163 Power to enter and survey land.E+W
(1)Any person who is duly authorised in writing by the Agency may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying it, or estimating its value, in connection with—
(a)any proposal to acquire that land or any other land; or
(b)any claim for compensation in respect of any such acquisition.
(2)The power to survey land shall be construed as including power to search and bore for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the subsoil or the presence of minerals in it.
(3)A person authorised under this section to enter any land—
(a)shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority before entry, and
(b)shall not demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied unless 28 days’ notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier by the Agency.
(4)Any person who wilfully obstructs a person acting in exercise of his powers under this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.
(5)If any person who, in compliance with the provisions of this section, is admitted into a factory, workshop or workplace discloses to any person any information obtained by him in it as to any manufacturing process or trade secret, he shall be guilty of an offence.
(6)Subsection (5) does not apply if the disclosure is made by a person in the course of performing his duty in connection with the purpose for which he was authorised to enter the premises.
(7)A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (5) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.
(8)Where any land is damaged—
(a)in the exercise of a right of entry under this section, or
(b)in the making of any survey under this section,
compensation in respect of that damage may be recovered by any person interested in the land from the Agency.
(9)The provisions of section 118 of the M1Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (determination of claims for compensation) shall apply in relation to compensation under subsection (8) as they apply in relation to compensation under Part IV of that Act.
(10)No person shall carry out under this section any works authorised by virtue of subsection (2) unless notice of his intention to do so was included in the notice required by subsection (3).
(11)The authority of the appropriate Minister shall be required for the carrying out of any such works if—
(a)the land in question is held by statutory undertakers; and
(b)they object to the proposed works on the ground that the execution of the works would be seriously detrimental to the carrying on of their undertaking;
and expressions used in this subsection have the same meanings as they have in section 325(9) of the M2Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (supplementary provisions as to rights of entry).