Crown rights
26.—(1) Nothing in this Order affects prejudicially any estate, right, power, privilege, authority or exemption of the Crown, and in particular nothing in this Order authorises the undertaker or any licensee—
(a)to take, use, enter on or in any manner interfere with any land or rights of any description (including any portion of the shore or bed of the sea or any river, channel, creek, bay or estuary)—
(i)belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and forming part of the Crown Estate without the consent in writing of the Crown Estate Commissioners(1);
(ii)belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown and not forming part of the Crown Estate without the consent in writing of the government department having the management of that land; or
(iii)belonging to a government department or the Welsh Government or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department or the Welsh Government without the consent in writing of that government department or the Welsh Government; or
(b)to exercise any right under this Order compulsorily to acquire an interest in any land which is Crown land (as defined in section 227 of the 2008 Act) that is for the time being held otherwise than by or on behalf of the Crown without the consent in writing of the appropriate Crown authority (as defined in that section).
(2) A consent under paragraph (1)—
(a)may be unconditional or subject to terms and conditions;
(b)may be given electronically.
“Crown Estate Commissioners” is defined in Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978.