Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 (repealed 1.1.1993)

3 Settlement of a plan and section to be a condition of execution of major works. E+W+S

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section, undertakers shall not execute any works to which this section applies until a plan and section thereof have been settled as mentioned in the next or the next but one succeeding section by agreement between the undertakers and each of the authorities or managers concerned or by arbitration, and for that purpose undertakers proposing to execute any such works in a [F1 street][F1 road] shall submit a plan and section thereof to each of the authorities or managers concerned.

(2) This section applies to all code-regulated works except—

(a) inspecting, maintaining, adjusting or repairing apparatus;

(b) placing, altering renewing, changing the position of or removing a service pipe or service line or [F2 overhead telecommunication apparatus] in or from a place not in a trunk road or a classified road, or in or from a place in such a road in so far as the works are to be executed elsewhere than in the carriageway of the road and so as not substantially to affect the traffic on the carriageway thereof;

(c) placing, elsewhere than in a [F3 maintainable highway][F3 public road], apparatus which is required only in connection with the doing of any building or other work on land adjacent to the [F3 street][F3 road] and is intended to be removed on the completion of the building or other work;

(d) any breaking up or opening (other than breaking up or opening a [F4 public sewer][F4 sewer vested in a local authority]), tunnelling or boring in so far as it is to be executed for the purposes of works falling within any of the preceding paragraphs, and any other works so far as requisite for or incidental to works so falling.

(3) In the case of works to which this section applies being emergency works—

(a) the undertakers may execute them without submitting a plan and section thereof under subsection (1) of this section or before a plan and section thereof have been settled; but

(b) as soon as is reasonably practicable after so executing any such works they shall furnish a plan and section thereof to each of the authorities or managers concerned.

(4) Subsection (1) of this section, and paragraph (b) of the last preceding subsection, shall not have effect as to [F5 street][F5 road] managers concerned in respect of a [F5 street][F5 road] which they have no liability to the public to maintain or repair if the undertakers have given them a notice stating the general nature of the works proposed, or of the emergency works executed, as the case may be, and that it is a notice given for the purposes of this subsection, and the [F5 street][F5 road] managers have not, within fifteen days from the date on which the notice was given to them, given notice to the undertakers requiring submission or furnishing of a plan and section to them.

(5) If undertakers execute any works to which this section applies in contravention of subsection (1) thereof, or fail to furnish a plan and section in accordance with an obligation to which they are subject by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) thereof, they shall in respect of that contravention or failure be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F6 level 3 on the standard scale].

(6) If any authority or managers concerned object to any works in the case of which subsection (1) of this section or paragraph (b) of subsection (3) thereof has effect as concerns them and which were executed before a plan and section thereof had been settled, whether the works were executed in contravention of the said subsection (1) or were emergency works, they may, after giving to the undertakers notice of the objection and an opportunity to enter into an agreement with the authority or managers for meeting it, refer the matter to arbitration, and the [F7 arbitrator][F7 arbiter] may direct the alteration of the works to conform to a plan and section settled by him, or the removal of any apparatus placed in the execution thereof, and the undertakers shall be under obligation to comply with any such direction:

Provided that, in settling the terms of any such direction, the [F7 arbitrator][F7 arbiter] shall satisfy himself that compliance therewith will not involve any undue interruption or restriction of the supply or service for the purposes of which the works were executed.

If undertakers fail to execute works in accordance with an obligation to which they are subject by virtue of a direction under this subsection, they shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds in respect of each day of such failure.

(7) An authority or managers to whom a plan and section of works are required by this section to be submitted or furnished may accept, as or in lieu of a plan and section thereof, any description thereof, whether in diagram form or not, which appears to them to be sufficient, and references in this Act to a plan and section shall include references to any such description so submitted or furnished to the form of which the authority or managers have not objected within the time limited by the next succeeding section for objection in form to a plan and section submitted.

Textual Amendments

F1 Word “road” substituted (S.) for word “street” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(4)(a)

F2 Words substituted by Telecommunications Act 1984 (c. 12, SIF 96), s. 109, Sch. 4 para. 29(2), Sch. 5 para. 45

F3 Words “public road” and “road” substituted (S.) respectively for words “maintainable highway” and “street” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(4)(b)(i)

F4 Words “sewer vested in a local authority” substituted (S.) for words “public sewer” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(4)(b)(ii)

F5 Word “road” substituted (S.) for word “street” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(4)(c)

F6 Words substituted (E.W.) (S.) by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46 and (S.) by Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289F, 289G

F7 Word “arbiter” substituted (S.) for word “arbitrators” by virtue of Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(4)(d) (which is in terms expressed to relate to s. 3(5) )

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 3(5) is expressed to be amended (S.) by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), Sch. 9 para. 39(4)(d) (but see footnote in s. 3(6) relating to Roads (Scotland) Act 1984).