Space Industry Act 2018

Part 1 Orders under section 39 and land orders

Procedure where it is proposed to make, or apply for, an order under section 39 or a land order

1 (1) Before making an order under section 39 or a land order, the Secretary of State must—

(a) publish a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land is situated;

(b) serve a notice on every owner, lessee and occupier of any of the land;

(c) serve a notice on every local authority within whose area any of the land is situated.

(2) In this Part “owner” has the meaning given in section 56 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

(3) A notice published or served under sub-paragraph (1) must—

(a) state that the Secretary of State proposes to make the order;

(b) state the effect of the proposed order;

(c) specify the day by which, and the manner in which, any objections to the proposed order may be made.

(4) The day specified under sub-paragraph (3)(c) must not fall before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice is published or served.

(5) This paragraph does not apply if the Secretary of State proposes to make an order following an application from the holder of a range control licence or a spaceport licence (“the licensee”).

2 (1) Before making an application for an order under section 39 or for a land order, the licensee must—

(a) publish a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land is situated;

(b) serve a notice on every owner, lessee and occupier of any of the land;

(c) serve a notice on every local authority within whose area any of the land is situated.

(2) A notice published or served under sub-paragraph (1) must—

(a) state that the licensee proposes to apply for an order;

(b) state the effect of the order that is to be applied for;

(c) specify the day by which, and the manner in which, any objections to the proposed order may be made.

(3) The day specified under sub-paragraph (2)(c) must not fall before the end of the period of 42 days beginning with the day on which the notice is published or served.

Objections to a proposed order

3 (1) This paragraph applies if a person served with a notice under paragraph 1 or 2 makes an objection, which has not been withdrawn, in accordance with the notice.

(2) Before making the relevant order, the Secretary of State must either—

(a) cause a public local inquiry to be held, or

(b) give the person who made the objection the opportunity to appear before and be heard by a person appointed by the Secretary of State for that purpose.

(3) The Secretary of State may make the relevant order if he or she thinks it appropriate to do so after considering—

(a) the objection, and

(b) the report of the person holding the inquiry or the person appointed under sub-paragraph (2)(b) (as the case may be).

4 If—

(a) no person served with a notice under paragraph 1 or 2 makes an objection in accordance with the notice, or

(b) any such objections are withdrawn,

the Secretary of State may make the relevant order.

5 Despite paragraphs 3 and 4, the Secretary of State—

(a) may require a person to provide that person’s objections to a proposed order in writing;

(b) may disregard a person’s objections for the purposes of paragraphs 3 and 4 if satisfied that the objections relate exclusively to matters that can be dealt with by the tribunal by whom compensation is to be assessed.

Procedure after making an order

6 (1) Immediately after the making of an order under section 39 or a land order, the relevant person must—

(a) publish a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality in which the land is situated, and

(b) serve a notice—

(i) on every owner, lessee and occupier of any of the land,

(ii) on every local authority within whose area any of the land is situated, and

(iii) on any person (not within sub-paragraph (i) or (ii)) who duly objected to the making of the order and has not withdrawn that objection.

(2) A notice under sub-paragraph (1) must—

(a) state that the relevant order has been made;

(b) specify a place where a copy of the order may be inspected at reasonable hours.

(3) In sub-paragraph (1) “the relevant person”—

(a) in relation to an order under section 39, means the person in whose favour the order is made;

(b) in relation to a land order, means the operator of the spaceport specified in the order.