Conwy Tunnel (Supplementary Powers) Act 1983

Preliminary

Purpose of Act

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• (1) The powers conferred on the Secretary of State by this Act are by way of supplement to those already available to the Secretary of State under the Highways Act 1980 (referred to below in this Act as the 1980 Act) for or in connection with the construction, maintenance and improvement of the tunnel which he is authorised to construct across the Conwy Estuary by the Glan Conwy to Conwy Morfa Special Road and Connecting Roads Scheme 1982.

• (2) In this Act—

• " the Estuary " means the Conwy Estuary ;

• " the principal construction works " means— the construction of the tunnel (including works for constructing the tunnel units under section 4 of this Act and works for providing access to the tunnel on either side of the Estuary); the construction of fabrication facilities for constructing those units under that section ; the diversion of the waters of the Estuary from any land in accordance with the Scheme ; and the construction of the jetty mentioned in section 5 of this Act;

• " the Scheme " means the Scheme mentioned in subsection (1) above; and

• " the tunnel" means the tunnel that the Secretary of State is authorised by the Scheme to construct (which is a tunnel of the immersed tube type).

• (3) References in this Act to the principal works are references to the principal construction works or any of them and any works for the maintenance, improvement or repair of, or other dealing with, the tunnel that are or may be authorised under the 1980 Act (whether by virtue of any provision of Part IV or V of that Act or by virtue of any order made under section 18(1)(f) of that Act).

• (4) Nothing in this Act shall be read as prejudicing the powers of the Secretary of State under the 1980 Act to acquire land or construct or carry out works for or in connection with the construction, maintenance or improvement of the tunnel.

Land and works

Power to acquire specified land compulsorily

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• (1) The Secretary of State is authorised by this section to acquire compulsorily so much of the land shown on the deposited plan within the limits of land to be acquired as may be required for or in connection with the principal works.

• (2) Part I of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (except sections 4 and 27 and paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 3) shall apply to the acquisition of land under this section as it applies to a compulsory purchase to which Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 applies.

• (3) A notice to treat under that Part for the purpose of acquiring any land under this section shall not be served after 31st December 1986 or such later date as may for the time being be authorised by an order made by the Secretary of State; and an order under this subsection shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure.

• (4) The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 shall not apply to the acquisition of land under this section.

• (5) Schedule 1 to this Act (which contains supplementary provisions relating to the acquisition of land for or in connection with the principal works) shall have effect.

Further power to acquire land

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• (1) The Secretary of State may acquire compulsorily land required for or in connection with the principal works, not being land which may be acquired under section 2 of this Act.

• (2) A compulsory purchase order made in pursuance of this section may provide for the acquisition of rights over land by creating them as well as for the acquisition of rights already in existence.

• (3) References in this section and Schedule 1 to this Act to rights over land include references to the right to do, or to place and maintain, anything in, on or under land or in the airspace above its surface.

• (4) For the purpose of the acquisition by the Secretary of State of land required for or in connection with the principal works by agreement, Part I of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (so far as applicable and excluding sections 4 to 8, 10, 27 and 31) shall apply; and in that Part, as so applied, "land" has the same meaning as in this Act.

• (5) The Acquisition of Land Act 1981 shall apply to the compulsory acquisition of land under this section, and Schedule 3 to that Act shall apply to the compulsory acquisition of a right by virtue of subsection (2) above.

Construction of tunnel units

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• (1) The Secretary of State may construct the tunnel units on land acquired under section 2 of this Act or other Crown land shown on the deposited plan within the limits of land to be acquired.

• (2) This section is not to be taken as prejudicing the Secretary of State's power to use, in constructing the tunnel, tunnel units constructed by himself or another on land other than land mentioned in subsection (1) above.

Construction of jetty

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• (1) The Secretary of State may construct a jetty in the situation and in accordance with the levels shown on the deposited plan and the deposited section.

• (2) In constructing the jetty, the Secretary of State may deviate laterally from the situation shown on the deposited plan to the extent of the limits of deviation so shown, and may deviate vertically from the levels shown on the deposited section to the extent of two metres upwards and to any extent downwards.

Subsidiary works and supplementary powers

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• (1) Schedule 2 to this Act has effect for authorising certain works to be constructed or carried out in connection with the principal works, and for conferring on the Secretary of State certain other supplementary powers for or in connection with the construction, maintenance or improvement of the tunnel.

• (2) References below in this Act to the tunnel works are references to the principal construction works and any works or other action authorised by Schedule 2 to this Act which is undertaken for or in connection with the principal construction works.

