Gas Act 1965

Making of order which enlarges the protective area.

12 (1) Before making a storage authorisation order with any modifications which vary the protective area so as to include any additional land which was not included in either the protective area or the storage area in the application made to the Minister, the Minister shall ensure that—

(a) every local planning authority, local authority and river authority within whose area any part of the additional land is situated, and

(b) all statutory water undertakers within whose limits of supply any part of the additional land lies, or who are holders of a statutory licence to abstract water in an area which includes any part of the additional land, and

(c) every highway authority who are not a local authority and who are responsible for any part of a highway within the additional land, and

(d) every owner, lessee and occupier (except tenants for a month or any period of less than a month) of any part of the additional land,

have been served with a notice of the proposal giving particulars of the additional land and stating that objections by any of those persons may be made to the Minister within twenty-eight days of the date on which the notice is served.

(2) Subject to this paragraph, if an objection to the modification of the order is duly made by any person on whom the notice is to be served under this paragraph and the objection has not been withdrawn the Minister shall not make the order unless he has caused a public local inquiry to be held.

(3) The Minister may disregard an objection for the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) if, in accordance with a request in writing from the objector disclaiming the right to a public local inquiry, the Minister has afforded the objector an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Minister for the purpose, or

(b) if the Minister is satisfied that at a public local inquiry held as respects the application for the order the question of the inclusion of the relevant part of the additional land was in issue and that there was sufficient opportunity for making representations on that question, or

(c) if the objection is, in the opinion of the Minister, trivial or frivolous or can be disposed of under the next following sub-paragraph.

(4) The Minister may require an objector to state in writing the grounds of his objection, and may disregard the objection for the purposes of this paragraph if he is satisfied that the objection relates exclusively to matters which can be dealt with by the Lands Tribunal on a claim for compensation.

(5) If any objector avails himself of the opportunity of being heard by a person appointed by the Minister for the purpose, the Minister shall afford to the applicants for the order, and to any other person to whom it appears to the Minister expedient to afford it, an opportunity of being heard on the same occasion.

(6) If an objection was duly made by a person on whom a notice is to be served under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph and the objection has not been withdrawn, the Minister shall, if the order is made so as to include additional land to which the objection relates, serve notice on that person of the making of the order, and the order shall be framed so as not to take effect earlier than twenty-eight days after the date of service of the notice.

(7) If within the said twenty-eight days any of the persons on whom the notice is to be served under the last foregoing sub-paragraph gives notice in writing to the Minister objecting to the order, and the objection is not withdrawn, the order shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure.

(8) In this paragraph " public local inquiry" means an inquiry held under section 73 of the principal Act.