The Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

Power to lay pipes in other land

220.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, to Article 223(10) and to the provisions of Chapter III, every relevant undertaker shall, for the purpose of carrying out its functions, have power—

(a) to lay a relevant pipe (whether above or below the surface) in any land which is not in, under or over a street and to keep that pipe there;

(b) to inspect, maintain, adjust, repair or alter any relevant pipe which is in any such land;

(c) to carry out any works requisite for, or incidental to, the purposes of any works falling within sub-paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall authorise a water undertaker to lay a service pipe in, on or over any land except where—

(a) there is already a service pipe where that pipe is to be laid; or

(b) the undertaker is required to lay the pipe in, on or over that land by virtue of any of paragraphs (3) to (5) of Article 80.

(3) The power conferred by virtue of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1), and the power conferred in relation to that paragraph by virtue of sub-paragraph (c) of that paragraph shall be exercisable in relation to a service pipe irrespective of the person to whom the pipe belongs; but expenses incurred in exercising those powers in relation to any pipe shall be recoverable from the person to whom the pipe belongs only if and to the extent that that person has agreed to pay them.

(4) The powers conferred by this Article shall be exercisable only after reasonable notice of the proposed exercise of the power has been given to the owner and to the occupier of the land where the power is to be exercised.

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), in relation to any exercise of the powers conferred by this Article for the purpose of laying or altering a relevant pipe, the minimum period that is capable of constituting reasonable notice for the purposes of paragraph (4) shall be deemed—

(a) where the power is exercised for the purpose of laying a relevant pipe otherwise than in substitution for an existing pipe of the same description, to be 3 months; and

(b) where the power is exercised for the purpose of altering an existing pipe, to be 42 days.

(6) Paragraph (5) shall not apply in the case of any notice given with respect to the exercise of any power in an emergency or for the purpose of—

(a) laying or altering a service pipe; or

(b) complying with a duty imposed under Article 76 or 154.

(7) Subject to paragraph (2), in this Article “relevant pipe” has the same meaning as in Article 219 (reading references there to paragraph (1) as references to paragraph (1) of this Article).