The M621 Motorway (off side lane prohibition disapplication) Regulations 2023

Statutory Instruments

2023 No. 802

Road Traffic, England

Special Roads

The M621 Motorway (off side lane prohibition disapplication) Regulations 2023

Made

11th July 2023

Laid before Parliament

17th July 2023

Coming into force

1st December 2023

The Secretary of State for Transport makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 17(2) and (3) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(1).

Representative organisations have been consulted in accordance with section 134(2) of that Act.

Citation, extent and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the M621 Motorway (off side lane prohibition disapplication) Regulations 2023.

(2) They extend to England and Wales and apply in relation to England.

(3) They come into force on 2023.

Review

2.—(1) Before the end of the review period, the Secretary of State must—

(a) carry out a review of these Regulations,

(b) set the conclusions of the review in a report, and

(c) lay the report before Parliament.

(2) The report must in particular—

(a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by these Regulations,

(b) assess the extent to which those objects are achieved, and

(c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

(3) “Review period” means the period of five years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force.

Interpretation

3.  In these Regulations the “ specified length of carriageway” means those parts of the westbound carriageway of the M621 Motorway in the City of Leeds which lies between—

(a) a point 145 metres east of the centre line of the Belle Isle Bridge and a point directly on the centre line of the Dewsbury Road Bridge;

(b) a point 86 metres east of the centre line of the Holbeck Moor Underpass and a point 32 metres west of the centre line of the Tilbury Road Footbridge; and

(c) a point 16 metres east of the centre line of the Lowfield’s Road Subway and a point 108 metres west of the centre line of the Lowfield’s Railway Bridge.

Regulation 12 of the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 not to apply

4.  Regulation 12 of the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982(2) (restriction on use of the right hand or off side lane) shall not apply to any vehicle using the specified length of carriageway,

Revocation of the Motorways Traffic (M621 Motorway) Regulations 1999

5.  The Motorways Traffic (M621 Motorway) Regulations 1999(3) are revoked in their entirety.

Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Richard Holden

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

11th July 2023

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations disapply regulation 12 of the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 (which prohibits certain vehicles from using the off side lane (right hand lane) of a motorway carriageway with 3 or more lanes) in relation to the lengths of the westbound carriageway of the M621 Motorway defined in regulation 3.

These Regulations also revoke the Motorways Traffic (M621 Motorway) Regulations 1999 in their entirety.

Regulation 2 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and lay a report before Parliament within five years after the Regulations come into force. Following a review, it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them.

An impact assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations as no significant impact on the cost of business or the voluntary sector is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside the Regulations at www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1)

1984 c. 27; section 17(2) was amended by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (c. 22), Schedule 8, Part 2, paragraph 28(3); section 17(2)(b) was amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40), Schedule 8; section 17(2)(d) was inserted by the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40), Schedule 4, paragraph 25. There are other amendments to section 17 and 134 which are not relevant to these Regulations.

(2)

S.I. 1982/1163; as amended by S.I. 1983/374, 1984/1479, 1992/1364, 1995/158, 1996/3053, 2004/3258, 2006/594 and 2015/392.

(3)

S.I. 1999/1077.