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Part I Coast Protection

Coast protection authorities

1 Coast protection authorities

(1)The council of each maritime . . . F1 district shall, subject to the provisions of any order under the next following section, be the coast protection authority for the . . . F1 district, as the case may be.

(2)A coast protection authority shall have such powers and perform such duties in connection with the protection of land in their area as are conferred or imposed on coast protection authorities by this Act.

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

1 Coast protection authorities

[F1(1)A council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 any part of whose area adjoins the sea shall be the coast protection authority for that area.]

(2)A coast protection authority shall have such powers and perform such duties in connection with the protection of land in their area as are conferred or imposed on coast protection authorities by this Act.

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

2 Constitution of coast protection boards

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister may, where it appears to him expedient for the protection of land in any area, make an order providing for the constitution of a board, to be known as a coast protection board, which shall be the coast protection authority for that area.

(2)A coast protection board shall consist of representatives of the council of every maritime . . . F1 district any part of which is within the area for which the board is constituted, and, if the order so provides, of representatives of such one or more as may be specified in the order of the following bodies and persons, that is to say—

(a)the council of any county [F2(other than one in Wales)] any part of which is within the area;

(b)[ F3 the National Rivers Authority and any sea defence commissioners, internal drainage board], harbour authority, fishery board,local fisheries committee, conservancy authority or navigation authority having any powers or duties in relation to any part of the area;,harbour authority, fishery board, local fisheries committee, conservancy authority or navigation authority having any powers or duties in relation to any part of the area;

(c)any . . . F1 authority responsible for the maintenance of any highway within the area, being a highway likely to be injuriously affected by the action of the sea;

(d)[F4the British Railways Board and the British Waterways Board], in the case of any area containing any railway, canal or inland navigation vested in that Commission and likely to be injuriously affected as aforesaid;

(e)any other body or person upon whom any powers or duties relating to the protection of land in the area have been conferred or imposed by or under any enactment other than this Act.

(3)An order under this section may, if it appears expedient to the Minister, be made so as to relate only to such functions under this Act as may be specified in the order, or to the exercise of such functions only in such particular case as may be so specified.

(4)An order under this section which provides for the inclusion in a coast protection board of representatives of any body mentioned in paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (2) of this section shall be made jointly by the Ministers concerned, and in relation to such an order the last foregoing subsection shall have effect as if, for the reference to the Minister, there were substituted a reference to the Ministers concerned.

(5)An order made under this section may—

(a)prescribe the representation of the constituent authorities on the board and make provision with respect to the appointment, tenure of office and vacation of office of members and officers and servants of the board, authorise the remuneration of such officers and servants, and make provision with respect to their pension rights;

(b)provide for the incorporation of the board with power to hold land for the purposes of their powers and duties;

(c)authorise the board to defray or contribute to expenses of carrying out coast protection work or of contributing to the cost of such work, being expenses incurred (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) by any of the constituent authorities before the making of the order;

(d)make provision for the raising, by borrowing or otherwise, of any money required by the board for the purposes of their functions and, in particular, provide for the apportionment among the constituent authorities of any expenses of the board, empower the board to issue precepts to those authorities requiring payment of the amounts apportioned to them respectively and provide for the enforcement of such precepts;

(e)contain any incidental or consequential provisions which appear to the Minister, or the Ministers concerned, to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order, including, without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph, provisions as to the manner in which the expenses of a constituent authority under the last foregoing paragraph are to be defrayed and provisions applying to the board any enactment which applies to a coast protection authority, not being a coast protection board, by reason that it is a local authority as defined for the purposes of that enactment.

(6)An order revoking an order under this section may contain such provisions for the dissolution of the board constituted by the order revoked, and for the disposal of property, rights and liabilities of that board, as appear expedient to the Minister or the Ministers concerned.

(7)Any order made under this section shall be made in accordance with Part I of the First Schedule to this Act, and Parts II and III of that Schedule shall apply—

(a)as to the said Part II, for the purpose of making the order subject to special parliamentary procedure in the circumstances mentioned in that Part; and

(b)as to the said Part III, with respect to the validity of the order.

