Gas Act 1965

Part I

Manufacture and supply of gas by Gas Council.

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Power to appoint additional members of Gas Council.

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The Minister may appoint from amongst persons appearing to him to be qualified as mentioned in paragraph (a) of section 5(4) of the principal Act (constitution of Gas Council) not more than three persons to be members of that Council in addition to the members provided for by paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection.

Rating of Gas Council and other gas authorities.

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• (1) No premises occupied for operational purposes by the Gas Council shall be liable to be rated, or to be included in any rate, or in any valuation list or valuation roll.

• (2) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the Rating and Valuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955, and of the corresponding Scottish enactment, gas supplied by the Gas Council to consumers at, or manufactured by the Council at, a place in Great Britain shall be treated as having been supplied or manufactured, as the case may be, by the Gas Board in whose area that place is situated.

• (3) In estimating the number of therms supplied by a Gas Board—

• (a) for the purposes of any adjustment to be made by reference to the standard number of therms fixed under section 11(2) of the Local Government Act 1958 (which amends the formula for the basic total of rateable values set out in Schedule 3 to the Rating and Valuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955), or fixed under the corresponding Scottish enactment, and

• (b) for the purposes of paragraph 4(3) of that Schedule (which provides for apportioning that total among rating areas and for ascertaining the proportion to be allocated to each area) and the corresponding Scottish enactment,

any gas supplied by the Gas Council to consumers at any place in Great Britain shall be treated as having been supplied by the Gas Board in whose area that place is situated.

• (4) For the purposes of the said Schedule 3 and the said section 11, and of the corresponding Scottish enactments, any gas manufactured by the Gas Council shall be treated as having been manufactured by the Gas Board in whose area the gas is manufactured, and for the purposes of the said section 11, and of the corresponding Scottish enactment, any gas produced by the Gas Council by the application of a process to gas purchased by the Gas Council shall be treated as having been produced by the Gas Board in whose area the gas is so produced by the application of that process to gas purchased by that Gas Board.

• (5) Paragraph 12 of the said Schedule 3, and the corresponding Scottish enactment, shall apply where a gasworks of the Gas Council is situated partly in one rating area and partly in one or more other rating areas as they apply where a gasworks of a Gas Board is so situated.

• (6) For the purposes of section 11(3) of the Local Government Act 1958 (under which an adjustment is made in applying the said formula to gas purchased by a Gas Board), and of the corresponding Scottish enactment—

• (a) no account shall be taken of gas purchased by a Gas Board from the Gas Council, and

• (b) gas purchased by the Gas Council from any person other than a Gas Board shall be treated as having been purchased by the Gas Boards in the respective quantities settled by a scheme or schemes made from time to time by the Gas Council and approved by the Minister.

• (7) In paragraph 5(b) of Schedule 3 to the Rating and Valuation Act 1925 as set out in section 41 of the Pipe-lines Act 1962 (rateability of pipe-lines) the reference to an Area Board shall include a reference to the Gas Council.

• (8) The valuation officer for a rating area shall from time to time make such proposals as may be required for deleting from the valuation list any hereditament consisting of or comprising premises exempted by subsection (1) of this section, and, where such a hereditament comprises premises not so exempted, for including those premises in the list as one or more separate hereditaments.

• (9) It is hereby declared that for the purposes of the Acts relating to rating which are mentioned in this section the expression " gas " includes gas in a liquid state, and that—

• (a) the liquefaction of gas, and

• (b) the evaporation of gas in a liquid state,

do not of themselves constitute the manufacture of gas or the application of a process to gas.

• (10) In this section " occupied for operational purposes " means occupied exclusively for purposes connected with the powers conferred on the Gas Council by this Act, but premises so occupied do not include—

• (a) premises in England and Wales used as a dwelling-house, or

• (b) any shop, room or other place in England and Wales occupied and used by the Gas Council wholly or mainly for the sale, display or demonstration of apparatus or accessories for use by consumers of gas, or

• (c) in Scotland, any premises which for the purposes of Part III of the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956 would be excepted premises if the Gas Council were a Gas Board.

In determining for the purpose of paragraph (b) of this subsection whether any place is wholly or mainly occupied and used for the sale, display or demonstration of apparatus or accessories for use by consumers of gas, use for the receipt of payments for gas consumed shall be disregarded.

• (11) In this section, in its application to England and Wales, expressions used in the Rating and Valuation Act 1925 have the same meanings as they have for the purposes of that Act and, in its application to Scotland, expressions used in the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956 have the same meanings as in the said Act of 1956.

