36Power of harbour authorities to provide inland clearance depots
(1)A harbour authority may provide, maintain and operate, either alone or together with any other person and either on harbour land or with the consent of the Minister elsewhere, depots for the sorting of goods, with facilities for the reception, storage, weighing and handling of goods, and may do anything appearing to the authority to be requisite, convenient or advantageous for or in connection with the discharge of the foregoing function.
(2)Notwithstanding anything in section 14(2)(b) or section 16(5) of the 1964 Act (conditions precedent for making harbour revision orders and harbour empowerment orders) a harbour revision order or a harbour empowerment order may be made if the Minister proposing to make it is satisfied that the making of the order is desirable in the interests of securing the efficient operation of a depot for the sorting of goods which are to be loaded or have been unloaded in the harbour to which the order relates and, in the case of a harbour revision order, that there has been such an application for the order as is mentioned in section 14(2)(a) of that Act.
(3)A harbour authority which is maintaining a depot for the sorting of goods may make and recover from the persons using the depot or any services or facilities provided thereat reasonable charges for their use.
(4)In the following provisions of the 1964 Act, that is to say, sections 14 (harbour revision orders) and 18 (harbour reorganisation schemes) and Schedule 2 (objects for which harbour revision orders may be made), references to a harbour shall be construed as including references to a depot provided under this section.
(5)Nothing in this section shall affect the power of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise under the enactments relating to customs and excise to approve places for the loading, unloading, deposit, keeping or securing of goods or the conditions and restrictions subject to which approval may be given to any such places.