Civil Defence Act 1939

9 Power of local authorities to construct air-raid shelters in streets.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the local authority may provide a public air-raid shelter on any highway and may for that purpose construct works in or on the highway or land adjoining the highway and affix appliances to any building or wall adjoining the highway.

(2) In the case of a highway for the maintenance of which a highway authority other than the local authority is responsible, the local authority shall not exercise their powers under this section without the consent of the highway authority.

(3) At least fourteen days before exercising any powers under this section the local authority shall—

(a) serve upon the occupiers of any land or building adjoining the site of the proposed shelter a notice stating their intention to exercise the powers and specifying the general nature of the shelter;

(b) affix a similar notice in a prominent position upon or as near as possible to the site of the proposed shelter; and

(c) cause a similar notice to be published in a newspaper circulating in the area of the authority.

(4) The local authority shall not, in the exercise of their powers under this section, interfere with any mains, pipes, apparatus or works belonging to public utility undertakers or persons carrying on any hydraulic power undertaking unless they have given to those undertakers or persons not less than fourteen days' notice of their intention so to do nor in any case in which those undertakers or persons intimate in writing to the local authority within fourteen days after the receipt of such notice their intention themselves to carry out any reasonably necessary removal, diversion or alteration of their mains, pipes, apparatus or works and proceed with reasonable dispatch to complete the removal, diversion or alteration, and the local authority shall repay to the undertakers or persons the amount of any expenses reasonably incurred by them in or in connection with any such removal, diversion or alteration; and if the local authority cause any damage to any such mains, pipes, apparatus or works, they shall repay to the undertakers or persons the amount of the expenses reasonably incurred by them in making good the damage.

(5) The local authority shall pay to any persons having an estate or interest in any land or building adjoining the highway on which a shelter is constructed under this section such compensation, if any, as may be just in respect of any depreciation of their property caused by the construction of the shelter.