Use of surplusesE+W
31.—(1) Any surplus arising in an account kept by an enforcement authority under regulation 28 or 29—
(a)must be applied for all or any of the purposes specified in paragraph (2), and
(b)insofar as it is not so applied, must be appropriated to the carrying out of some specific project falling within those purposes and carried forward until applied to that project.
(2) The purposes are—
(a)the making good to the enforcement authority’s general fund of any amount charged to that fund under regulation 28(3) or 29(2) in respect of any deficit in the four years preceding the financial year in question;
(b)the purposes of environmental improvement in the enforcement authority’s area;
(c)meeting costs incurred, whether by the enforcement authority or by some other person, in the provision or operation of, or of facilities for, public passenger transport services;
(d)the purposes of a highway improvement project in the enforcement authority’s area.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) “environmental improvement” includes—
(a)the reduction of environmental pollution as defined in the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999(1) (see section 1(2) and (3) of that Act);
(b)improving or maintaining the appearance or amenity of—
(i)a road or land in the vicinity of a road, or
(ii)open land or water to which the general public has access;
(c)the provision of outdoor recreational facilities available to the public without charge.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(d) “a highway improvement project” means a project connected with the carrying out by the appropriate highway authority of any operation which constitutes the improvement (within the meaning of the Highways Act 1980(2)) of a highway in the area of a local authority in England.