The River Mersey (Mersey Gateway Bridge) Order 2011

PART 6 PROTECTION OF UNITED UTILITIES WATER PLC

Interpretation

71.  In this Part of this Schedule—

“alteration” includes the provision of alternative means of operation or the diversion of any apparatus;

“apparatus” means—

(a)

mains, pipes or other apparatus belonging to, or maintained by, the company for the purposes of water supply; and

(b)

any water main or service pipe (or part of it) that is subject to an agreement to adopt made under section 51A of the Water Industry Act 1991(1); and

(c)

any sewer, drain or works vested in the company under the Water Industry Act 1991 and includes a sludge main, disposal main (within the meaning of section 219 of that Act) or sewer outfall and any manholes, ventilating shafts, pumps or other accessories forming part of any such sewer, drain or works; and

(d)

any sewer which is so vested or is the subject of a notice of intention to adopt given under section 102(4) of that Act or an agreement to adopt made under section 104 of that Act,

and includes any structure in which apparatus is or is to be lodged or which gives or will give access to such apparatus;

“the company” means United Utilities Water PLC or its successor for the time being in its capacity as either a water undertaker or a sewerage undertaker within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 1991;

“construction” includes execution, placing, altering, replacing, relaying and removal and, in its application to works which include or comprise any operation, means the carrying out of that operation;

“in” in a context referring to apparatus in land includes under, over, across, along or upon land;

“specified work” means so much of the authorised works as will or may be situated over or within 15 metres (or 200 metres where explosives are used) measured in any direction of any apparatus, or (wherever situated) as will or may impose any load directly upon any apparatus.

No application where street works code applies

72.  This Part of this Schedule (other than paragraphs 73 and 76) shall not apply to anything done or proposed to be done in relation to or affecting any apparatus in so far as the relations between the undertaker and the company are regulated by the provisions of Part 3 of the 1991 Act.

Disapplication of Schedule 9 in part

73.  Paragraphs 1(1) and 2 of Schedule 9 (provisions relating to statutory undertakers, etc.) shall not apply in relation to apparatus to which this Part of this Schedule applies and paragraph 1(3) and (4) of that Schedule shall have effect as if they referred to apparatus removed under this Part of this Schedule.

Acquisition of apparatus, etc.

74.  Notwithstanding anything in the Order or shown on the deposited plans, the undertaker shall not acquire from the company any apparatus or land pursuant to the Order otherwise than by agreement or with the company’s consent which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed but may be given subject to reasonable conditions.

Exercise of powers respecting trial holes

75.  The undertaker shall not, in the exercise of the powers of section 11(3) of the 1965 Act, as applied by this Order, or of article 16 (power to survey and investigate land), make any trial holes which interfere with any apparatus without the consent of the company (which shall not be unreasonably withheld).

Access

76.—(1) If in consequence of the exercise of the powers of this Order the access to any apparatus is materially obstructed, the undertaker shall provide reasonable alternative means of access to such apparatus which is not materially less convenient to the access enjoyed by the company prior to the obstruction.

(2) Where, in consequence of this Order, any part of a highway in which any apparatus is situated ceases to be part of a highway, the company may exercise the same rights of access to such apparatus as it enjoyed immediately before the making of this Order, but nothing in this sub-paragraph shall prejudice or affect the power of the undertaker to make provision for the alteration or removal of such apparatus in submitting plans under paragraph 77.

(3) Notwithstanding the temporary stopping up or diversion of any highway under the powers of article 9 (temporary stopping up of streets), and subject always to the power of the undertaker to make provision for the alteration of such apparatus the company shall be at liberty at all times after giving reasonable notice except in a case of urgency to construct and do all such works and things in, upon or under any such highway as may be reasonably necessary to enable it to maintain, protect, or use any apparatus which at the time of the stopping up or diversion was in that highway.

