Welsh Development Agency Act 1975

F1 Rights of entry E+W+S

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 4 inserted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 127, Sch. 13 para. 3 (with ss. 139(2), 143(2)); S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4.

F2 14 F3 (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E+W+S

(2) Any person duly authorised in writing by the [F4 Assembly]F4 may at any reasonable time enter any land for the purpose of surveying it in order to enable the [F4 Assembly]F4 to determine whether to make an application for planning permission for the carrying out of development of that land.

(3) Any power conferred by this paragraph to survey land includes power to search and bore for the purpose of ascertaining—

(a) the nature of the subsoil; or

(b) the presence of minerals or contaminants in it.

Textual Amendments

F2 Sch. 4 inserted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 127, Sch. 13 para. 3 (with ss. 139(2), 143(2)); S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4.

F3 Sch. 4 para. 14(1) omitted (13.7.2016) by virtue of Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22), s. 216(3), Sch. 14 para. 8; S.I. 2016/733, reg. 3(h) (with reg. 6)

F4 Sch. 4 para. 14: words in Act substituted (1.4.2006) by The Welsh Development Agency (Transfer of Functions to the National Assembly for Wales and Abolition) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3226), arts. 1(1)(2), 7(1), {Sch. 1 para. 1, 2} (with art. 3(1))

F5 15 (1) A person authorised under paragraph 14 above to enter any land— E+W+S

(a) shall, if so required by the occupier or anyone acting on his behalf, produce evidence of his authority; and

(b) shall not, if the land is occupied, demand admission as of right to it unless 24 hours’ notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier.

(2) Any person who intentionally obstructs a person acting in the exercise of a power conferred by paragraph 14 above is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) Where any land is damaged in the exercise of a power of entry conferred by paragraph 14 above, compensation in respect of the damage may be recovered by any person interested in the land from the [F6 AssemblyF6 ]F7 ....

(4) Except in so far as may be otherwise provided by regulations made by the [F8 Assembly]F8 under this sub-paragraph, any question of disputed compensation under sub-paragraph (3) above shall be referred to and determined by the [F9 Upper Tribunal]F9 ; and the provisions of [F10 section]F10 4 of the M1 Land Compensation Act 1961 apply to the determination of any question under this sub-paragraph, subject to any necessary modifications and to the provisions of any regulations under this sub-paragraph.

(5) Where under paragraph 14 above a person proposes to carry out any works authorised by sub-paragraph (3) of that paragraph—

(a) he shall not carry out those works unless notice of his intention to do so was included in the notice required by sub-paragraph (1)(b) above; and

(b) if the land in question is held by statutory undertakers and those undertakers object to the proposed works on the grounds that the carrying out of the works would be seriously detrimental to the carrying on of their undertaking, the works shall not be carried out without the authority of the appropriate Minister.

(6) A person who enters land in the exercise of a power of entry conferred by paragraph 14 above—

(a) shall take reasonable care to avoid damage or injury to plant, machinery, equipment, livestock, crops or enclosures; and

(b) on leaving the land, shall secure it as effectively against unauthorised entry as he found it.

(7) If any person who is admitted into a factory, workshop or workplace in the exercise of a power of entry conferred by paragraph 14 above discloses to any person any information obtained by him there as to any manufacturing process or trade secret, he shall, unless the disclosure is made in the course of performing his duty in connection with the purpose for which he was authorised to enter the premises, be guilty of an offence.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (7) above is liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or

(b) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine, or to both.

Textual Amendments

F5 Sch. 4 inserted (1.10.1998) by 1998 c. 38, s. 127, Sch. 13 para. 3 (with ss. 139(2), 143(2)); S.I. 1998/2244, art. 4.

F6 Sch. 4 para. 15: words in Act substituted (1.4.2006) by The Welsh Development Agency (Transfer of Functions to the National Assembly for Wales and Abolition) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3226), arts. 1(1)(2), 7(1), {Sch. 1 para. 1, 2} (with art. 3(1))

F7 Words in Sch. 4 para. 15(3) omitted (1.4.2006) by virtue of The Welsh Development Agency (Transfer of Functions to the National Assembly for Wales and Abolition) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3226), arts. 1(1)(2), 7(1), Sch. 1 para. 33(8)(a) (with art. 3(1))

F8 Words in Sch. 4 para. 15(4) substituted (1.4.2006) by The Welsh Development Agency (Transfer of Functions to the National Assembly for Wales and Abolition) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3226), arts. 1(1)(2), 7(1), Sch. 1 para. 33(8)(b) (with art. 3(1))

F9 Words in Sch. 4 para. 15(4) substituted (1.6.2009) by The Transfer of Tribunal Functions (Lands Tribunal and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1307), art. 5(1)(2), Sch. 1 para. 117(a) (with Sch. 5)

F10 Words in Sch. 4 para. 15(4) substituted (1.6.2009) by The Transfer of Tribunal Functions (Lands Tribunal and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1307), art. 5(1)(2), Sch. 1 para. 117(b) (with Sch. 5)

Marginal Citations

M1 1961 c. 33.