Part I The Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Chapter I The Environment Agency

Transfer of functions, property etc. to the Agency

7 General environmental and recreational duties.

(1)

It shall be the duty of each of the Ministers and of the Agency, in formulating or considering—

(a)

any proposals relating to any functions of the Agency other than its pollution control functions, so far as may be consistent—

(i)

with the purposes of any enactment relating to the functions of the Agency,

(ii)

in the case of each of the Ministers, with the objective of achieving sustainable development,

(iii)

in the case of the Agency, with any guidance under section 4 above,

(iv)

in the case of the Secretary of State, with his duties under section 2 of the M1Water Industry Act 1991,

so to exercise any power conferred on him or it with respect to the proposals as to further the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty and the conservation of flora, fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest;

(b)

any proposals relating to pollution control functions of the Agency, to have regard to the desirability of conserving and enhancing natural beauty and of conserving flora, fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest;

(c)

any proposal relating to any functions of the Agency—

(i)

to have regard to the desirability of protecting and conserving buildings, sites and objects of archaeological, architectural, engineering or historic interest;

(ii)

to take into account any effect which the proposals would have on the beauty or amenity of any rural or urban area or on any such flora, fauna, features, buildings, sites or objects; and

(iii)

to have regard to any effect which the proposals would have on the economic and social well-being of local communities in rural areas.

(2)

Subject to subsection (1) above, it shall be the duty of each of the Ministers and of the Agency, in formulating or considering any proposals relating to any functions of the Agency—

(a)

to have regard to the desirability of preserving for the public any freedom of access to areas of woodland, mountains, moor, heath, down, cliff or foreshore and other places of natural beauty;

(b)

to have regard to the desirability of maintaining the availability to the public of any facility for visiting or inspecting any building, site or object of archaeological, architectural, engineering or historic interest; and

(c)

to take into account any effect which the proposals would have on any such freedom of access or on the availability of any such facility.

(3)

Subsections (1) and (2) above shall apply so as to impose duties on the Agency in relation to—

(a)

any proposals relating to the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker,

(b)

any proposals relating to the management, by the company holding an appointment as such an undertaker, of any land for the time being held by that company for any purpose whatever (whether or not connected with the carrying out of the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker), and

(c)

any proposal which by virtue of section 156(7) of the M2Water Industry Act 1991 (disposals of protected land) falls to be treated for the purposes of section 3 of that Act as a proposal relating to the functions of a water undertaker or sewerage undertaker,

as they apply in relation to proposals relating to the Agency’s own functions, other than its pollution control functions.

(4)

Subject to obtaining the consent of any navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority before doing anything which causes obstruction of, or other interference with, navigation which is subject to the control of that authority, it shall be the duty of the Agency to take such steps as are—

(a)

reasonably practicable, and

(b)

consistent with the purposes of the enactments relating to the functions of the Agency,

for securing, so long as the Agency has rights to the use of water or land associated with water, that those rights are exercised so as to ensure that the water or land is made available for recreational purposes and is so made available in the best manner.

(5)

It shall be the duty of the Agency, in determining what steps to take in performance of any duty imposed by virtue of subsection (4) above, to take into account the needs of persons who are chronically sick or disabled.

(6)

Nothing in this section, the following provisions of this Act or the 1991 Act shall require recreational facilities made available by the Agency to be made available free of charge.

(7)

In this section—

“building” includes structure;

“pollution control functions”, in relation to the Agency, has the same meaning as in section 5 above.