Water Act 2003

Water Act 2003

2003 CHAPTER 37

Commentary on Sections

Part 4: Supplementary

Sections 100 to 105

428. .Section 102: Specific transitional and transitory provisions.

Section 102(1) provides that existing abstraction licences are a treated as a full licence (see section 1). Section 102(2) provides that where an abstraction is no longer required to be licensed by virtue of the introduction of the new threshold in section 6, then a licence ceases to have effect for that abstraction.

429. Section 102(3) provides that where an abstraction licence is no longer required by virtue of section 102(2) then the protected right associated with the abstraction continues. However, the protected right will lapse, under section 102(4), if no abstraction has been made for four years, unless the abstraction is planned to occur over longer intervals and the Agency agrees to a different period.

430. Section 102(5) allows the Agency to grant a licence to those abstractors being brought into the licensing regime for the first time even if that could derogate from the rights of other abstractors. It also allows the Secretary of State to make regulations to set aside provisions of other legislation that may preclude the grant of a licence to such abstractors.

431. Provisions in this section are devolved to the Assembly.