The Street Works (Inspection Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke and re-enact with amendments the Street Works (Inspection Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001.

The effects of the amendments are to –

• Increase the fee prescribed for each chargeable inspection to £21·00 (regulation 3(1)).

• “Chargeable inspection” is now defined simply as an inspection at random of not more than 10.5 per cent of each phase of works, and not more than 30 per cent of the total number of actual units of inspection in any year (regulation 3(2)).

• “Unit of inspection” in the case of clusters of not more than 5 excavations (or not more than 10 where the works relate to service pipes or lines) is redefined so that the previous requirement that in these cases, all the excavations are the subject of one notice of starting date, is replaced by 2 requirements, that all the excavations are in the same street, and that they are part of the same works (regulation 3(3)).

• “Estimated number of units of inspection” is replaced by “number of actual units of inspection” being the average number of units of inspection for that undertaker during the 3 preceding years (regulation 3(5)). Regulation 3(6) makes provision for new undertakers to estimate the number of units of inspection they expect to generate for the first 3 years.