Transport and Works Act 1992

Part I — Orders authorising works etc

Power to make orders

Exclusion of hackney carriage legislation.

1

• (1) The Secretary of State may make an order relating to, or to matters ancillary to, the construction or operation of a transport system of any of the following kinds, so far as it is in England and Wales—

• (a) a railway;

• (b) a tramway;

• (c) a trolley vehicle system;

• (d) a system using a mode of guided transport prescribed by order made under section 2 below.

• (1A) Subsection (1) is subject to—

• (a) section 33(2) of the Planning Act 2008 (exclusion of powers to authorise development);

• (b) section 120(9) of that Act (exclusion of power to include ancillary provision in orders);

• (c) section 20(2) of the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (exclusion of powers to authorise development for which infrastructure consent is required);

• (d) section 63(8) of that Act (exclusion of powers to include ancillary provision in orders).

• (2) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

Extension of section 1 to other guided transport systems

2

• (1) The Secretary of State may by order prescribe modes of guided transport for the purposes of section 1(1)(d) above.

• (2) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument; but no order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

Orders as to inland waterways etc

3

• (1) The Secretary of State may make an order relating to, or to matters ancillary to—

• (a) the construction or operation of an inland waterway in England and Wales;

• (b) the carrying out of works which—

• (i) interfere with rights of navigation in waters within or adjacent to England and Wales, up to the seaward limits of the territorial sea, and

• (ii) are of a description prescribed by order made under section 4 below.

• (1A) Subsection (1) is subject to—

• (a) section 33(2) of the Planning Act 2008 (exclusion of powers to authorise development);

• (b) section 120(9) of that Act (exclusion of power to include ancillary provision in orders);

• (c) section 20(2) of the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 (exclusion of powers to authorise development for which infrastructure consent is required);

• (d) section 63(8) of that Act (exclusion of powers to include ancillary provision in orders).

• (2) The Secretary of State shall not make an order under this section if in his opinion the primary object of the order could be achieved by means of an order under the Harbours Act 1964.

• (3) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

Description of works for purposes of section 3

4

• (1) The Secretary of State may by order prescribe descriptions of works for the purposes of section 3(1)(b) above.

• (2) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument; but no order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

Subject-matter of orders under sections 1 and 3

5

• (1) Without prejudice to the generality of sections 1 and 3 above, the matters as to which provision may be made by an order under either of those sections include those set out in Schedule 1 to this Act.

• (2) An order under section 1 or 3 above may make provision in relation to more than one scheme, system or mode of transport.

• (3) An order under section 1 or 3 above may—

• (a) apply, modify or exclude any statutory provision which relates to any matter as to which an order could be made under section 1 or, as the case may be, 3, and

• (b) make such amendments, repeals and revocations of statutory provisions of local application as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient in consequence of any provision of the order or otherwise in connection with the order;

and for the purposes of this subsection “statutory provision” means provision of an Act of Parliament or of an instrument made under an Act of Parliament.

• (4) The provisions that may be made by an order under section 1 or 3 above include—

• (a) any provision that appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for giving full effect to—

• (i) any other provision of the order,

• (ii) any provision of an earlier order under the section concerned, or

• (iii) any provision which is contained in an Act of Parliament passed before the time when this Part of this Act is first wholly in force, or in an instrument made under an Act of Parliament before that time, and which is of a kind which could be included in an order under section 1 or 3 above;

• (b) such supplemental and transitional provisions as appear to him to be necessary or expedient in connection with the order.

• (5) A provision of an order under section 1 or 3 above relating to offences shall not authorise the imposition on persons convicted of an offence of a term of imprisonment or of a fine exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

• (6) An order under section 1 or 3 above shall not extinguish any public right of way over land unless the Secretary of State is satisfied—

• (a) that an alternative right of way has been or will be provided, or

• (b) that the provision of an alternative right of way is not required.

• (7) Where an order under sections 104(3), 105(3) or 112 of the Transport Act 1968 (classification and maintenance of Canal & River Trust’s waterways, and maintenance and use of other waterways) is required so as to give effect to any proposal, no provision shall be included in an order under section 1 or 3 above which would—

• (a) remove that requirement, or

• (b) alter the requirements of sections 104, 105 or 112 of, or Schedule 13 to, that Act relating to orders under those sections.