• (12) For the purposes of this section—

• (a) section 3 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962 is the Scottish enactment corresponding to section 11 of the Local Government Act 1958 and paragraph (a) of the said section 3 is the Scottish enactment corresponding to subsections (2) and (3) of the said section 11;

• (b) section 24(1) of the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956 is the Scottish enactment corresponding to section 6(1) of the Rating and Valuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955, Schedule 4 to the said Act of 1956 is the Scottish enactment corresponding to Schedule 3 to the said Act of 1955 and paragraphs 5 and 11 of the said Schedule 4 are the Scottish enactments corresponding respectively to paragraphs 4(3) and 12 of the said Schedule 3.

Part II — Underground Storage of Gas by Gas Authorities

Storage authorisation orders.

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• (1) The Minister may by an order (in this Part of this Act referred to as a “storage authorisation order”) authorise the storage by a public gas transporter in natural porous strata underground of such kinds of gas (including natural gas) as, having regard to the safety of the public and the need to protect water resources are in the opinion of the Minister suitable for such storage.

• (2) A public gas transportershall not develop or use any such strata for the storage of gas except in accordance with a storage authorisation order, and a storage authorisation order . . . shall not authorise the disregard by any public gas transporter of any enactment or rule of law exonerate a public gas transporter from any indictment, action or other proceedings for any nuisance caused by them.

• (2A) So far as relating to development within section 17(2), (3) or (5) of the Planning Act 2008—

• (a) subsection (1) is subject to section 33(2) of that Act (exclusion of powers to authorise development for which development consent required), and

• (b) subsection (2) is subject to section 33(1) of that Act (exclusion of requirement for other consents for development for which development consent required).

• (2B) So far as relating to the use of strata for the storage of gas, subsections (1) and (2) are subject to section 120(9) of the Planning Act 2008 (exclusion of power to include ancillary provision in orders).

• (3) At all stages in the formulation by a public gas transporter of any proposals for the making of a storage authorisation order, and in the consideration by the Minister of any such proposals, the public gas transporter or the Minister, as the case may be, shall have regard to the safety of the public and the protection of water resources.

• (4) At all stages in the formulation by a public gas transporter of any proposals for the making of a storage authorisation order, and in the consideration by the Minister of any such proposals, the public gas transporter or the Minister, as the case may be, having regard to the desirability of preserving natural beauty, of conserving flora, fauna, and geological or physiographical features of special interest, and of protecting buildings and other objects of architectural or historic interest, shall take into account any effect which the proposals might have on the natural beauty of the countryside or on any such flora, fauna, features, buildings or objects.

• (5) Section 72 of the Water Resources Act 1963 (control of discharges into underground strata) shall not apply to a discharge of gas into underground strata in accordance with a storage authorisation order.

• (6) So far as—

• (a) the carrying out or construction of any surface works, boreholes or pipes associated with an underground gas storage which in a storage authorisation order are shown as approved by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, or

• (b) the bringing into use or operation of an underground gas storage in accordance with a storage authorisation order,

constitute development for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, that development shall for the purposes of section 90 of that Act (deemed planning permission) be taken to be authorised by the Minister in making the storage authorisation order.

• (7) The provisions of the last foregoing subsection shall apply to Scotland, but for the words from “constitute” to the end of the subsection there shall be substituted the words “constitute development for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 that development shall for the purposes of section 57 of that Act (planning permission for development by local authorities and statutory undertakers) be taken to be authorised by the Minister in making the storage authorisation order”.

• (8) The provisions of Parts I and II of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect as respects the contents of a storage authorisation order and the procedure for making it, and—

• (a) the provisions of a storage authorisation order specifying the public gas transporter to whom the order applies, and

• (b) the provisions of any such order specifying the nature of the gas which may be stored,

may be varied by a further storage authorisation order which shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Part III of that Schedule; and Part IV of that Schedule shall have effect for the purpose of adapting the other provisions of that Schedule in their application to Scotland.

Control of mining and other operations in storage area and protective area.

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• (1) This section shall apply to controlled operations in a storage area and, if a storage authorisation order so provides as respects any area outside the storage area, in that other area (in this Part of this Act referred to as “the protective area”), and for the purposes of this section controlled operations are any description of excavation, mining, quarrying or boring operations in the storage area or the protective area which are carried out wholly or partly below the depth prescribed by the storage authorisation order (which may be a different depth for different parts of either area) and which are begun or continued after the coming into force of the storage authorisation order.

• (2) No person, other than the public gas transporter authorised to operate the underground gas storage, shall carry out any controlled operations without the consent of the Minister.

