The Hinkley Point (Temporary Jetty) (Land Acquisition) Order 2012

PART 1 PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Hinkley Point (Temporary Jetty) (Land Acquisition) Order 2012 and comes into force on 12th August 2012.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the 1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 1961(1);

“the 1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965(2);

“the book of reference” means the book of reference certified by the Secretary of State as the book of reference for the purposes of this Order;

“the Company” means NNB Generation Company Limited, a company incorporated in England with registered number 06937084;

“the HEO” means the Hinkley Point (Temporary Jetty) Harbour Empowerment Order 2012(3);

“the land plan” means the plans certified by the Secretary of State as the land plans for the purposes of this Order;

“the tribunal” means the Upper Tribunal;

“the undertaking” means the harbour undertaking of the Company as authorised by the HEO; and

“the works” means the works authorised by the HEO.

(2) References in this Order to rights over land include references to rights to do, or to place and maintain, anything in, on or under land or in the air-space over its surface.

(3) All measurements stated in any description of lands in the book of reference are approximate.

PART 2 ACQUISITION OF LAND

Power to acquire land

3.  The Company may acquire compulsorily so much of the land shown coloured pink and edged red on the land plan and described in the book of reference, or such estates, interests, easements, or other rights in or over the land (save for the freehold or any other interest of the Environment Agency in the land referred to on the land plan under reference TWA_1 (and so described in the book of reference)), as may be required for the purposes of the works and it may use any land so acquired for those purposes or for any other purposes ancillary to the undertaking.

Application of Part 1 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965

4.—(1) Part 1 of the 1965 Act, in so far as not modified by or inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, applies to the acquisition of land under this Order—

(a) as it applies to a compulsory purchase to which the Acquisition of Land Act 1981(4) applies; and

(b) as if this Order were a compulsory purchase order made under that Act.

(2) Part 1 of the 1965 Act, as applied by paragraph (1), has effect as if section 4 (which provides a time limit for compulsory purchase of land) and paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 3 (which makes provision as to the giving of bonds) were omitted.

Application of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981

5.—(1) The Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981(5) applies as if this Order were a compulsory purchase order.

(2) The Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981, as applied by paragraph (1), has effect with the following modifications.

(3) In section 3 (preliminary notices) for subsection (1) there is substituted—

“(1) Before making a declaration under section 4 with respect to any land which is subject to a compulsory purchase order the acquiring authority must include the particulars specified in subsection (3) in a notice which is—

(a) given to every person with a relevant interest in the land with respect to which the declaration is to be made (other than to a mortgagee who is not in possession); and

(b) published in a local newspaper circulating in the area in which the land is situated. ”.

(4) In that section, in subsection (2), for “(1)(b)” there is substituted “(1)” and after “given” there is inserted “and published”.

(5) In that section, for subsections (5) and (6) there is substituted—

“(5) For the purposes of this section, a person has a relevant interest in land if—

(a) that person is for the time being entitled to dispose of the fee simple of the land, whether in possession or in reversion; or

(b) that person holds, or is entitled to the rents and profits of, the land under a lease or agreement, the unexpired term of which exceeds one month.”.

(6) In section 5 (earliest date for execution of declaration)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “publication” there is inserted “in a local newspaper circulating in the area in which the land is situated”; and

(b) subsection (2) is omitted.

(7) In section 7 (constructive notice to treat) in subsection (1)(a), the words “(as modified by section 4 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981)” are omitted.

(8) References to the 1965 Act are construed as references to that Act as applied to the acquisition of land under article 3 (power to acquire land).

Power to acquire new rights

6.—(1) The Company may acquire compulsorily such easements or other rights over any land referred to in article 3 (power to acquire land) as may be required for any purpose for which that land may be acquired by it under that article, by creating them as well as by acquiring easements or other rights already in existence.

(2) Subject to section 8 of the 1965 Act (as substituted by paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 (modification of compensation and compulsory purchase enactments for creation of new rights)), where the Company acquires a right over land under paragraph (1) it is not required to acquire a greater interest in that land.

(3) Schedule 1 has effect for the purpose of modifying the enactments relating to compensation and the provisions of the 1965 Act in their application in relation to the compulsory acquisition under this article of a right over land by the creation of a new right.

Disregard of certain interests and improvements

7.—(1) In assessing the compensation (if any) payable to any person on the acquisition from that person of any land under this Order, the tribunal must not take into account—

(a) any interest in land; or

(b) any enhancement of the value of any interest in land by reason of any building erected, works executed or improvement or alteration made on relevant land,

if the tribunal is satisfied that the creation of the interest, the erection of the building, the execution of the works or the making of the improvement or alteration was not reasonably necessary and was undertaken with a view to obtaining compensation or increased compensation.

(2) In paragraph (1), “relevant land” means the land acquired from the person concerned or any other land with which that person is, or was at the time when the building was erected, the works executed or the improvement or alteration made, directly or indirectly concerned.