Procedure for making orders

Applications for orders under sections 1 and 3

6

• (1) Subject to section 7 below, the Secretary of State shall not make an order under section 1 or 3 above except on an application made to him in accordance with rules made under this section.

• (2) The Secretary of State may make rules as to—

• (a) the form of an application under this section;

• (b) the documents and information that must be submitted with it;

• (c) the giving and publication of notices of an application;

• (d) any other steps that must be taken before an application is made or in connection with the making of an application.

• (2A) The power to make rules by virtue of subsection (2) above includes power to make provision for or in connection with requiring the Secretary of State in such cases or circumstances as may be prescribed in the rules to give to a person who proposes to make an application under this section an opinion on the information, if any, to be supplied in connection with that application.

• (2B) The power to make rules by virtue of subsection (2) above includes a power to make rules as to the publicity to be given to any EIA information (see section 13A) provided in relation to an application made under this section.

• (3) Any provision made by rules as to the consultation that must be carried out before an application is made , or as to the provision of information by a relevant authority to a person for the purposes of an application which the person proposes to make, may include provision requiring compliance with general or special directions given by the Secretary of State.

• (4) Rules under this section may make different provision for different cases, and may include provision authorising the Secretary of State—

• (a) to dispense with compliance with rules that would otherwise apply, or

• (b) to require compliance with rules that would not otherwise apply,

in any case where he considers it appropriate to do so.

• (5) Rules may provide for fees of such amounts as may be determined by or in accordance with the rules to be payable to the Secretary of State on the making of applications under this section.

• (6) The power to make rules under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (7) In subsection (3) above “relevant authority” means—

• (a) Natural England;

• (b) the Natural Resources Body for Wales;

• (c) a local planning authority, within the meaning of Part 1 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;

• (d) any other person or authority having specific environmental responsibilities, or local or regional competences, which the Secretary of State considers is likely to have an interest in an application a person proposes to make.

Orders under sections 1 and 3 made otherwise than on application

7

• (1) The Secretary of State may without any application being made to him make—

• (a) an order under section 1 above which relates to, or to matters ancillary to, the construction for naval, military, air force or other defence purposes of a railway, tramway or other system within section 1(1), or the operation of a railway, tramway or other system constructed for those purposes;

• (b) an order under section 1 or 3 above making any provision which appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient, in the interests of safety,—

• (i) for the purpose of suspending or discontinuing any operations, or

• (ii) in consequence of the abandonment or neglect of any works;

• (c) an order under section 1 or 3 above repealing or revoking provisions which appear to the Secretary of State to be spent.

• (2) An order made by virtue of subsection (1)(b) above may include provision for the recovery by the Secretary of State of the costs of making the order and of carrying its provisions into effect.

• (3) Where the Secretary of State proposes to make an order by virtue of this section, he shall—

• (a) prepare a draft of the order,

• (b) publish a notice of his intention to make the order, which notice shall include such particulars as may be prescribed, in the London Gazette and in a local newspaper circulating in the area (or each of the areas) in which the proposals contained in the draft order are intended to have effect, and

• (c) give such further notices of the proposal as may be prescribed.

• (4) The power to make provision by rules under section 6 above in relation to applications shall include power to make such corresponding provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in relation to proposals to make orders by virtue of this section; and in subsection (3) above “prescribed” means prescribed by rules under section 6.

Model clauses

8

• (1) The Secretary of State may by order prescribe model provisions for incorporation in any draft orders which, in accordance with rules made under section 6 above, may be required to be submitted with applications under that section.

• (2) Different provisions may be prescribed under this section for different cases.

• (3) The prescribing under this section of a model provision shall not of itself make it mandatory for a provision in the terms of the model to be incorporated in a draft order or in any order eventually made by the Secretary of State under section 1 or 3 above.

• (4) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

Schemes of national significance

9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Objections

10

• (1) The Secretary of State may make rules as to—

• (a) the making of objections to an application under section 6 above or to a proposal to make an order by virtue of section 7 above;

• (b) the information to be comprised within or submitted with an objection;

• (c) the submission by the person making the application of written representations or information in relation to objections;

• (d) the submission of further written representations or information;

• (e) such other matters relating to the consideration of objections as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate.

