The M4 Motorway (Junctions 3 to 12) (Smart Motorway) Development Consent Order 2016

PART 6 MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

Felling or lopping of trees

35.—(1) The undertaker may fell or lop any tree or shrub within or overhanging land within the Order limits, or cut back its roots, if it reasonably believes it to be necessary to do so to prevent the tree or shrub—

(a) from obstructing or interfering with the construction, maintenance or operation of the authorised development or any apparatus used in connection with the authorised development; or

(b) from constituting a danger to persons using the authorised development.

(2) In carrying out any activity authorised by paragraph (1), the undertaker must do no unnecessary damage to any tree or shrub and must pay compensation to any person for any loss or damage arising from such activity.

(3) Any dispute as to a person’s entitlement to compensation under paragraph (2), or as to the amount of compensation, is to be determined under Part 1 (determination of questions of disputed compensation) of the 1961 Act.

Trees subject to tree preservation orders

36.—(1) The undertaker may fell or lop any tree described in Schedule 8 (trees subject to tree preservation orders), cut back its roots or undertake such other works described in column (2) of that Schedule if the undertaker reasonably believes it to be necessary to do so to prevent the tree or shrub—

(a) from obstructing or interfering with the construction, maintenance or operation of the authorised development or any apparatus used in connection with the authorised development; or

(b) from constituting a danger to persons using the authorised development.

(2) In carrying out any activity authorised by paragraph (1)—

(a) the undertaker is to do no unnecessary damage to any tree or shrub and must pay compensation to any person for any loss of damage arising from such activity; and

(b) the duty contained in section 206(1) (replacement of trees) of the 1990 Act is not to apply.

(3) The authority given in paragraph (1) constitutes a deemed consent under the relevant tree preservation order.

(4) Any dispute as to a person’s entitlement to compensation under paragraph (2), or as to the amount of compensation, is to be determined under Part 1 (determination of questions of disputed compensation) of the 1961 Act.

Operational land for purposes of the 1990 Act

37.  Development consent granted by this Order is to be treated as specific planning permission for the purposes of section 264(3)(a) (cases in which land is to be treated as operational land for the purposes of that Act) of the 1990 Act.

Defence to proceedings in respect of statutory nuisance

38.—(1) Where proceedings are brought under section 82(1) (summary proceedings by persons aggrieved by statutory nuisances) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(1) in relation to a nuisance falling within paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (fb), (g), (ga) and (h) of section 79(1) (statutory nuisances and inspections therefor) of that Act no order is to be made, and no fine may be imposed, under section 82(2) of that Act if—

(a) the defendant shows that the nuisance—

(i) relates to premises used by the undertaker for the purposes of or in connection with the construction or maintenance of the authorised development and that the nuisance is attributable to the carrying out of the authorised development in accordance with a notice served under section 60 (control of noise on construction site), or a consent given under section 61 (prior consent for work on construction site) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974(2); or

(ii) is a consequence of the construction or maintenance of the authorised development and that it cannot reasonably be avoided; or

(b) the defendant shows that the nuisance is a consequence of the use of the authorised development and that it cannot reasonably be avoided.

(2) Section 61(9) (consent for work on construction site to include statement that it does not of itself constitute a defence to proceedings under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 does not apply where the consent relates to the use of premises by the undertaker for the purposes of or in connection with the construction or maintenance of the authorised development.

Protection of interests

39.  Schedule 9 (protection of interests) has effect.

Certification of plans, etc.

40.—(1) The undertaker must, as soon as practicable after the making of this Order, submit to the Secretary of State copies of—

(a) the land plans (Document Reference No. 2.2, dated January 2016) which are listed in full in Schedule 10 (documents subject to certification);

(b) the works plans (Document Reference No. 2.3, dated February 2016) which are listed in full in Schedule 10;

(c) the rights of way and access plans (Document Reference No. 2.4, dated March 2015;

(d) the engineering drawings and sections (Document Reference Nos. 2.5 - 2.9, dated March 2015) which are listed in full in Schedule 12 (engineering drawings, sections and other information);

(e) the book of reference (Document Reference No. 4.3, dated January 2016);