Plan approval

77.—(1) Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Part of this Schedule, before commencing the construction or renewal of any specified work liable to affect any apparatus, and in the case of such a specified work of a temporary nature its removal, the undertaker shall submit to the company plans as described in sub-paragraph (2) (“the plans”) and shall not commence that work until the company has signified in writing its approval of those plans.

(2) The plans to be submitted to the company shall be detailed plans, drawings, sections and specifications describing the position and manner in which, and the level at which, any specified work is proposed to be constructed and the position of all apparatus within 15 metres of that work or upon which the specified work will impose a load and shall include detailed drawings of any works for alteration or replacement or protection of such apparatus which the undertaker may propose.

(3) For the purpose of the preparation of the plans and subject to such reasonable requirements as it may specify, the company shall promptly upon the undertaker’s reasonable request permit the undertaker to have access to plans in its possession and to any of its apparatus.

(4) Any approval of the company required under this paragraph—

(a) may be given subject to reasonable conditions;

(b) shall not be unreasonably withheld; and

(c) shall be deemed to have been given if it is neither given nor refused within 42 days of the submission of plans for approval.

(5) Prior to their approval under sub-paragraph (1), the company may require such modifications to be made to the plans as may be reasonably necessary for the alteration or replacement of apparatus, to secure apparatus and the remainder of its undertaking as a sewerage undertaker and water undertaker against interference or risk of damage and to provide and secure reasonably proper and convenient means of access to apparatus and its sewage treatment works.

78.—(1) The specified works shall be constructed and, in the case of any temporary work removed, in accordance with plans approved, or deemed to be approved, or settled by arbitration, as the same may be amended from time to time by agreement between the undertaker and the company, and in the construction and removal of the specified works, the undertaker shall comply with all reasonable requirements of the company (which shall be given as soon as reasonably practicable) and shall provide reasonable new, altered or substituted apparatus or works for the protection of apparatus and the remainder of its undertaking as a sewerage undertaker and water undertaker, in such manner as the company may reasonably require, by way of replacement provision for or for the proper protection of, and for preventing injury or impediment to, any such apparatus and the remainder of its undertaking by reason of the specified works.

(2) All works under sub-paragraph (1), for the provision of new, altered or substituted apparatus or the protection of any apparatus shall, where so required by the company, be constructed by the company or under the supervision, if given, of an officer of the company duly appointed for the purpose and to the company’s reasonable satisfaction, and all costs, charges and expenses reasonably incurred by the company in the construction of such works, or in the preparation or examination of plans or designs of such works, or in such supervision, shall be paid to the company by the undertaker.

(3) Where works are constructed under sub-paragraph (1) by the company, they shall be constructed with all reasonable despatch and also to the reasonable satisfaction of the undertaker.

(4) When works for the provision of any such new, altered or substituted apparatus, or any such protective work forming part of any such new, altered or substituted apparatus or any existing apparatus, have been completed under this Part of this Schedule to the reasonable satisfaction of the company, they shall be vested in the company forthwith but shall be maintainable by the undertaker until a period of 12 months has elapsed and the company or an engineer appointed by the company acting reasonably has issued a certificate of final inspection of the new, altered or substituted apparatus.

79.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Schedule, the undertaker shall be liable to make good, or, if the company so decides, to repay to the company any reasonable expense reasonably incurred by the company in making good, all injury or damage to any apparatus (except in so far as such apparatus is intended for alteration or removal for the purposes of the specified work) caused by or resulting from the construction of any specified work or any investigation undertaken in relation to any specified works and the provision of any new, altered or substituted apparatus or any protective work under this Part of this Schedule and shall pay to the company any reasonable additional expense to which it may be put in the maintenance, management or renewal or any new, altered or substituted apparatus which may be necessary in consequence of the construction of any specified work save to the extent that sub-paragraph (6) applies provided that the undertaker may at its request pay a capitalised sum to the company in settlement of any such claim by the company representing the reasonable additional expense to which the company reasonably expects to be put.

