Part III

Rights and Obligations in connection with Coal Mining

Subsidence

Persons responsible for subsidence
43
1
Except where Schedule 6 to this Act otherwise provides, the 1991 Act and the regulations under that Act which are in force immediately before the restructuring date shall have effect on and after that date with the substitution, in relation to any subsidence damage, for references to the Corporation of references to the person who is the responsible person in relation to that damage.
2
Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 44 below, the responsible person, in relation to any subsidence damage, shall for the purposes of this Part be—
a
the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land which has been damaged or, as the case may be, the damaged part of it; or
b
in the case of damage to other property, the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land where that property or, as the case may be, the damaged part of it was situated at the time of the damage.
3
For the purposes of this Part, the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land shall be—
a
where that land is for the time being within the area of responsibility of any person as the holder of a licence under Part II of this Act, that person; and
b
in any other case, the Authority.
4
For the purposes of this Part a person is the responsible person in relation to any subsidence damage whether that damage was caused or occurred before or after the time when that person became the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land in question.
5
Accordingly, but subject to section 44 below, where, by virtue of any designation or of any transfer of rights and obligations or of the operation of any such provision as is mentioned in section 37(3) above, any person (“the successor”) becomes the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land—
a
all the rights and liabilities under the 1991 Act, or under any regulations made under that Act or this Part, of the successor’s predecessor as the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting that land (“the predecessor”) shall be transferred, by virtue only of his becoming the person with responsibility, to the successor; and
b
anything which—
i
has been done under or for any of the purposes of the 1991 Act or those regulations by or in relation to the predecessor, or
ii
is deemed to have been so done,
shall be deemed, so far as necessary for that purpose and for the purposes of the continuation by or against the successor of any proceedings under or for the purposes of that Act or those regulations, to have been done by or in relation to the successor.
6
It shall be the duty of a person who becomes as mentioned in subsection (5) above the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land to take all reasonable steps to secure that the change in the person with that responsibility does not result in any undue delay in the performance of any obligations falling by virtue of that change to be performed by that person.
7
Subsections (5) and (6) above shall have effect in relation to the coming into force of subsection (1) above on the restructuring date as they have effect in relation to any other transfer of rights and obligations but as if the references to the predecessor were references to the Corporation.
8
Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect for making provision, in addition to or instead of that made by subsection (1) above, for or in connection with the modification of references to the Corporation in the 1991 Act.