(f) the environmental statement (Document Reference No. 6.1, dated March 2015);

(g) the outline environmental management plan (Document Reference No. 6.3/4.2, dated March 2015);

(h) the outline construction environmental management plan (Document Reference No. 6.3/4.2, dated March 2016);

(i) the engineering and design report (Document Reference No. 7.3, dated March 2015);

(j) the environmental masterplan, being Annex A to the engineering and design report (Document Reference No. 7.4, dated February 2016);

(k) the drainage strategy report (Document Reference No. 7.5, dated January 2016);

(l) the replacement land plan (Document Reference 514451-MUH-ML-ZZ-SK-LR-301458, dated March 2015); and

(m) the flood risk assessment (Document Reference No. 5.3, dated February 2016),

for certification that they are true copies of the plans or documents referred to in this Order.

(2) A plan or document so certified is admissible in any proceedings as evidence of the contents of the document of which it is a copy.

Service of notices

41.—(1) A notice or other document required or authorised to be served for the purposes of this Order may be served—

(a) by post;

(b) by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or to whom it is to be given or supplied; or

(c) with the consent of the recipient and subject to paragraphs (5) to (8) by electronic transmission.

(2) Where the person on whom a notice or other document to be served for the purposes of this Order is a body corporate, the notice or document is duly served if it is served on the secretary or clerk of that body.

(3) For the purposes of section 7 (references to service by post) of the Interpretation Act 1978(3) as it applies for the purposes of this article, the proper address of any person in relation to the service on that person of a notice or document under paragraph (1) is, if that person has given an address for service, that address, and otherwise—

(a) in the case of the secretary or clerk of a body corporate, the registered or principal office of that body; and

(b) in any other case, the last known address of that person at the time of service.

(4) Where for the purposes of this Order a notice or other document is required or authorised to be served on a person as having any interest in, or as the occupier of, land and the name or address of that person cannot be ascertained after reasonable enquiry, the notice may be served by—

(a) addressing it to that person by name or by the description of “owner”, or as the case may be “occupier”, of the land (describing it); and

(b) either leaving it in the hands of a person who is or appears to be resident or employed on the land or leaving it conspicuously affixed to some building or object on or near the land.

(5) Where a notice or other document required to be served or sent for the purposes of this Order is served or sent by electronic transmission the requirement is taken to be fulfilled only where—

(a) the recipient of the notice or other document to be transmitted has given consent to the use of electronic transmission in writing or by electronic transmission;

(b) the notice or document is capable of being accessed by the recipient;

(c) the notice or document is legible in all material respects; and

(d) the notice or document is in a form sufficiently permanent to be used for subsequent reference.

(6) Where the recipient of a notice or other document served or sent by electronic transmission notifies the sender within 7 days of receipt that the recipient requires a paper copy of all or part of that notice or other document the sender must provide such a copy as soon as reasonably practicable.

(7) Any consent to the use of electronic communication given by a person may be revoked by that person in accordance with paragraph (8).

(8) Where a person is no longer willing to accept the use of electronic transmission for any of the purposes of this Order—

(a) that person must give notice in writing or by electronic transmission revoking any consent given by that person for that purpose; and

(b) such revocation will be final and takes effect on a date specified by the person in the notice but that date must not be less than 7 days after the date on which the notice is given.

(9) This article does not exclude the employment of any method of service not expressly provided for by it.

(10) In this article “legible in all material respects” means that the information contained in the notice or document is available to that person to no lesser extent than it would be if served, given or supplied by means of a notice or document in printed form.

Arbitration

42.  Except where otherwise expressly provided for in this Order and unless otherwise agreed between the parties, any difference under any provision of this Order (other than a difference which falls to be determined by the tribunal) must be referred to and settled by a single arbitrator to be agreed between the parties or, failing agreement, to be appointed on the application of either party (after giving notice in writing to the other) by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Traffic regulation

43.—(1) This article applies to roads in respect of which the undertaker is not the traffic authority.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this article, and the consent of the traffic authority in whose area the road concerned is situated, which consent must not be unreasonably withheld, the undertaker may, for the purposes of the authorised development—

(a) revoke, amend or suspend in whole or in part any order made, or having effect as if made, under the 1984 Act;

(b) permit, prohibit or restrict the stopping, waiting, loading or unloading of vehicles on any road;

(c) authorise the use as a parking place of any road;

(d) make provision as to the direction or priority of vehicular traffic on any road; and

(e) permit or prohibit vehicular access to any road,

either at all times or at times, on days or during such periods as may be specified by the undertaker.