(2) The company shall, in respect of the capitalised sums referred to in sub-paragraph (1) provide such details of the formula by which those sums should be calculated as the undertaker may reasonably require.

(3) The undertaker shall indemnify the company against all actions, claims, demands, costs, expenses, damages or loss which may be made on or against the company which the company may incur or have to pay or which it may sustain in consequence of the construction of a specified work or of the failure or want of repair of a specified work or any subsidence caused by any specified work or in consequence of any act or omission of the undertaker, their contractors, agents, workers or servants, whilst engaged upon the specified work and any new, altered or substituted apparatus or any protective work.

(4) The company shall give to the undertaker reasonable notice of any such claim or demand and no settlement or compromise thereof shall be made without the agreement in writing of the undertaker which, if it withholds any such consent, shall have the sole conduct of any settlement or compromise or of any proceedings necessary to resist the claim or demand.

(5) Nothing in sub-paragraph (1) or (3) shall impose any liability on the undertaker in respect of any damage to the extent that it is attributable to the act, neglect or default of the company, its officers, servants, or, if not the undertaker, its contractors or agents.

(6) If pursuant to the provisions of this Part of this Schedule—

(a) alternative apparatus of better type, or greater capacity or of greater dimensions is placed in substitution for existing apparatus of worse type, of smaller capacity or of smaller dimensions, except where this has been solely due to using the nearest currently available type, or

(b) apparatus (whether existing apparatus or alternative apparatus) is placed at a depth greater than the depth at which the existing apparatus was situated, and the placing of apparatus of that type or capacity or of those dimensions, or the placing of apparatus at that depth, as the case may be, is not agreed by the undertaker or, in default of agreement, is not determined by arbitration to be necessary having regard, among other things, to the nature of the authorised works, then, if it involves cost in the construction of works under paragraph 76 exceeding that which would have been involved if the apparatus placed had been of the existing type, capacity or dimensions, or at the existing depth, as the case may be, the amount which apart from this sub-paragraph would be payable to the company by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) shall be reduced by the amount of that excess.

(7) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (6), an extension of apparatus to a length greater than the length of existing apparatus shall not be treated as a placing of apparatus of greater dimensions than those of the existing apparatus except in a case where the apparatus as so extended serves a purpose (either additional to or instead of that served by the existing apparatus) which was not served by the existing apparatus.

(8) An amount which apart from this sub-paragraph would be payable to the company in respect of works by virtue of this paragraph shall, if the works include the placing of apparatus provided in substitution for apparatus placed more than 7 years and 6 months earlier so as to confer on the company any financial benefit by deferment of the time for renewal of the apparatus or of the system of which it forms part in the ordinary course, be reduced by the amount which represents that benefit.

(9) In any case where work is carried out by the undertaker pursuant to paragraph 76 and, if such work had been carried out by the company, the repayment made to the company under this paragraph would fall to be reduced pursuant to sub-paragraphs (4) to (6), the company shall pay to the undertaker such sum as represents the amount of that reduction.

80.—(1) An officer of the company duly appointed for the purpose may, at any reasonable time and, if required by the undertaker, under their supervision and control, enter upon and inspect any specified work or any other works constructed under this Part of this Schedule but may not give instructions to any person engaged in or about the specified works except the undertaker or such person as it may from time to time nominate.

(2) The approval by the company of any plans, drawings, sections or specifications or the supervision by it of any work under this Part of this Schedule shall not (if it was done without negligence on the part of the company, its officers, servants, or, if not the undertaker, its contractors or agents) exonerate the undertaker from any liability or affect any claim for damages by the undertaker.

81.  As soon as reasonably practicable after the completion of the construction of the specified works, the undertaker shall deliver to the company a plan and section showing the position and level of those works as constructed and all new, altered or substituted works provided under this Part of this Schedule.

(1)

1991 c. 56.