Water Industry Act 1991

General provisions protecting undertakings E+W

1 (1) Nothing in this Act conferring power on a relevant undertaker to carry out any works shall confer power to do anything, except with the consent of the persons carrying on an undertaking protected by this paragraph, which, whether directly or indirectly, so interferes or will so interfere—

(a) with works or property vested in or under the control of the persons carrying on that undertaking, in their capacity as such; or

(b) with the use of any such works or property,

as to affect injuriously those works or that property or the carrying on of that undertaking.

(2) Without prejudice to the construction of sub-paragraph (1) above for the purposes of its application in relation to the other provisions of this Act, that sub-paragraph shall have effect in its application in relation to the relevant sewerage provisions as if any use of, injury to or interference with any sluices, floodgates, sewers, groynes, sea defences or other works which are vested in or under the control of [F1 the Environment Agency] or an internal drainage board were such an interference with works or property vested in or under the control of [F1 the Environment Agency] or that board as to affect injuriously the works or property or the carrying on of the undertaking of [F1 the Environment Agency] or of that board.

(3) A consent for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above may be given subject to reasonable conditions but shall not be unreasonably withheld.

(4) Subject to the following provisions of this Schedule, any dispute—

(a) as to whether anything done or proposed to be done interferes or will interfere as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above;

(b) as to whether any consent for the purposes of this paragraph is being unreasonably withheld; or

(c) as to whether any condition subject to which any such consent has been given was reasonable,

shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator to be appointed by agreement between the parties to the dispute or, in default of agreement, by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

(5) The following are the undertakings protected by this paragraph, that is to say-

(a) the undertakings of [F1 the Environment Agency], the Civil Aviation Authority, [F2 the Coal Authority] and the Post Office;

(b) the undertaking of any relevant undertaker;

(c) any undertaking consisting in the running of a telecommunications code system, within the meaning of Schedule 4 to the M1 Telecommunications Act 1984;

(d) any airport to which Part V of the M2 Airports Act 1986 applies;

(e) the undertaking of any public gas supplier within the meaning of Part I of the M3 Gas Act 1986;

(f) the undertaking of any person authorised by a licence under Part I of the M4 Electricity Act 1989 to generate, transmit or supply electricity;

(g) the undertaking of any navigation, harbour or conservancy authority or of any internal drainage board;

(h) the undertaking of any railway undertakers;

(i) any public utility undertaking carried on by a local authority under any Act or under any order having the force of an Act.

[F3 (j) the undertaking of any licensed operator, within the meaning of the Coal Industry Act 1994;]

(6) For the purposes of this paragraph any reference in this paragraph, in relation to any such airport as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (5)(d) above, to the persons carrying on the undertaking is a reference to the airport operator.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Sch. 13 para. 1(2)(5)(a) substituted (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 25, s. 120(1), Sch. 22 para. 127 (with ss. 7(6), 115, 117); S.I. 1996/186, art. 3

F2 Words in Sch. 13 para. 1(5)(a) substituted (31.10.1994) by 1994 c. 21, ss. 67(1), 68(2), Sch. 9 para. 42(a) (with s. 40(7)); S.I. 1994/2553, art. 2

F3 Sch. 13 para. 1(5)(j) inserted (31.10.1994) by 1994 c. 21, ss. 67(1), 68(2), Sch. 9 para. 42(b) (with s. 40(7)); S.I. 1994/2553, art. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Sch. 13 para. 1(5)(e) amended (1.3.1996) by 1995 c. 45, s. 16(1), Sch. 4 para. 2(2)(m); S.I. 1996/218, art. 2

Marginal Citations

M1 1984 c. 12.

M2 1986 c. 31.

M3 1986 c. 44.

M4 1989 c. 29.