• (2A) Subsection (2) does not apply so far as the controlled operations are authorised by an order granting development consent under the Planning Act 2008.

• (3) An application for the consent of the Minister under this section shall state—

• (a) the name and address of the applicant,

• (b) the extent, purpose and nature of the proposed operations, and the methods proposed to be employed,

• (c) the location and depth of every proposed borehole, shaft, excavation, quarry or other working.

• (4) The applicant shall serve a copy of his application on the public gas transporter to whom the storage authorisation order applies and inform the Minister of the date on which he has done so.

• (5) If within twenty-eight days of the date on which the copy of the application is so served, the public gas transporter informs the Minister that he objects to any of the proposals, or if the Minister proposes to refuse consent or to attach any conditions to his consent, the Minister shall afford to the applicant and to the public gas transporter an opportunity of being heard before a person appointed by the Minister.

• (6) The Minister shall take into consideration the application and the report of any such hearing, and may either refuse the application or give his consent with or without any conditions.

• (7) The Minister’s consent under this section shall enure for the benefit of the land and of all persons for the time being interested in the land.

• (8) The Minister after giving his consent, with or without conditions, may at any time revoke his consent or impose conditions or further conditions or revoke or vary any conditions previously imposed but, before acting under this subsection, the Minister shall afford to the public gas transporter and to any person for the time being interested in the land an opportunity of being heard before a person appointed by the Minister.

• (9) The public gas transporter shall pay to a person making an application for the Minister’s consent under this section, or for a decision under subsection (8) of this section, any expenses reasonably incurred by the applicant in the preparation of plans, and any expenses reasonably incurred by him upon other similar matters in connection with the application, including reasonable costs incurred in employing an engineer, surveyor, land agent, solicitor or other person in an advisory capacity.

• (10) The following shall be local land charges, namely, a storage authorisation order, any conditions attached to a consent given by the Secretary of State under this section and, save in so far as it revokes any conditions, any further decision taken by the Secretary of State under subsection (8) of this section.

• (11) On the coming into operation of a storage authorisation order relating to an area in Scotland it shall be recorded as soon as may be in the General Register of Sasines by the public gas transporter named in the order; and particulars of any consent given by the Minister relating to controlled operations in Scotland shall be recorded as aforesaid by the person who has applied for that consent, and any further decision taken in relation to that consent under subsection (8) of this section shall be so recorded by the Minister.

• (12) It shall be the duty of the public gas transporter concerned to furnish to any person who is under an obligation to record a consent under the last foregoing subsection all necessary information to enable him to comply with that obligation.

• (13) If any person contravenes subsection (2) of this section or fails to comply with any conditions imposed under this section he shall be guilty of an offence under this Part of this Act and shall be liable—

• (a) on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both, and

• (b) on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both.

Controlled operations: carrying out of works to remedy a default.

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• (1) If a public gas transporter applies in England or Wales to a magistrates court or in Scotland to the sheriff, and satisfies the court that any controlled operations have been carried out in breach of section 5(2), or that there has been a relevant failure to comply, and that the works specified in the application which consist of the filling in of an excavation, well, borehole or shaft made or sunk in contravention of the last foregoing section or in circumstances involving a relevant failure to comply, or the taking of any other steps to make good the default, ought to be carried out in the interests of safety, or in order to safeguard property, to preserve water resources or to prevent the suspension, or continued suspension, of the operations of an underground gas storage, the court may make an order authorising the public gas transporter to execute those works in such manner as he thinks fit.

• (2) Any person having an interest in the land in which the controlled operations have been carried out shall be entitled to appear and be heard on the application by the public gas transporter to the court, and the court shall not entertain the application unless satisfied that the public gas transporter has taken reasonable steps to give notice of the application to all such persons who are known to him.

• (3) The public gas transporter shall, as against all persons interested in the land in which the works are to be carried out, and any other land to which entry is required for the purpose of obtaining access to that land, have all such rights as are necessary in order to enable him to execute the order.

• (4) Except in a case of emergency, a public gas transporter shall not in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied unless twenty-four hours’ notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier, and where a public gas transporter in exercising his powers under subsection (3) of this section [causes] any damage to land or chattels, any person interested in the land or chattels shall be entitled to compensation in respect of that damage from the public gas transporter.

• (5) Any expenses reasonably incurred by the public gas transporter in executing the order of a court under this section (but not including any compensation paid by the public gas transporter under this section) may be recovered by the public gas transporter from the person who carried out the controlled operations or, as the case may be, was responsible for the relevant failure to comply.