Regional Development Agencies Act 1998

11 (1) Where any land has been vested in or acquired by a regional development agency under this Act and—

(a) there is on, under or over the land apparatus vested in or belonging to statutory undertakers, and

(b) the undertakers claim that development to be carried out on the land is such as to require, on technical or other grounds connected with the carrying on of their undertaking, the removal or re-siting of the apparatus affected by the development,

the undertakers may serve on the agency a notice claiming the right to enter on the land and carry out such works for the removal or re-siting of the apparatus or any part of it as may be specified in the notice.

(2) Where, after the land has been vested or acquired as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1), development of the land is begun to be carried out, no notice under this paragraph shall be served later than 21 days after the beginning of the development.

(3) Where a notice is served under this paragraph the agency on which it is served may, before the end of the period of 28 days from the date of service, serve on the statutory undertakers a counter-notice stating that it objects to all or any of the provisions of the notice and specifying the grounds of its objection.

(4) If no counter-notice is served under sub-paragraph (3), the statutory undertakers shall, after the end of the said period of 28 days, have the rights claimed in their notice.

(5) If a counter-notice is served under sub-paragraph (3), the statutory undertakers who served the notice under this paragraph may either withdraw it or apply to the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister for an order under this paragraph conferring on the undertakers—

(a) the rights claimed in the notice, or

(b) such modified rights as the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister think it expedient to confer on them.

(6) Where by virtue of this paragraph or an order made by the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister under it, statutory undertakers have the right to execute works for the removal or re-siting of apparatus, they may arrange with the regional development agency concerned for the works to be carried out by the agency, under the superintendence of the undertakers, instead of by the undertakers themselves.

(7) Where works are carried out for the removal or re-siting of statutory undertakers' apparatus, being works which the undertakers have the right to carry out by virtue of this paragraph or an order made by the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister under it, the undertakers shall be entitled to compensation from the regional development agency concerned.

(8) Sections 280 and 282 of the [1990 c. 8.] Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (measure of compensation to statutory undertakers) shall apply to compensation under sub-paragraph (7) as they apply to compensation under section 279(4) of that Act.

(9) In sub-paragraph (1)(a), the reference to apparatus vested in or belonging to statutory undertakers shall include a reference to telecommunication apparatus kept installed for the purposes of a telecommunications code system.

(10) Where sub-paragraph (1)(a) has effect as mentioned in sub-paragraph (9), in the rest of this paragraph—

(a) any reference to statutory undertakers shall have effect as a reference to the operator of any such system as is referred to in sub-paragraph (9); and

(b) any reference to the appropriate Minister shall have effect as a reference to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.