LegalizeThe Mines and Quarries (Metrication) Regulations 1976
Made: 2nd December 1976
Laid before Parliament: 13th December 1976
Coming into Operation: 1st February 1977
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 15(1), (2) and (3)(a), 49(1), (2) and (4) and 82(3)(a) of, and paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (“the 1974 Act”), as amended by section 116 of, and paragraphs 6 and 15 of Schedule 15 to, the Employment Protection Act 1975, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:—
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1
- (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Mines and Quarries (Metrication) Regulations 1976 and shall come into operation on 1st February 1977.
- (2) In these Regulations—
- “the Act” means the Mines and Quarries Act 1954.
- (3) The Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
Amendment to alter a standard of safety—the Mines and Quarries Act 1954
2
Section 87(2) of the Act shall be amended by substituting for the measurement of ten feet referred to therein the measurement of two metres.
Amendments to substitute metric measurements for imperial measurements—the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 and instruments thereunder
3
- (1) The provisions of the Act specified in column 1 of Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to these Regulations shall be amended by substituting for the measurements set out opposite thereto in column 2 of that Schedule the measurements set out in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that Schedule; so however that the amendments set out in Part II of that Schedule shall not apply to shafts sunk, or as the case may be, lengths of road made, before these Regulations come into operation.
- (2) The provisions of the Coal and Other Mines (Height of Travelling Roads) Regulations 1956[^f00001] specified in column 1 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations shall be amended by substituting for the measurements set out opposite thereto in column 2 of that Schedule the measurements set out in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that Schedule; so however that the amendment set out in Part II of that Schedule shall not apply to any length of road made before these Regulations come into operation.
- (3) The provisions of the Coal and Other Mines (Ventilation) Regulations 1956[^f00002], as amended[^f00003], specified in column 1 of Schedule 3 to these Regulations shall be amended by substituting for the measurements set out opposite thereto in column 2 of that Schedule the measurements set out in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that Schedule; so however that the amendments set out in Part II of that Schedule shall not apply to stoppings constructed before these Regulations come into operation.
- (4) The provisions of the Coal Mines (Clearances in Transport Roads) Regulations 1959[^f00004] specified in Schedule 4 to these Regulations shall be amended by substituting for the measurements set out opposite thereto in column 2 of that Schedule the measurements set out in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that Schedule.
- (5) Where under this Regulation a measurement is required to be substituted in any provision for a measurement which occurs more than once in that provision, the substitution shall be made in each place where it occurs.
SCHEDULE 1 — AMENDMENTS TO THE MINES AND QUARRIES ACT 1954
PART I — Amendments having effect in all cases
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sections to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 1 | 5(1)(b) | Two miles | 4 kilometres |
| 2 | 23(2) | Five feet | 1·5 metres |
| Four feet | 1·2 metres | ||
| 3 | 40(1) | Seventy-five feet | 23 metres |
| 4 | 45(1)(a) and (b) | Fifty feet | 15 metres |
| 5 | 46 | Ninety feet | 25 metres |
| 6 | 59(2)(a) | Four hundred and fifty feet | 150 metres |
PART II — Amendments which do not apply to shafts sunk, or, as the case may be, lengths of road made, before these Regulations come into operation
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sections to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 1 | 22(1) | Forty-five feet | 15 metres |
| 2 | 28(2) | One hundred and fifty feet | 45 metres |
| 3 | 35(1) | Five feet six inches | 1·7 metres |
SCHEDULE 2 — AMENDMENTS TO THE COAL AND OTHER MINES (HEIGHT OF TRAVELLING ROADS) REGULATIONS 1956
PART I — Amendments having effect in all cases
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 1 | 2(1) | Five feet six inches | 1·7 metres |
| 2 | 2(1) and 2(1)(a) | Nine hundred feet | 275 metres |
| 3 | 2(1)(b) | Four hundred and fifty feet | 135 metres |
| 4 | 2(1) | One hundred and fifty feet | 45 metres |
| 5 | 2(2) | Four feet | 1·2 metres |
PART II — Amendment which does not apply to any length of road made before these Regulations come into operation
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 2(1) | Four feet six inches | 1·4 metres |
SCHEDULE 3 — AMENDMENTS TO THE COAL AND OTHER MINES (VENTILATION) REGULATIONS 1956
PART I — Amendments having effect in all cases
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 1 | 2(1) | Three hundred feet | 90 metres |
| 2 | 3(1) | One hundred and fifty feet | 45 metres |
| 3 | 5(1) | One hundred and fifty feet | 45 metres |
| Thirty feet | 10 metres | ||
| 4 | 6(1) | One hundred and fifty feet | 45 metres |
| 5 | 7A | Thirty feet | 10 metres |
| 6 | 9(2)(d) | Four hundred and fifty feet | 140 metres |
| Three hundred feet | 90 metres | ||
| 7 | 12(1)(d) | Three hundred feet | 90 metres |
| 8 | 21(2)(b) | Nine inches | 190 millimetres |
| 9 | 24(2) and (4) | Fifteen feet | 5 metres |
PART II — Amendments which do not apply to stoppings constructed before these Regulations come into operation
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 1 | 21(2)(a) | Fifteen feet | 5 metres |
| 2 | 21(2)(b) | Nine feet | 3 metres |
SCHEDULE 4 — AMENDMENTS TO THE COAL MINES (CLEARANCES IN TRANSPORT ROADS) REGULATIONS 1959
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation/Schedule to be Amended | Present Measurement | Substituted Measurement | |
| 1 | 2(1) | Nine hundred feet | 275 metres |
| definition of “unsettled ground” | |||
| 2 | 6(1)(a) | Two feet | 600 millimetres |
| 3 | 6(1)(b) | Two and a half feet | 760 millimetres |
| 4 | Schedule—Part I | Two feet | 600 millimetres |
| One foot | 300 millimetres | ||
| 5 | Schedule—Part II | One foot | 300 millimetres |
| One and a half feet | 450 millimetres | ||
| Two feet | 600 millimetres |
Signed
Alexander Eadie — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy
John Grant — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment — 2nd December 1976
Explanatory note
EXPLANATORY NOTE
These Regulations amend—
(i) The Mines and Quarries Act 1954,
(ii) The Coal and Other Mines (Height of Travelling Roads) Regulations 1956,
(iii) The Coal and Other Mines (Ventilation) Regulations 1956, and
(iv) The Coal Mines (Clearances in Transport Roads) Regulations 1959,
by substituting for measurements expressed in imperial units, measurements expressed in metric units so as to preserve the effect of the various provisions except to the extent necessary to obtain amounts expressed in convenient and suitable terms.
In addition Regulation 2 of the Regulations amends section 87(2) of the Mines and Quarries Act so as to require fencing where a person is liable to fall 2 metres; hitherto the requirement to fence only had effect where a person was liable to fall 10 feet.
The amendments specified in Part II of Schedules 1, 2 and 3 do not apply to workings begun or stoppings constructed before the coming into force of the Regulations; in these cases imperial measurements continue to apply.
Footnotes
[^f00001]: (1956 I, p. 1286).
[^f00002]: (1956 I, p. 1295).
[^f00003]: The relevant amending instrument is S.I 1966/1139 (1966 III, p. 2737).
[^f00004]: (1959 I, p. 1754).
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