PART 4ACQUISITION AND POSSESSION OF LAND

Powers of acquisition

Power to acquire rights in land

31.—(1) The Agency may acquire compulsorily such easements and other rights over so much of the land shown on the land plans as lying within the Order Limits as may be required for the purposes of constructing, operating or maintaining the scheduled works and any other purposes that are ancillary to the scheduled works by creating them as well as by acquiring easements or other rights already in existence.

(2) In relation to so much of the land shown on the land plans as lies within plot number 255a, the Agency may also impose such restrictive covenants as may be required for the purposes of operating or maintaining Work No. 1A.

(3) This article is subject to article 37 (temporary possession of land for construction purposes).

(4) Schedule 4 (modification of compensation and compulsory purchase enactments for creation of new rights) 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 or, in the case of plot number 255a, the imposition of a restrictive covenant.

(5) Subject to section 8 of the 1965 Act(1) (other provisions as to divided land) (as modified by Schedule 4), where the Agency acquires a right over land under paragraph (1) the Agency cannot be required to acquire a greater interest in that land.

(6) Paragraph (7) applies to land which is used for the relocation of any apparatus which it is expedient to divert or replace in consequence of the carrying out of the authorised works.

(7) In relation to the land to which this paragraph applies, the power to acquire or create easements or other rights under paragraph (1) is to be treated as also authorising the acquisition or creation by a statutory undertaker in any case where the Secretary of State gives consent in writing for that acquisition or creation.

(8) In paragraph (7), “statutory undertaker” means—

(a)a licence holder within the meaning of section 64(1) of the Electricity Act 1989,

(b)a gas transporter within the meaning of section 7(1) of the Gas Act 1986(2),

(c)a water undertaker appointed pursuant to section 6(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991(3),

(d)a sewerage undertaker,

(e)any local authority which is a relevant local authority for the purposes of section 97 of the Water Industry Act 1991(4) (performance of sewerage undertaker’s functions by local authorities, etc.), and

(f)a public communications provider within the meaning of section 151 of the Communications Act 2003(5) (interpretation of Chapter 1).

(1)

Section 8 was amended by paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 17 to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22) and by S.I. 2009/1307.

(2)

1986 c. 44, section 7 was substituted by section 5 of the Gas Act 1995 (c. 40) and subsection (1) was amended by section 76(2) of the Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27) and Part 1 of Schedule 23 to the Energy Act 2004 (c. 20).

(3)

As amended by section 36(2) of the Water Act 2003 (c. 37).

(4)

Section 97 was amended by paragraph 17(b) of Schedule 15 and Part 4 of Schedule 18 to the Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38), by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998 (c. 43), by paragraphs 55 and 57 of Schedule 8 to the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (c. 17), and by paragraphs 39 and 41 of Schedule 22 to the Localism Act 2011 (c. 20).