Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) (Scotland) Act 1951

FIRST SCHEDULE Procedure for Making Orders and Provisions as to the Validity of Orders

Part I

Procedure for making orders

1 Before making an order to which this Schedule applies the Secretary of State shall, after consultation with any river purification board concerned and with the council of every county or large burgh whose district is comprised wholly or partly in the area affected by the order, prepare a draft order, and shall publish once in the Edinburgh Gazette and once at least in each of two successive weeks in one or more local newspapers circulating in the area affected by the draft order a notice—

(a) stating the general effect of the draft, order;

(b) specifying a place in or near the said area where a copy of the draft order and of any relevant map or plan may be inspected by any person free of charge at all reasonable hours; and

(c) specifying the time (not being less than twenty-eight days) within which and the manner in which objections to the draft order may toe made.

2 Not later than the date on which the notice aforesaid is first published, the Secretary of State shall serve a copy of the said notice and of the draft order on any river purification board concerned and on the council of every county or large burgh whose district is comprised wholly or partly in the area affected by the order, on the fishery district board of every fishery district so comprised and on any navigation authority or harbour authority exercising functions in relation to any stream in that area.

3 The Secretary of State shall, at the request of any person interested, furnish him with a copy of the draft order on payment of such charge not exceeding two shillings as the Secretary of State thinks reasonable.

4 The Secretary of State may make the order either in the terms of the draft or in those terms as modified in such manner as he thinks fit, but, where he proposes to make any modification and considers that persons other than those to whom the draft order relates may toe adversely affected thereby, he shall give and publish additional notices in such manner as he thinks best adapted for informing all persons likely to be affected by the modification proposed.

5 If before the expiration of the time specified under paragraph 1 of this Schedule or before the expiration of any period specified in notices given under the last-foregoing paragraph an objection is duly received by the Secretary of State from any body on whom notice is required to be served under paragraph 2 of this Schedule or from any person appearing to him to be affected by the order, or, as the case may be, by the proposed modification, and the objection is not withdrawn, the Secretary of State before making the order shall cause a local inquiry to be held.

6 On the making of an order to which this Schedule applies, the Secretary of State shall, if an objection has been duly made by any person under the foregoing provisions of this Schedule and has not been withdrawn, give notice of the making of the order and of the effect thereof to every person who has made such an objection which has not been withdrawn, and in that case the order shall not have effect until the expiration of twenty-eight days from the date of the said notice ; and if within that period any such person gives notice to the Secretary of State that he objects to the order and the objection is not withdrawn, the order shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure.

7 In this Part of this Schedule, the expression " area affected by the order " means—

(a) in the case of an order defining or altering any river purification board area the river purification board area as proposed to toe defined or altered by the order ;

(b) in the case of an order establishing or varying the constitution of a river purification board for a river purification board area, that river purification board area;

(c) in the case of an order made under section twenty-nine of this Act, the area of the river purification authority to which the waters proposed to be affected by the order are adjacent; and

(d) in the case of an order made under section thirty-four of this Act, the area to which the local enactment proposed to be affected by the order applies.

Part II

Provisions with respect to the validity of orders not confirmed by Parliament

8 After the making of an order, the Secretary of State shall publish in the Edinburgh Gazette, and in such other manner as he thinks best adapted for informing persons affected, a notice stating that the order has been made and naming a place where a copy thereof may be seen at all reasonable hours :

Provided that in the case of ah order to which paragraph 6 of this Schedule applies the said notice shall not be published until the expiration of the period of twenty-eight days referred to in that paragraph, and the notice shall state whether or not the order is subject to special parliamentary procedure.

9 (1) If any person aggrieved by an order desires to question its validity on the ground that it is not within the powers of thus Act or that any requirement of this Act has not been complied with, he may within six weeks after the date of the first publication of the said notice make an application for the purpose to the Court of Session, and on any such application the Court, if satisfied that the order is not within the powers of this Act or that the interests of the applicant have been substantially prejudiced by a failure to comply with any such requirement as aforesaid, may quash the order either generally or in so far as it affects the applicant; but except as aforesaid the order shall not at any time be questioned in any proceedings whatsoever:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to an order which is confirmed by Act of Parliament under section two as read with section ten of the Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act, 1945, or under section six of that Act, and shall have effect in relation to any other order which is subject to special parliamentary procedure by virtue of paragraph 6 of this Schedule as if for the reference to the date of the publication of the notice there were substituted a reference to the date on which the order becomes operative under the said Act.

(2) Except by leave of the Court of Session no appeal shall lie to the House of Lords from a decision of the Court of Session under this paragraph.