Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 (repealed 1.1.1993)

4 Procedure as to plans and sections, etc.: general provisions. E+W+S

(1) An authority or managers concerned to whom a plan and section of code-regulated works proposed to be executed in a [F1 street][F1 road] are submitted under subsection (1) of the last preceding section shall give notice to the undertakers either—

(a) approving the plan and section without modification,

(b) objecting to them in form as being on too small a scale or giving insufficient particulars,

(c) approving them subject to modifications specified in the notice, or

(d) disapproving them.

(2) Such an authority or managers shall give the notice required of them by the preceding subsection without avoidable delay, and at the latest before the expiration of the following period from the date on which the plan and section were submitted to them, that is to say—

(a) in the case of a plan and section not being such as are mentioned in the succeeding paragraph, twenty-nine days; or

(b) in the case of a plan and section of works relating only to a service pipe or service line or [F2 overhead telecommunication apparatus]; eight days,

and, as between the undertakers and such an authority or managers who have not duly given the notice at the expiration of that period, the plan and section as submitted shall be deemed to have been settled by agreement.

(3) Where such an authority or managers give a notice approving the plan and section subject to modifications, or disapproving the plan and section, the authority or managers shall state their grounds for requiring the modifications, or for their disapproval, as the case may be.

(4) If such an authority or managers duly give a notice objecting to the plan and section in form, or approving them subject to modifications to which the undertakers do not agree, or disapproving them, then, unless the notice is withdrawn in the case of each such authority or managers who have duly given such a notice (in which case the plan and section as submitted shall be deemed to have been settled by agreement between them and the undertakers)—

(a) the undertakers may refer the matter to arbitration; and

(b) the [F3 arbitrator][F3 arbiter] shall settle a plan and section of works of the kind proposed, as works to be executed in the [F3 street][F3 road]:

Provided that—

(i) paragraph (b) of this subsection shall not apply if the case falls within the next succeeding section and the only modifications or disapproval are on the part of the [F4 street][F4 roads] authority and on the ground that some or all of the works ought to be executed in controlled land, and

(ii) paragraph (b) of this subsection shall have effect subject to the provisions of subsection (7) of this section in such a case as is therein mentioned.

(5) On a reference under this or the next succeeding section the [F5 arbitrator][F5 arbiter] shall have power to require the undertakers to submit to him a plan and section in such form, to require any such authority or managers to submit to him such observations on a plan and section submitted to him, and to require either the undertakers or any such authority or managers to furnish him with such information and to take such other steps as appear to him to be requisite, and shall have power to treat compliance with any such requirement made to the undertakers as a condition of his proceeding with the settlement of a plan and section and compliance with any such requirement made to any such authority or managers as a condition of his settling a plan and section otherwise than as proposed by the undertakers.

(6) A sewer authority concerned, or a bridge authority or managers concerned, shall not be entitled to give notice approving a plan and section submitted to them under subsection (1) of the last preceding section subject to modifications, or disapproving the plan and section, on grounds other than such as relate to injurious effect of the proposed works on their sewer, or on the structure or stability of their bridge, as the case may be:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to a sewer authority, or to a bridge authority or managers, who are also concerned as the [F6 street authority][F6 roads authority] or [F6 street managers][F6 road managers] or as a transport authority.

(7) Where there is a reference to an [F7 arbitrator][F7 arbiter] under subsection (4) of this section in relation to the placing, altering or changing the position of apparatus in a [F7 street][F7 road] which is carried by or goes under a bridge, if he is satisfied that the execution thereof would be likely to affect injuriously the structure or stability of the bridge, and that it is not practicable to meet objection on that ground to the plan and the section submitted, he shall so declare, and shall not settle any plan and section of those works on that reference, but without prejudice to the right of the undertakers to submit another plan and section thereof for the purposes of subsection (1) of the last preceding section.

(8) For the purposes of the application of this and the next succeeding section, in relation to a plan and section of undertakers’ works to be executed in exercise of any power to execute such works conferred by section twelve of the M1 Requisitioned Land and War Works Act 1948 (which relates to government oil pipe-lines and works accessory thereto), or by the joint effect of that section and of section twenty-eight of the M2 Requisitioned Land and War Works Act 1945—

(a) any objection to a plan and section in form shall be disregarded if a Minister within the meaning of the said Act of 1945 certifies that in his opinion it would be against the national interest to submit a plan and section on a larger scale or giving further particulars; and

(b) any modification of a plan and section shall be disregarded in so far as the modification would involve a lateral diversion of a line to which the said section twelve applies (other than a diversion to which the Minister on whose behalf the works are to be executed consents) or any such change of the site of accessory works to which that section applies as would necessitate such a diversion, any disapproval of a plan and section shall be disregarded in so far as the ground therefor is or involves that there ought to be such a diversion or change, and an [F8 arbitrator][F8 arbiter] settling a plan and section shall not thereby provide for any such diversion or change.

Textual Amendments

F1 Word “street” substituted (S.) for word “road” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(a)

F2 Words substituted by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 109, Sch. 4 para. 29(2), Sch. 5 para. 45

F3 Words “arbiter” and “road” substituted (S.) respectively for words “arbitrator” and “street” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(b)(i)

F4 Word “roads” substituted (S.) for word “street” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(b)(ii)

F5 Word “arbiter” substituted (S.) for word “arbitrator” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(c)

F6 Words “roads authority” and “road managers” substituted (S.) respectively for words “street authority” and “street managers” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(d)

F7 Words “arbiter” and “road” substituted (S.) respectively for words “arbitrator” and “street” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(e)

F8 Word “arbiter” substituted (S.) for word “arbitrator” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(5)(f)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 4 modified by Pipe-lines Act 1962 (c. 58, SIF 102), s. 16

C2 S. 4(8) extended by Land Powers (Defence) Act 1958 (c. 30, SIF 28:3), s. 16(5)(a)

Marginal Citations

M1 1948 c. 17(28:3).

M2 1945 c. 43(28:3).