Highways Act 1980

121 Supplementary provisions as to public path extinguishment and diversion orders

(1) A public path extinguishment order or a public path diversion order affecting in any way the area of more than one council may contain provisions requiring one of the councils to defray, or contribute towards, expenses incurred in consequence of the order by another of the councils; and a public path diversion order diverting a part of the line of a path or way from a site in the area of one local highway authority to a site in the area of another may provide that the first mentioned authority are to continue to be the highway authority for that part of the path or way after the diversion.

(2) Section 28 above (compensation for loss caused by public path creation order) applies in relation to public path extinguishment orders and to public path diversion orders as it applies in relation to public path creation orders but as if the references in it to section 26(2) above were references to section 120(3) above.

(3) Section 29 above (protection for agriculture and forestry) applies in relation to the making of public path extinguishment orders and public path diversion orders as it applies in relation to the making of public path creation agreements and public path creation orders.

(4) The Secretary of State shall not make or confirm a public path extinguishment order or a public path diversion order, and a council shall not confirm such an order as an unopposed order, if the order extinguishes a right of way over land under, in, upon, over, along or across which there is any apparatus belonging to or used by any statutory undertakers for the purpose of their undertaking unless the undertakers have consented to the making or, as the case may be, confirmation of the order.

(5) A consent under subsection (4) above may be given subject to the condition that there are included in the order such provisions for the protection of the undertakers as they reasonably require, but a consent under that subsection shall not be unreasonably withheld, and any question whether the withholding of such a consent is unreasonable or whether any requirement is reasonable shall be determined by the appropriate Minister.

(6) In subsection (5) above the "appropriate Minister" means—

(a) in relation to statutory undertakers carrying on an undertaking for the supply of electricity, gas, hydraulic power or water, the Secretary of State ; and

(b) in relation to any other statutory undertakers, the Minister.