15.—(1) The undertaker may use any watercourse or any public sewer or drain for the drainage of water in connection with the carrying out or maintenance of the authorised project and for that purpose may lay down, take up and alter pipes and may, on any land within the Order limits and subject to receipt of consent under paragraph (3), make openings into, and connections with, the watercourse, public sewer or drain.
(2) Any dispute arising from the making of connections to or the use of a public sewer or drain by the undertaker under paragraph (1) must be determined as if it were a dispute under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991(1) (right to communicate with public sewers).
(3) The undertaker must not discharge any water into any watercourse, public sewer or drain without the consent of the person to whom it belongs; and such consent may be given subject to such terms and conditions as that person may reasonably impose, but must not be unreasonably withheld.
(4) The undertaker must not make any opening into any public sewer or drain except—
(a)in accordance with plans approved by the person to whom the sewer or drain belongs, but such approval must not be unreasonably withheld; and
(b)where that person has been given the opportunity to supervise the making of the opening.
(5) The undertaker must not, in carrying out or maintaining works pursuant to this article, damage or interfere with the bed or banks of any watercourse forming part of a main river.
(6) The undertaker must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that any water discharged into a watercourse or public sewer or drain pursuant to this article is as free as may be practicable from gravel, soil or other solid substance, oil or matter in suspension.
(7) Nothing in this article overrides the requirement for an environmental permit under regulation 12(1)(b) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
(8) If a person fails to notify the undertaker of a decision within 28 days of receiving an application for consent under paragraph (3) or approval under paragraph (4)(a), the person is deemed to have granted consent or given approval, as the case may be.
(9) In this article—
(a)“public sewer or drain” means a sewer or drain that belongs to the Environment Agency, a harbour authority within the meaning of section 57 of the Harbours Act 1964(2) (interpretation), an internal drainage board, a local authority or a sewerage undertaker(3); and
(b)other expressions, excluding “watercourse”, used both in this article and in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 have the same meaning as in those Regulations.
Commencement Information
I1Art. 15 in force at 7.9.2016, see art. 1(2)
16.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this article, the undertaker may at its own expense carry out such protective works to any building lying within the Order limits as the undertaker considers necessary or expedient.
(2) Protective works may be carried out—
(a)at any time before or during the carrying out in the vicinity of the building of any part of the authorised project; or
(b)after the completion of that part of the authorised project in the vicinity of the building at any time up to the end of the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which that part of the authorised project is first opened for use.
(3) For the purpose of determining how the powers under this article are to be exercised, the undertaker may enter and survey any building falling within paragraph (1) and any land within its curtilage.
(4) For the purpose of carrying out protective works under this article to a building, the undertaker may (subject to paragraphs (5) and (6))—
(a)enter the building and any land within its curtilage; and
(b)where the works cannot be carried out reasonably conveniently without entering land that is adjacent to the building but outside its curtilage, enter the adjacent land (but not any building erected on it).
(5) Before exercising—
(a)a power under paragraph (1) to carry out protective works to a building;
(b)a power under paragraph (3) to enter a building and land within its curtilage;
(c)a power under paragraph (4)(a) to enter a building and land within its curtilage; or
(d)a power under paragraph (4)(b) to enter land,
the undertaker must, except in the case of emergency, serve on the owners and occupiers of the building or land not less than 14 days’ notice of its intention to exercise the power and, in a case falling within sub-paragraph (a) or (c), specifying the protective works proposed to be carried out.
(6) Where a notice is served under paragraph (5)(a), (c) or (d), the owner or occupier of the building or land concerned may, by serving a counter-notice within the period of 10 days beginning with the day on which the notice was served, require the question whether it is necessary or expedient to carry out the protective works or to enter the building or land to be referred to arbitration under article 41 (arbitration).
(7) The undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of any building or land in relation to which powers under this article have been exercised for any loss or damage arising to them by reason of the exercise of the powers.
(8) Where—
(a)protective works are carried out under this article to a building; and
(b)within the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the part of the authorised project carried out in the vicinity of the building is first opened for use it appears that the protective works are inadequate to protect the building against damage caused by the carrying out or use of that part of the authorised project,
the undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of the building for any loss or damage sustained by them.
(9) Nothing in this article relieves the undertaker from any liability to pay compensation under section 152 of the 2008 Act(4) (compensation in case where no right to claim in nuisance).
(10) Any compensation payable under paragraph (7) or (8) must be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 of the 1961 Act.
(11) In this article “protective works”, in relation to a building, means—
(a)underpinning, strengthening and any other works the purpose of which is to prevent damage that may be caused to the building by the carrying out, maintenance or use of the authorised project; and
(b)any works the purpose of which is to remedy any damage that has been caused to the building by the carrying out, maintenance or use of the authorised project.
Commencement Information
I2Art. 16 in force at 7.9.2016, see art. 1(2)
17.—(1) The undertaker may for the purposes of this Order enter on any land shown within the Order limits and—
(a)survey or investigate the land;
(b)without limiting sub-paragraph (a), make trial holes in such positions on the land as the undertaker thinks fit to investigate the nature of the surface layer and subsoil and remove soil samples;
(c)without limiting sub-paragraph (a), carry out ecological or archaeological investigations on such land; and
(d)place on, leave on and remove from the land apparatus for use in connection with the survey and investigation of land and making of trial holes.
(2) No land may be entered, or equipment placed or left on or removed from the land, under paragraph (1) unless at least 14 days’ notice has been served on every owner and occupier of the land.
(3) Any person entering land under this article on behalf of the undertaker—
(a)must, if so required, produce written evidence of the authority to do so; and
(b)may take with him or her such vehicles and equipment as are necessary to carry out the survey or investigation or to make the trial holes.
(4) No trial holes may be made under this article—
(a)in land located within the highway boundary without the consent of the highway authority; or
(b)in a private street without the consent of the street authority,
but such consent must not be unreasonably withheld.
(5) The undertaker must compensate the owners and occupiers of the land for any loss or damage arising by reason of the exercise of the powers conferred by this article, such compensation to be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 of the 1961 Act.
(6) If a highway authority or a street authority fails to notify the undertaker of its decision within 28 days of receiving an application for consent—
(a)in the case of a highway authority, under paragraph (4)(a); or
(b)in the case of a street authority, under paragraph (4)(b),
the authority is deemed to have given consent.
Commencement Information
I3Art. 17 in force at 7.9.2016, see art. 1(2)
1991 c.56. Section 106 was amended by section 35(8)(a) of the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 (c.43) and sections 36(2) and 99 of the Water Act 2003 (c.37). There are other amendments to this section which are not relevant to this Order.
“Sewerage undertaker” is defined in Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 (c.30).
Section 152 was amended by S.I. 2009/1307.