The Infrastructure Act 2015 (Strategic Highways Companies) (Consequential, Transitional and Savings Provisions) Regulations 2015

Citation, commencement, extent and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Infrastructure Act 2015 (Strategic Highways Companies) (Consequential, Transitional and Savings Provisions) Regulations 2015.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 1st April 2015.

(3) An amendment or revocation made by these Regulations has the same extent and application as the provision to which it relates.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980(1);

“the 2015 Act” means the Infrastructure Act 2015;

“the appointment” means the appointment of the company as a strategic highways company under Part 1 of the 2015 Act(2); and

“the company” means Highways England Company Limited, a company limited by shares and incorporated in England and Wales under company number 9346363.

Consequential amendments

3.  The enactments specified in the Schedule are amended in accordance with the Schedule.

Transitional provisions: general

4.—(1) The appointment does not affect the validity of anything done (or having effect as if done) by or in relation to the Secretary of State before the appointment.

(2) Anything (including the conduct of legal proceedings) which, immediately before the appointment, is in the process of being done by or in relation to the Secretary of State may, so far as it relates to a transferred function, be continued by or in relation to the company.

(3) Anything done (or having effect as if done) by or in relation to the Secretary of State for the purposes of or in connection with a transferred function has effect, so far as necessary for continuing its effect after the appointment, as if done by or in relation to the company.

(4) Any enactment, instrument or other document passed or made before the appointment has effect, so far as necessary for the purposes of or in consequence of paragraph (2) or (3), as if references to the Secretary of State (and references which are to be read as references to the Secretary of State) were references to the company.

(5) The references in paragraphs (2) and (3) to things done include references to things omitted to be done.

(6) Paragraphs (2) to (4) are subject to any matter dealt with by a transfer scheme made under section 15 of the 2015 Act.

(7) This regulation is subject to regulations 5 and 6.

(8) In this regulation “transferred function” means a function transferred from the Secretary of State to the company as a result of the appointment(3).

Transitional provision: highway litter clearance and cleaning

5.—(1) The functions transferred to the Secretary of State under the orders mentioned in paragraph (2) are transferred to the company.

(2) The orders referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) the Highway Litter Clearance and Cleaning (Transfer of Duties) Order 1991(4);

(b) the Highway Litter Clearance and Cleaning (Transfer of Responsibility) Order 1997(5);

(c) the Highway Litter Clearance and Cleaning (Transfer of Responsibility) Order 1998(6);

(d) the Highway Litter Clearance and Cleaning (Transfer of Responsibility) (A13 Trunk Road) Order 2000(7); and

(e) the Highway Litter Clearance and Cleaning (Transfer of Responsibility) (England) Order 2009(8).

Transitional provision: orders and schemes

6.—(1) This regulation applies where—

(a) the Secretary of State has prepared a draft of a relevant instrument for the purpose of the enactment in question but, at the time of the appointment, has not made the instrument; and

(b) the instrument relates to, or makes provision in connection with, a transferred highway.

(2) The Secretary of State may make the instrument notwithstanding that the Secretary of State is not (or will not be) the highway authority for the highway.

(3) Accordingly, the procedures that apply in relation to, or in connection with, the making of the instrument (including any applicable rules regulating the procedure to be followed at a local inquiry) are those that apply in relation to, or in connection with, the making of that instrument by the Secretary of State.

(4) Where the instrument is an order under section 106(1) of the 1980 Act, the instrument once made is deemed to be a scheme made by the company and confirmed by the Secretary of State under section 106(3) of the 1980 Act.

(5) In all other cases the instrument, once made, is deemed to have been made by the company and confirmed by the Secretary of State.

(6) The instrument has effect, so far as necessary for the purposes of paragraph (4) or (5), as if references to the Secretary of State (and references which are to be read as references to the Secretary of State) were references to the company.

(7) In this regulation—

“relevant instrument” means an order or scheme made under any of the following enactments—

(a)

sections 14(9), 16(10), 18(11), 106(12) or 108(13) of the 1980 Act,

(b)

Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981(14),

(c)

the Stopping up of Accesses to Premises (Procedure) Regulations 1971(15); and

“transferred highway” means a highway for which the company is the highway authority (or a proposed highway for which the company will be the highway authority), whether as a result of the appointment or otherwise.

Saving

7.  The revocation of article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010(16) does not affect the operation of that article in relation to any application for planning permission notified to the Secretary of State(17) before the appointment.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

John Hayes

Minister of State

Department for Transport

2nd March 2015