Water Act 1989

31 (1) Where the British Waterways Board establishes to the reasonable satisfaction of the Authority, on an application made before the coming into force of the amendment made by sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 6 of Schedule 13 to this Act—

(a) that a contract for the sale of water by that Board to any other person has been entered into at any time before the coming into force of that amendment; and

(b) that that contract requires or authorises such an abstraction of any water from any inland water to which section 131 of the 1963 Act (inland waters owned or managed by the British Waterways Board) applies as is required to be licensed under that Act by reason only of that amendment,

that Board shall be entitled to the grant by the Authority of such a licence under the 1963 Act as will authorise the abstraction required or authorised by that contract.

(2) Nothing in—

(a) sections 27 to 29 or 38 of the 1963 Act (applications for licences); or

(b) any regulations under section 54(3) of that Act (applications in respect of National Parks),

shall apply in relation to an application for the grant of a licence by virtue of this paragraph; but, save as aforesaid and subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Schedule, that Act shall have effect as if such an application were an application under that Act.

(3) The preceding provisions of this paragraph, and not section 41(5) of the 1963 Act (procedure on appeal to the Secretary of State), shall apply, as they apply in relation to an application to the Authority for the grant of a licence by virtue of this paragraph, in relation to an appeal under section 39 of that Act in respect of a decision on such an application; but in their application in relation to any such appeal the preceding provisions of this paragraph shall have effect as if in those provisions—

(a) references to the Authority were references to the Secretary of State; and

(b) the requirement in sub-paragraph (1) above as to the period within which an application must be made applied to the application the decision on which is the subject-matter of the appeal (rather than to the appeal itself).

(4) Nothing in—

(a) section 46(3) of the 1963 Act (compensation for revocation or variation confined to work carried out after grant of licence); or

(b) section 47 of that Act (application by owner of fishing rights for revocation or variation of licence),

shall apply in relation to a licence under that Act granted by virtue of this paragraph; but, save as aforesaid and subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) above and the following provisions of this Part of this Schedule, that Act shall apply in relation to any such licence as it applies in relation to any other licence under that Act.