Regional Development Agencies Act 1998

8 (1) Where an order under paragraph 6 extinguishing a public right of way is made and at the time of the publication of the notice required by sub-paragraph (2) of that paragraph any telecommunication apparatus was kept installed for the purposes of a telecommunications code system under, in, on, over, along or across the land over which the right of way subsisted—

(a) the power of the operator of the system to remove the apparatus shall, notwithstanding the making of the order, be exercisable at any time not later than the end of the period of 3 months from the date on which the right of way is extinguished and shall be exercisable in respect of the whole or any part of the apparatus after the end of that period if before the end of that period the operator of the system has given notice to the regional development agency concerned of his intention to remove the apparatus or that part of it, as the case may be;

(b) the operator of the system may by notice given in that behalf to the regional development agency concerned not later than the end of the said period of 3 months abandon the telecommunication apparatus or any part of it;

(c) subject to paragraph (b), the operator of the system shall be deemed at the end of that period to have abandoned any part of the apparatus which he has then neither removed nor given notice of his intention to remove;

(d) the operator of the system shall be entitled to recover from the regional development agency concerned the expense of providing, in substitution for the apparatus and any other telecommunication apparatus connected with it which is rendered useless in consequence of the removal or abandonment of the first-mentioned apparatus, any telecommunication apparatus in such other place as the operator may require; and

(e) where under the preceding provisions of this sub-paragraph the operator of the system has abandoned the whole or any part of any telecommunication apparatus, that apparatus or that part of it shall vest in the regional development agency concerned and shall be deemed, with its abandonment, to cease to be kept installed for the purposes of a telecommunications code system.

(2) As soon as practicable after the making of an order under paragraph 6 extinguishing a public right of way in circumstances in which sub-paragraph (1) applies in relation to the operator of any telecommunications code system, the Secretary of State shall give notice to the operator of the making of the order.