10A.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, a necessary wayleave granted under paragraph 10 shall be capable of being assigned if (and only if)—N.I.
(a)in the case of a wayleave granted after the coming into operation of Article 64 of the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, a term to that effect is included in the wayleave;
(b)in the case of a wayleave granted before that time, it is designated by the Department on an application made by the relevant licence holder.
(2) A necessary wayleave shall not be assigned—
(a)without the consent of the Department; or
(b)to a person other than a licence holder.
(3) The relevant licence holder shall—
(a)give notice of an application under sub-paragraph (1)(b) to—
(i)the occupier of the land; and
(ii)where the occupier is not also the owner of the land, the owner; and
(b)send a copy of that notice to the Department, together with the name and address of each person to whom that notice has been given.
(4) The notice under sub-paragraph (3) shall—
(a)identify the wayleave and state that an application in respect of it has been made to the Department under sub-paragraph (1)(b); and
(b)specify a period (not being less than 28 days from the date on which the notice is given) during which representations or objections concerning the application may be made to the Department.
(5) Before determining whether to designate a wayleave in pursuance of an application under sub-paragraph (1)(b), the Department shall consider any representations or objections which are duly made as mentioned in sub-paragraph (4)(b) and not withdrawn .
(6) The Department shall give notice of its decision on an application under sub-paragraph (1)(b) to—
(a)the relevant licence holder; and
(b)each person mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)(b).
(7) In this paragraph—
“assign” includes transfer by any means;
“relevant licence holder”, in relation to a necessary wayleave, means the licence holder to whom the wayleave was granted or to whom it has been assigned.
(8) In paragraphs 11 and 12 references to a licence holder include references to a licence holder to whom a wayleave has been assigned.]