1984;

• “tidal waters” has the same meaning as in section 35(1) of the M8 Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951;

• “traffic” includes pedestrians and animals;

• “traffic sign” has the same meaning as in section 64(1) of the M9 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984;

• “trunk road” means a road which is a trunk road by virtue of section 5 of this Act or of an order or direction under that section or section 198(2) of the M10 Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972;

• “use”, in relation to a road, includes crossing;

• “vehicle” means a vehicle of any description and includes a machine or implement of any kind drawn or propelled along roads (whether or not by mechanical power);

• “water authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 3 of the M11 Water (Scotland) Act 1980; and

• “works”, as regards any road, includes—

(a) making an alteration to it;

(b) breaking up or opening it;

(c) constructing or laying anything under it;

(d) building anything into it; and

(e) carrying out any other operations of a like nature;

and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

(2) For the purpose of this Act, where over a road the public right of passage referred to in the definition of “road” in subsection (1) above—

(a) is by foot only, the road is—

(i) where it is associated with a carriageway, a “footway”; and

(ii) where it is not so associated, a “footpath”;

(b) is by pedal cycle only, or by pedal cycle and foot only, the road is a “cycle track”;

(c) includes such a right by vehicle, other than a right by pedal cycle only, the road is a “carriageway”.

(3) This Act does not confer any power or impose any duty as regards a road or proposed road which—

(a) being a footpath only, is a public path created under section 30 of the M12 Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 (power of planning authority to create public paths by agreement);

(b) being a footpath only, forms part of a long-distance route the proposals for which have been approved by the Secretary of State under section 40(1) of that Act (approval of proposals relating to a long-distance route); or

(c) forms part of land owned or managed by an islands or district council and used by them for the provision of facilities for recreational, sporting, cultural or social activities in the discharge of their duties under section 14 of the M13 Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982.

(4) Any reference in this Act to apparatus belonging to statutory undertakers shall, in relation to the operator of a telecommunications code system, have effect as a reference to telecommunication apparatus kept installed for the purposes of that system.

Textual Amendments

F1 Definitions inserted by S.I. 1988/1221, reg. 72

F2 Definition inserted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 13(1), Sch. 4 para. 5(1)(3)(a)

F3 Words in s. 151(1) in the definition of "proposed public road" substituted (1.1.1993) by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22, SIF 59, 108), s. 168(1), Sch. 8 para. 94(a); S.I. 1992/2990, art. 2(2), Sch. 2

F4 Words in s. 151(1) in the definition of "road" inserted (21.10.1991) by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22, SIF 59, 108), s. 168(1), Sch. 8 para. 94(b); S.I. 1991/2286, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F5 “(a)” inserted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 13(1), Sch. 4 para. 5(1)(3)(b)

F6 “(b)” substituted by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 13(1), Sch. 4 para. 5(1)(3)(b)

F7 Words added by Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (c. 22, SIF 107:1), s. 13(1), Sch. 4 para. 5(1)(3)(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 151(1) definitions of "trunk road" and "classified road" applied (1.1.1993) by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22, SIF 59, 108), s. 136(3) (with saving s. 167(4)(5)); S.I. 1992/2990, art. 2(2), Sch. 2

C2 S. 151(1) definition of "improvement" applied (14.7.1992) by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22, SIF 59, 108), s. 145(2)(b) (with saving s. 167(4)(5)); S.I. 1992/1671, art. 2, Sch.

C3 S. 151(1) definitions of "roads authority" "local roads authority" applied (14.7.1992) by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22, SIF 59, 108), s. 145(1) (with saving s. 167(4)(5)); S.I. 1992/1671, art. 2, Sch.

Marginal Citations

M1 1947 c. 42.

M2 1982 c. 43.

M3 1947 c. 42.

M4 1984 c. 12.

M5 S.I. 1983/1168.

M6 1972 c. 52.

M7 1984 c. 12.

M8 1951 c. 66

M9 1984 c. 27.

M10 1972 c. 52.

M11 1980 c. 45.

M12 1967 c. 86.

M13 1982 c. 43.