Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1961

6 Appeals to Minister

(1) Any question arising under this Act or section seven of the principal Act—

(a) whether the consent of a river board has or has not been unreasonably withheld, or

(b) as to the unreasonableness of the terms of any consent or notice,

shall be determined for the purposes of this Act and the said section seven by the Minister in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) If at any time the river board give notice to an applicant for consent under this Act or section seven of the principal Act that they have refused consent, any reference to the Minister to determine whether the river board's consent has been unreasonably withheld must be made within three months from the giving of the notice.

(3) Any reference to the Minister in respect of the unreasonableness of the terms of any consent or notice must be made within three months from the giving of the consent or notice

(4) If, on a reference to the Minister for him to determine a question under subsection (1) of this section, he determines that the withholding of consent, or as the case may be that anything in the terms of the consent or notice, was unreasonable, then—

(a) where the reference was in respect of the withholding of consent, he may direct that the consent shall be treated as given either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as appear to him to be reasonable;

(b) where the reference was in respect of the unreasonableness of the terms of a consent, he may direct that there shall be substituted for the terms of the consent such other terms as appear to him to be reasonable;

(c) where the reference was in respect of the unreasonableness of the terms of a notice, he may direct either that the notice shall be treated as annulled or that there shall be substituted for the terms of the notice such other terms as appear to him to be reasonable,

but, without prejudice to the provisions of section one of this Act relating to the time when any conditions take effect, and without prejudice to section two of this Act, this Act and the said section seven shall apply as respects the period before the giving of the direction as if the withholding of consent or, as the case may be, the terms of the consent or notice had not been unreasonable.

(5) At any stage of the proceedings on a reference to the Minister under this section the Minister may, and if so directed by the High Court shall, state in the form of a special case for the decision of the High Court any question of law arising in those proceedings; and the decision of the High Court on the special case shall be deemed to be a judgment of the Court within the meaning of section twenty-seven of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925 (which relates to the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal to hear and determine appeals on any judgment of the High Court), but no appeal to the Court of Appeal shall be brought by virtue of this subsection except with the leave of the High Court or the Court of Appeal.

(6) Subsections (10) and (11) of the said section seven shall cease to have effect, but any proceedings pending under those subsections at the commencement of this Act may be continued under this section.