• (3) References below in this Act to tunnel maintenance works are references to any such works for the maintenance, improvement or repair of, or other dealing with, the tunnel as are mentioned in section 1(3) of this Act and any works or other action authorised by Schedule 2 to this Act which is undertaken for or in connection with any such works.

• (4) Without prejudice to the application apart from this subsection of section 6 of the 1980 Act (delegation, etc., of functions with respect to maintenance, etc., of trunk roads) to the powers of the Secretary of State under this Act, that section shall apply to any power under Schedule 2 to this Act exercisable for the purpose of any tunnel maintenance works.

Control of navigation, etc.

Special control during and after the construction period

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• (1) If at any time during the construction period it appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or convenient for the purpose of any of the tunnel works he may give a direction under this section in respect of the harbour area or any part of it.

• (2) A direction under this section must specify the area to which it relates.

• (3) Without prejudice to the giving of a further direction under this section, any such direction—

• (a) shall have effect for a limited period only, which must be specified in the direction; and

• (b) may be varied or revoked before the end of that period by a further direction under this section.

• (4) A direction under this section may apply to the area specified in the direction such of—

• (a) the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by Part I of Schedule 3 to this Act; and

• (b) the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by Part II of that Schedule;

as may be so specified, whether generally or for such purposes or subject to such exceptions as may be so specified.

• (5) A direction under this section may provide—

• (a) that any powers of the harbour authority or the harbour master under any harbour order shall cease to be exercisable in the area specified in the direction either altogether or to any extent specified in the direction or (as the case may be) shall be so exercisable subject to any restrictions so specified ;

• (b) that anything authorised or required by any such order or by any byelaws made or directions given under any such order to be done by or to the harbour authority or the harbour master may or shall be done instead in that area by or to the Secretary of State or any person acting on his behalf ; and

• (c) that any such order, byelaws or directions shall apply within that area subject to any modifications specified in the direction.

• (6) A direction under this section may provide that any powers of the harbour authority to levy ship, passenger and goods dues (within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1964) shall cease to be exercisable in the area specified in the direction to any extent so specified.

• (7) After the end of the construction period all the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by Part I of Schedule 3 to this Act and the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by Part II of that Schedule shall apply within the tunnel maintenance area.

• (8) In this Act—

• " the harbour area " means the area comprising— Conwy harbour ; and any land from which the waters of the Estuary have been diverted in accordance with the Scheme; and

• " the tunnel maintenance area " means the area marked by cross-hatching (or by both cross-hatching and dots) on the plan included in Schedule 3 to the Scheme (limit of tunnel backfill).

Provisions supplementary to section 7

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• (1) Part III of Schedule 3 to this Act has effect for the purpose of supplementing the provisions of Parts I and II of that Schedule.

• (2) References in any provision of that Schedule to the works and to the area affected by the works shall be read as referring respectively—

• (a) in a case where that provision applies by virtue of a direction given under section 7 of this Act, to the tunnel works and to the area specified in the direction in accordance with subsection (2) of that section; and

• (b) in a case where that provision applies by virtue of subsection (7) of that section, to any tunnel maintenance works and to the tunnel maintenance area.

• (3) Without prejudice to any provision made by a direction under that section, where under or by virtue of that section any prohibition or restriction under Part II of that Schedule applies in any area—

• (a) any power, right or duty (whether of the harbour authority or any other person) applicable under or by virtue of any other enactment or by virtue of any rule of law shall be subject to that prohibition or restriction; and

• (b) that prohibition or restriction is additional to any prohibition or restriction under any other enactment.

• (4) The Secretary of State shall—

• (a) publish notice of any direction under section 7 of this Act in a local newspaper circulating in the Conwy area; and

• (b) give notice of any such direction to the Aberconwy Borough Council and to the Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond ;

describing the area to which the direction relates and giving such indication of the effect of the direction as appears to him to be appropriate.

• (5) The notice required by subsection (4) above in the case of any direction shall be published or given at least seven days before the direction is given, unless the Secretary of State considers it necessary by reason of any emergency to give the direction without complying with the preceding requirement; and in any such case—

• (a) the notice required by that subsection shall be published or given as soon as possible after the time by which in accordance with the preceding requirement it should have been published or given ; and

• (b) where it is not possible to publish or give that notice before the direction is given the Secretary of State shall publish or give such advance notice (if any) of the direction as may be possible in the circumstances.

• (6) In relation to any advance notice of a direction under section 7 of this Act required by subsection (5) above, references in subsections (4) and (5) above to any such direction shall be read as references to a proposed direction.

