Special cases

22 Crown premises, &c.

(1)

It shall be part of the functions of the local authority, in cases where it seems to them proper so to do, to report to the responsible Minister any cases of—

(a)

emissions of dark smoke, or of grit or dust, from any premises which are under the control of any Government department and are occupied for the public service of the Crown or for any of the purposes of any Government department; or

(b)

emissions of smoke, whether dark smoke or not, from any such premises which are within a smoke control area; or

(c)

emissions of smoke, whether dark smoke or not, from any such premises which appear to them to constitute a nuisance to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood; or

(d)

emissions of dark smoke from any vessel of Her Majesty’s navy, or any Government ship in the service of the F1Secretary of State while employed for the purposes of Her Majesty’s navy, which appear to them to constitute such a nuisance as aforesaid,

and on receiving any such report the said Minister shall inquire into the circumstances and, if his inquiry reveals that there is cause for complaint, shall employ all practicable means for preventing or minimising the emission of the smoke, grit or dust or for abating the nuisance and preventing a recurrence thereof, as the case may be.

This subsection shall apply to premises occupied for the purposes of the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall as it applies to premises occupied for the public service of the Crown which are under the control of a Government department, with the substitution, in the case of the Duchy of Cornwall, for references to the responsible Minister of references to such person as the Duke of Cornwall or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall appoints.

(2)

The fact that there subsists in any premises an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or of the Duchy of Lancaster, or to the Duchy of Cornwall, or belonging to a Government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a Government department, shall not affect the application of this Act to those premises so long as that interest is not the interest of the occupier of the premises, and this Act shall have effect accordingly in relation to the premises and that and all other interests therein.

(3)

Section twenty of this Act shall, with the omission of the reference in subsection (1) thereof to the owner, apply to vessels owned by the Crown, except that it shall not apply to vessels of Her Majesty’s navy or to Government ships in the service of the F1Secretary of State while employed for the purposes of Her Majesty’s navy.

(4)

This Act shall have effect in relation to premises occupied for the service of a visiting force as if the premises were premises occupied for the public service of the Crown and were under the control of the Government department by arrangement with whom the premises are occupied.

In this subsection “visiting force” means any such body, contingent or detachment of the forces of any country as is a visiting force for the purposes of any of the provisions of the M1Visiting Forces Act 1952.

(5)

In this section “Government ship” has the same meaning as in section eighty of the M2Merchant Shipping Act 1906.