Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997

270 Supplementary provisions as to rights of entry

(1) A person authorised under section 269 to enter upon any land—

(a) shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority and state the purpose of his entry before so entering, and

(b) shall not demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied unless 24 hours' notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier.

(2) Any person who wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of his powers under section 269 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) If any person who, in compliance with the provisions of section 269, is admitted into a factory, workshop or workplace discloses to any person any information obtained by him therein as to any manufacturing process or trade secret, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if the disclosure is made in the course of performing his duty in connection with the purpose for which he was authorised to enter the land.

(5) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (3) shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, and

(b) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine or both.

(6) Where any damage is caused to land or moveable property—

(a) in the exercise of a right of entry conferred under section 269, or

(b) in the making of any survey for the purpose of which any such right of entry has been so conferred,

compensation may be recovered by any person suffering the damage from the Secretary of State or authority on whose behalf the entry was effected.

(7) Section 86 shall apply in relation to compensation under subsection (6) as it applies in relation to compensation under Part IV.

(8) No person shall carry out under section 269 any works authorised by virtue of subsection (6) of that section unless notice of his intention to do so was included in the notice required by subsection (1).

(9) The authority of the appropriate Minister shall be required for the carrying out under section 269(6) of works so authorised if the land in question is held by statutory undertakers, and they object to the proposed works on the ground that the carrying out of the work would be seriously detrimental to the carrying on of their undertaking.