• (2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the Secretary of State shall not make a determination under section 13(1) below to make an order without first taking into consideration the grounds of any objection in respect of which rules under this section have been complied with.

• (3) If an objection is withdrawn or appears to the Secretary of State—

• (a) to be frivolous or trivial, or

• (b) to relate to matters which fall to be determined by a tribunal concerned with the assessment of compensation,

he may make a determination under section 13(1) below without further consideration of the objection.

• (4) Subsection (2) above shall not apply where the Secretary of State causes an inquiry to be held under section 11(1) below or causes an objection to be dealt with in accordance with section 11(2) below, but the Secretary of State shall not make a determination under section 13(1) below without first taking into consideration the report of the person holding the inquiry, or as the case may be of the person appointed under section 11(2).

• (5) Rules under this section may make different provision for different cases, and may include provision authorising the Secretary of State—

• (a) to dispense with compliance with rules that would otherwise apply, or

• (b) to require compliance with rules that would not otherwise apply,

in any case where he considers it appropriate to do so.

• (6) The power to make rules under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Inquiries and hearings

11

• (1) The Secretary of State may cause a public local inquiry to be held for the purposes of an application under section 6 above or a proposal by the Secretary of State to make an order by virtue of section 7 above.

• (2) The Secretary of State may give to a person who makes an objection in accordance with rules under section 10 above an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose.

• (3) Where —

• (a) an objection is made by a person within subsection (4),

• (b) the person informs the Secretary of State in writing that the person wishes the objection to be referred to an inquiry or dealt with in accordance with subsection (2), and

• (c) the Secretary of State considers that the objection is serious enough to merit such treatment,

the Secretary of State shall either cause an inquiry to be held or, if he so determines, cause the objection to be dealt with in accordance with subsection (2).

• (3A) In a case in which the powers in subsections (1) and (2) are exercisable by the Welsh Ministers, subsection (3) is to be read as referring to the Welsh Ministers instead of the Secretary of State.

• (4) The persons within this subsection are—

• (a) any local authority for an area in which any works authorised by the proposed order are to be carried out, and

• (b) where the proposals include the compulsory acquisition of land, any person who, if Part II of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (notice to owners, lessees and occupiers) applied to the acquisition, would be entitled to a notice under section 12 of that Act;

and for the purposes of paragraph (a) above “local authority” means a county council, a district council, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London, the Council of the Isles of Scilly , a county borough council, and a Passenger Transport Executive.

• (5) Subsections (2) to (5) of section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972 (attendance and evidence at, and costs of, inquiries) shall apply to an inquiry held under subsection (1) above; but—

• (za) the powers of direction, certification and order-making conferred by section 250(4) and (5) as applied by this subsection may, unless otherwise directed by the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers, be exercised on their behalf by the person holding the inquiry,

• (a) in its application by virtue of this subsection, section 250(4) shall have effect with the omission of the words “and any amount” onwards, and

• (b) the power to make an order as to costs under section 250(5) as applied by this subsection shall be exercisable not only where the inquiry takes place but also where arrangements are made for it but it does not take place.

• (5A) The power of direction conferred by section 250(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (costs of inquiry) as applied by subsection (5) is, in the case of an application under section 6, to be exercised so as to require the applicant to pay the costs in question, unless the person exercising the power considers that there is good reason to exercise it differently.

• (6) Subsections (4) and (5) of section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972 (costs) , and subsection (5A) of this section, shall apply in relation to proceedings under subsection (2) above as they apply in relation to an inquiry under subsection (1) above.

Special parliamentary procedure

12

• (1) An order under section 1 or 3 above authorising a compulsory purchase shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure to the same extent as it would be, by virtue of section 18 or 19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 (or by virtue of paragraph 5 or 6 of Schedule 3 to that Act) (National Trust land, commons etc), if the purchase were authorised by an order under section 2(1) of that Act.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) In relation to an order under section 1 or 3 above which is subject to special parliamentary procedure—

• (a) section 13(5) below shall not apply,