42.—(1) A former gas undertaker shall not, after the coming into operation of this Article, dispose of any assets to which this paragraph applies without the consent of the Department; and any purported disposal by a former gas undertaker of any such assets after the coming into operation of this Article shall be void.
(2) Paragraph (1) applies to assets which—
(a)are vested in the former gas undertaker immediately before the coming into operation of this Article; and
(b)subsist, either wholly or mainly, for the purposes of, or in connection with, or are otherwise attributable to, the functions exercised by the former gas undertaker in its capacity as such.
(3) In this Article “former gas undertaker” means a gas undertaker which has entered into an agreement with the Department under Article 3 of the [1985 NI 14.] Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 for the run-down and closure of its gas undertaking.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1) a person disposes of any asset if (whether for valuable consideration or not)—
(a)he transfers or assigns any interest in, or right in respect of, that asset to another person;
(b)he grants to any other person any right of possession, occupation or use of that asset;
(c)he mortgages or charges that asset or creates any other encumbrance in respect of it; or
(d)he deals in any other way with that asset so as to transfer or assign to, or create for the benefit of, any other person any interest in, or right in respect of, the asset.