Electricity Act 1989

Road works etc. in Scotland S

2 (1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, for any purpose connected with the carrying on of the activities which he is authorised by his licence to carry on, a licence holder may execute—

(a) the following kinds of works, that is to say, installing under, over, in, on, along or across any road or bridge and from time to time inspecting, maintaining, adjusting, repairing, altering or removing—

(i) any electric lines or electrical plant; and

(ii) any structures for housing or covering any such lines or plant; and

(b) any works requisite for or incidental to the purposes of any works falling within paragraph (a) above, including for those purposes—

(i) opening or breaking up any road or bridge or any sewers, drains or tunnels within or under any road or bridge;

(ii) tunnelling or boring under any road; and

(iii) removing or using all earth and materials in or under any road;

but nothing in this sub-paragraph shall empower a licence holder to lay down or place any electric line or electrical plant into, through or against any building, or in any land over which there is no public right of passage.

(2) The power of a licence holder under sub-paragraph (1) above to place on or over a road or bridge any structure for housing any line or plant shall be exercisable only—

(a) in the case of a public road, with the consent of the roads authority;

(b) in the case of a road or bridge which is not a public road but is under the control or management of a railway or navigation authority, with the consent of that authority;

(c) in any other case, with the consent of the road managers or as the case may be of the bridge authority or managers;

but no such consent shall be unreasonably withheld.

(3) Any question under sub-paragraph (2) above as to whether or not a consent is unreasonably withheld shall be determined by a single arbiter to be appointed by the parties or, in default of agreement, by the Director.

(4) Except in cases of emergency arising from faults in any electric lines or electrical plant, a road or bridge falling within paragraph (b) or (c) of sub-paragraph (2) above shall not be opened or broken up by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) above except with the consent of the person mentioned in that paragraph or the consent of the Secretary of State.

(5) The Secretary of State shall not entertain an application for his consent under sub-paragraph (4) above unless the licence holder has served notice of the application in the prescribed form on the person whose consent would otherwise be required.

(6) A licence holder shall do as little damage as possible in the exercise of the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above and shall make compensation for any damage done in the exercise of those powers.

(7) A licence holder shall exercise the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above in such manner as will secure that nothing which he instals or keeps installed under, over, in, on, along or across any road or bridge becomes a source of danger to the public.

(8) The powers conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above shall be included among those to which section 133 of the M1 Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (restriction on laying of apparatus etc. in special roads) applies; and nothing in that sub-paragraph shall affect the application to any operation of sections 34 to 36 of the M2 Coast Protection Act 1949.

(9) In this paragraph—

• “bridge” means a bridge which carries a road;

• “public road” has the same meaning as in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984; and

• “bridge authority or managers”, “road”, “roads authority” and “road managers” have the same meanings as in the M3 Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950.

(10) This paragraph extends to Scotland only.

Marginal Citations

M1 1984 c. 54.

M2 1949 c. 74.

M3 1950 c. 39.