(3) Subject to paragraph (7), the power conferred by paragraph (2) must not be exercised after the expiry of 12 months from the opening of the authorised development for public use, but any prohibition, restriction or other provision made under paragraph (2) may have effect both before and after the expiry of that period.

(4) The undertaker must consult the chief officer of police and the traffic authority in whose area the road is situated before complying with the provisions of paragraph (5).

(5) The undertaker must not exercise the powers conferred by paragraph (2) unless the undertaker has—

(a) given not less than—

(i) 12 weeks’ notice in writing of the undertaker’s intention to do so in the case of a prohibition, restriction or other provision intended to have effect permanently; or

(ii) 4 weeks’ notice in writing of the undertaker’s intention to do so in the case of a prohibition, restriction or other provision intended to have effect temporarily,

to the chief officer of police and to the traffic authority in whose area the road is situated; and

(b) advertised the undertaker’s intention in such manner as the traffic authority may specify in writing within 28 days of its receipt of notice of the undertaker’s intention in the case of sub-paragraph (a)(i), or within 7 days of its receipt of notice of the undertaker’s intention in the case of sub-paragraph (a)(ii).

(6) Any prohibition, restriction or other provision made by the undertaker under paragraph (2)—

(a) has effect as if duly made by, as the case may be—

(i) the traffic authority in whose area the road is situated, as a traffic regulation order under the 1984 Act; or

(ii) the local authority in whose area the road is situated, as an order under section 32 (power of local authorities to provide parking places) of the 1984 Act(4),

and the instrument by which it is effected may specify savings and exemptions to which the prohibition, restriction or other provision is subject; and

(b) is deemed to be a traffic order for the purposes of Schedule 7 (road traffic contraventions subject to civil enforcement) to the Traffic Management Act 2004(5).

(7) Any prohibition, restriction or other provision made under this article may be suspended, varied or revoked by the undertaker from time to time by subsequent exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph (2) within a period of 24 months from the opening of the authorised development.

(8) Before exercising the powers conferred by paragraph (2) the undertaker must consult such persons as the undertaker considers necessary and appropriate and must take into consideration any representations made to the undertaker by any such person.

(9) Expressions used in this article and in the 1984 Act have the same meaning in this article as in that Act.

(10) The powers conferred on the undertaker by this article with respect to any road have effect subject to any agreement entered into by the undertaker with any person with an interest in (or who undertakes activities in relation to) premises served by the road.

(11) If a traffic authority which receives an application for consent under paragraph (2) fails to notify the undertaker of its decision before the end of the period of 6 weeks beginning with the date on which the application was made, it is deemed to have granted consent.

Procedure in relation to certain approvals etc.

44.—(1) Where an application is made to or a request is made of a discharging authority or the Secretary of State for any consent, agreement or approval required or contemplated by any of the provisions of the Order such consent, agreement or approval must, if given, be given in writing and must not be unreasonably withheld.

(2) Schedule 11 (procedure for discharge of certain approvals) has effect in relation to all consents, agreements or approvals granted, refused or withheld by a discharging authority, but does not apply to any decision of the Secretary of State to which the procedure under Part 2 of Schedule 2 (procedure for discharge of requirements) applies.

(1)

1990 c. 43. There are amendments to this Act which are not relevant to this Order.

(2)

1974 c. 40. Section 61(2) was amended by section 133(2) of, and Schedule 7 to, the Building Act 1984 (c. 55). Sections 61(9) and 65(8) were amended by section 162 of, and paragraph 15 of Schedule 3 to, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 25).

(3)

1978 c. 30.

(4)

Section 32 was amended by section 102 of, and Schedule 17 to, the Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51) and section 168(1) of, and paragraph 39 of Schedule 8 to, the 1991 Act.

(5)

2004 c. 18.