66Builders' skips: charge for occupation of highway for unreasonable period
For section 140A of the 1980 Act there is substituted—
“140ABuilders' skips: charge for occupation of highway for unreasonable period
(1)The Secretary of State may make provision by regulations requiring the owner of a builder’s skip deposited on a highway maintainable at the public expense to pay a charge to the highway authority where the period for which the skip remains in the highway exceeds—
(a)such period as may be prescribed, and
(b)a reasonable period.
(2)For this purpose “a reasonable period” means such period as is agreed by the authority and the owner of the skip to be reasonable or, in default of such agreement, is determined by arbitration to be reasonable in the circumstances.
(3)In default of agreement, the authority’s view as to what is a reasonable period shall be acted upon pending the decision of the arbitrator.
(4)The regulations may prescribe exemptions from the requirement to pay charges.
(5)The regulations may provide—
(a)that in prescribed circumstances (including in particular where any person makes an application for permission under section 139) the owner of the skip shall give to the authority, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, notice containing an estimate of the likely duration of the occupation of the highway, and
(b)that the period stated in the notice shall be taken to be agreed by the authority to be reasonable unless the authority give notice, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, objecting to the estimate.
(6)The regulations may also provide—
(a)that in prescribed circumstances the owner of the skip shall give to the authority, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, notice containing a revised estimate of the likely duration of the occupation of the highway, and
(b)that upon the notice being given any previous agreement to or determination of a reasonable period ceases to have effect, and the period stated in the notice shall be taken to be agreed by the authority to be reasonable unless the authority give notice, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, objecting to the revised estimate.
(7)The amount of the charge shall be determined in such manner as may be prescribed by reference to the period for which the highway is occupied by the skip.
(8)The regulations may prescribe different rates of charge according to—
(a)the extent to which the skip occupies the highway;
(b)the place and time of the occupation;
(c)such other factors as appear to the Secretary of State to be relevant.
(9)The regulations may provide—
(a)that the authority are to set the rate of charge, up to a prescribed maximum, and
(b)that different rates of charge may be set according to such factors as the authority consider relevant.
(10)The regulations may make provision for the determination of the duration of the occupation of the highway for the purposes of the regulations.
(11)And they may, in particular, make provision for an occupation to be treated as beginning or ending on the giving of, or as stated in, a notice given by the owner of the skip to the authority, in the prescribed manner, in accordance with a requirement imposed by the regulations.
(12)The regulations may make provision requiring the owner of the skip to provide the authority, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, with such information as the authority may specify in a notice to that person, being information required for the purposes of—
(a)determining whether a charge is payable by him;
(b)calculating the amount of any charge payable by him.
(13)The regulations may make provision as to the time and manner of making payment of charges.
(14)The regulations shall provide that a highway authority may reduce the amount, or waive payment, of a charge—
(a)in any particular case,
(b)in such classes of case as they may decide or as may be prescribed, or
(c)in all cases or in all cases other than a particular case or such class of case as they may decide or as may be prescribed.
(15)The regulations may make provision as to—
(a)the application by local highway authorities of sums paid by way of charges, and
(b)the keeping of accounts, and the preparation and publication of statements of account, relating to sums paid by way of charges.
(16)The regulations may create in respect of any failure to give a notice, or to provide information, required by the regulations a criminal offence triable summarily and punishable with a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(17)The regulations may provide that where a skip is the subject of a prescribed description of hiring agreement or hire purchase agreement, the person in possession of the skip under the agreement is for the purposes of the regulations to be treated as the owner of the skip.
(18)The regulations may make provision about their application to a series of deposits of skips.
(19)And they may, in particular, provide that a series of deposits of skips is to be treated as a single deposit of a skip—
(a)beginning at the time the first in the series was deposited, and
(b)ending at the time the last in the series was removed.
(20)In this section—
“builder’s skip” has the meaning given by section 139(11);
“prescribed” means prescribed by the Secretary of State by regulations, which may make different provision for different cases.”