Set-off for enhancement in value of retained land

8.—(1) In assessing the compensation payable to any person in respect of the acquisition from him under this Order of any land (including the subsoil) the tribunal shall set off against the value of the land so acquired any increase in value of any contiguous or adjacent land belonging to that person in the same capacity which will accrue to him by reason of the construction of the authorised works.

(2) In assessing the compensation payable to any person in respect of the acquisition from him of any new rights over land (including the subsoil) under article 6 (power to acquire new rights), the tribunal shall set-off against the value of the rights so acquired—

(a) any increase in the value of the land over which the new rights are required; and

(b) any increase in value of any contiguous or adjacent land belonging to that person in the same capacity,

which will accrue to him by reason of the construction of the authorised works.

(3) The 1961 Act shall have effect, subject to paragraphs (1) and (2), as if this Order were a local enactment for the purposes of that Act.

Extinction of private rights of way

9.—(1) All private rights of way over land subject to compulsory acquisition under this Order are extinguished—

(a) as from the date of acquisition of the land by the Company, whether compulsorily or by agreement; or

(b) on the date of entry on the land by the Company under section 11(1) of the 1965 Act,

whichever is sooner.

(2) All private rights of way over land owned by the Company which, being within the limits of land which may be acquired shown on the land plan, are required for the purposes of the works or the undertaking are extinguished on the appropriation of the land for any of those purposes by the Company.

(3) Any person who suffers loss by the extinguishment of any private right of way under this article is entitled to compensation to be determined, in case of dispute, under Part 1 of the 1961 Act.

(4) This article does not apply in relation to any right of way to which section 271 or 272 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(6) (extinguishment of rights of statutory undertakers etc.) applies.

Time limit for exercise of powers of acquisition

10.  After the end of the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which this Order comes into force—

(a) no notice to treat is to be served under Part 1 of the 1965 Act as applied to the acquisition of land by article 4 (application of Part 1 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965); and

(b) no declaration is to be executed under section 4 of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 as applied by article 5 (application of the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981).

PART 3 MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

Certification of plans, etc.

11.  The Company must, as soon as practicable after the making of this Order, submit copies of the book of reference and the land plans to the Secretary of State for certification that they are true copies of, respectively, the book of reference and land plans referred to in this Order; and a document so certified is admissible in any proceedings as evidence of the contents of the document of which it is a copy.

Statutory undertakers, etc.

12.  The provisions of Schedule 2 (provisions relating to statutory undertakers, etc.) have effect.

Service of notices

13.—(1) A notice or other document required or authorised to be served for the purposes of this Order may be served—

(a) by post; or

(b) with the consent of the recipient and subject to paragraphs (6) to (8), by electronic transmission.

(2) Where the person on whom a notice or other document to be served for the purposes of this Order is a body corporate, the notice or document is duly served if it is served on the secretary or clerk of that body.

(3) For the purposes of section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978(7) as it applies for the purposes of this article, the proper address of any person in relation to the service on that person of a notice or document under paragraph (1) is, if that person has given an address for service, that address, and otherwise—

(a) in the case of the secretary or clerk of a body corporate, the registered or principal office of that body; and

(b) in any other case, the last known address of that person at the time of service.

(4) Where for the purposes of this Order a notice or other document is required or authorised to be served on a person as having any interest in, or as the occupier of, land and the name or address of that person cannot be ascertained after reasonable enquiry, the notice may be served by—

(a) addressing it to that person by name or by the description of “owner”, or as the case may be “occupier”, of the land (describing it); and

(b) either leaving it in the hands of a person who is or appears to be resident or employed on the land or leaving it conspicuously affixed to some building or object on or near the land.

(5) Where a notice or other document required to be served or sent for the purposes of this Order is served or sent by electronic transmission the requirement is fulfilled where the recipient of the notice or other document to be transmitted has given consent to the use of electronic transmission either in writing or by electronic transmission.

(6) Where the recipient of a notice or other document served or sent by electronic transmission notifies the sender within 7 days of receipt that the recipient requires a paper copy of all or any part of that notice or other document the sender must provide such a copy as soon as reasonably practicable.

(7) Any consent to the use of electronic transmission given by a person may be revoked by that person in accordance with paragraph (8).

(8) Where a person is no longer willing to accept the use of electronic transmission for any of the purposes of this Order—

(a) that person must give notice in writing or by electronic transmission revoking any consent given by that person for that purpose; and

(b) such revocation is final and takes effect on a date specified by the person in the notice but that date must not be less than 7 days after the date on which the notice is given.

(9) This article does not exclude the employment of any method of service not expressly provided for by it.

(10) In this article “electronic transmission” means a communication transmitted—

(a) by means of an electronic communications network; or

(b) by other means but while in electronic form.

No double recovery

14.  Compensation is not payable in respect of the same matter both under this Order and under any other enactment, any contract or any rule of law.

Arbitration

15.  Any difference under any provision of this Order, unless otherwise provided for, is to be referred to and settled by a single arbitrator to be agreed between the parties or, failing agreement, to be appointed on the application of either party (after giving notice in writing to the other) by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

Giles Scott

Head of National Infrastructure Consents

20th July 2012