• (7) In this Act " the construction period " means the period beginning with the date on which the tunnel works are begun and ending with the date on which the tunnel is first open to public traffic.

Remedied action and compensation

Extended right to compensation for injurious affection

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• (1) This section applies where any land, or any interest in land, has been injuriously affected by the carrying out of any works or the taking of any other action authorised by Schedule 2 to this Act otherwise than on land acquired for or in connection with the principal works.

• (2) Compensation shall be payable in respect of the land or interest injuriously affected under section 10 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965, to be assessed in the same manner and subject to the same rules as in the case of other compensation under that section in respect of injurious affection where the injury arises from the execution of works on land acquired in accordance with that Act.

• (3) In section 10(1), as it applies for the purposes of this section, the reference to the acquiring authority shall be read as a reference to the Secretary of State.

Expenditure on remedial action

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• (1) The Secretary of State is authorised by this section to incur expenditure for or in connection with—

• (a) the construction or execution of works for mitigating any adverse effects which the tunnel works have or might possibly have on fish or shellfish stocks in Conwy waters;

• (b) the provision of moorings and other facilities for vessels to replace existing facilities in Conwy harbour which have been or will be removed for the purposes of the tunnel works or to mitigate any adverse effects the tunnel works have or might possibly have on the use of any such existing facilities ; and

• (c) the relocation and reinstatement of any such existing facilities which have been displaced for the purposes of the tunnel works.

In paragraph (a) above " Conwy waters" means Conwy harbour and the adjacent sea and the River Conwy and any of its tributaries.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)(a) above, expenditure on any action taken for the purpose of restoring, replenishing or renewing—

• (a) the mussel beds within the Conwy Mussel Fishery ; or

• (b) stocks of salmon or migratory trout (within the meaning of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975);

is authorised by that paragraph.

• (3) Expenditure by the Secretary of State on works or facilities within subsection (1) above is authorised—

• (a) irrespective of whether the works or facilities are constructed, carried out or provided by the Secretary of State himself or by any other person ; and

• (b) in the case of works of construction within paragraph (a) or any facilities within paragraph (b) of that subsection, irrespective of whether those works or facilities are permanent or temporary.

Compensation for losses arising from the tunnel works

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• (1) The Secretary of State may make payments in accordance with this section in respect of losses appearing to him to be losses arising from the tunnel works.

• (2) A person is eligible to receive payments under this section in respect of any loss appearing to the Secretary of State to be a loss arising from those works if it appears to the Secretary of State

• (a) that he derives a significant part of his income from carrying on a business subject to special damage from works in the Estuary;

• (b) that that business had been carried on before the construction period (whether by him or by any other person) for a period of not less than three years extending up to the beginning of the construction period ;

• (c) that the loss was incurred in respect of that business; and

• (d) that the loss was incurred before the end of the relevant period.

• (3) For the purposes of this section a loss is a loss arising from the tunnel works if it is a financial loss directly attributable to—

• (a) the tunnel works ; or

• (b) the exercise by the Secretary of State for the purposes of those works of any power exercisable by him by virtue of a direction under section 7 of this Act; or

• (c) the effect of any prohibition or restriction under Part II of Schedule 3 to this Act which is applicable during the construction period by virtue of any such direction.

• (4) For the purposes of this section a business is one subject to special damage from works in the Estuary if it involves or is dependent upon any one or more of the following—

• (a) the taking of fish or shellfish or other operations or activities carried on in waters within Conwy harbour (whether by the person carrying on the business or by other persons);

• (b) the use (by that person or by other persons) of facilities in Conwy harbour for the purpose of or in connection with carrying on any operations or activities mentioned in paragraph (a) above in waters beyond the limits of Conwy harbour; and

• (c) the taking of mussels from the Conwy Mussel Fishery by persons licensed to do so under the Conwy Mussel Fishery (Amendment) Order 1948.

• (5) Any operations or activities shall be regarded for the purposes of subsection (4) above as carried on in waters of any description if carried on in, under or over waters of that description or the land beneath those waters.

• (6) For the purposes of this section, the relevant period in relation to any loss—

• (a) in the case of a loss incurred in respect of a business within subsection (4)(c) above, is the period beginning with the date on which the construction period begins and ending five years after the end of the construction period or after the completion of any action taken or financed by the Secretary of State under section 10 of this Act for the purpose of restoring, replenishing or renewing the mussel beds within the Conwy Mussel Fishery (whichever last occurs); and

• (b) in any other case, is the period beginning with the date on which the construction period begins and ending five years after the end of the construction period.