(8)In this section the expression “the Ministers concerned”—

(a)[F5in relation to the National Rivers Authority, an internal drainage board], fishery board (other than the Tweed Commissioners) or local fisheries committee, or a harbour authority for a harbour [F6which is a fishery harbour for the purposes of section 21 of the Sea Fish Industry Act 1951] , means the Minister and the [F7Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food];

(b)in relation to the Tweed Commissioners means the Minister and the Secretary of State;

(c)in relation to any other harbour authority, or a conservancy authority, navigation authority or highway authority, or [F4the British Railways Board and the British Waterways Board], means the Minister and the [F8the Secretary of State]; and

(d)in relation to any other body, means the Minister and any other Minister concerned with the exercise by that body of their powers under the relevant enactment.

Any question arising under paragraph (d) of this subsection shall be determined by the Treasury.

(9)Any power conferred by this section to make an order shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(10)This section shall not apply to Scotland.

3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

Execution of coast protection work

4 General powers of coast protection authorities

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this Act, a coast protection authority shall have power to carry out such coast protection work, whether within or outside their area, as may appear to them to be necessary or expedient for the protection of any land in their area.

(2)A coast protection authority may enter into an agreement with any other person for the carrying out by that person or by the authority, on such terms as to payment or otherwise as may be specified in the agreement, of any coast protection work which the authority have power to carry out under this Part of this Act.

(3)A coast protection authority may acquire, whether by way of purchase, feu, lease or exchange, any land, whether within or outside their area, being land—

(a)required by them for the purpose of carrying out thereon any coast protection work which they have power to carry out under this Part of this Act, or

(b)for the protection of which they propose to carry out any such work as aforesaid, not being work of maintenance or repair.

(4)Without prejudice to the powers hereinafter conferred on coast protection authorities, the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect only for the purpose of removing any limitation imposed by law on the capacity of such an authority by virtue of its constitution; and the said provisions shall not authorise any act or omission on the part of such an authority which apart from this section is actionable at the suit of any person on any ground other than such a limitation.

5 Objections to, and approval of, proposals to carry out coast protection work

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act as to works schemes, a coast protection authority proposing to carry out any coast protection work, other than work of maintenance or repair, shall publish in one or more local newspapers circulating in the area of the authority and in such other manner (if any) as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister or as the Minister may in any particular case direct, such notice of that proposal, including an estimate of the cost of the work and containing a sufficient indication of the effect of subsection (3) of this section, as may be so prescribed or as the Minister may so direct, and shall serve a like notice [F1on any [F2river authority] or other drainage authority in whose area][F1on the National Rivers Authority and on any internal drainage board in whose district]any of the work is to be carried out.

(2)Where regulations made by the Minister so prescribe or the Minister in any particular case so directs, a like notice shall be served on such other authorities or persons as may be specified in the regulations or direction.

(3)Where a notice has been published by an authority under subsection (1) of this section, any person may serve on the Minister and on the authority, in the manner and within the period prescribed by regulations made by the Minister, notice of objection to the proposal.

(4)Where notice of objection has been served under the last foregoing subsection and not withdrawn, and the ground of objection is that the proposed work will be detrimental to the protection of any land specified in the notice, or will interfere with the exercise by the objector of his functions under any enactment other than this Act, the Minister shall either cause a local inquiry to be held or shall give to the objector and to all other persons appearing to him to be affected by the proposal an opportunity of being heard by a person appointed by him for the purpose; and after considering the report of the person appointed to hold the inquiry or to hear objections, the Minister shall determine the objection:

(a)where the objection is made by a [F2river authority] or other drainage authority, fishery board (other than the Tweed Commissioners) or local fisheries committee, or by the harbour authority for a harbour to which the M1Fishery Harbours Act 1915 applies, the powers of the Minister under this subsection shall be exercised jointly with [F3the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food];

(b)where the objection is made by the Tweed Commissioners, the said powers shall be exercised jointly with the Secretary of State; and

(c)where the objection is made by any other harbour authority, or by a conservancy authority, [F4navigation authority or highway authority][F4or navigation authority], or by the [F5any of the Boards], the said powers shall be exercised jointly with the [F6the Secretary of State.]

(5)As soon as may be after the time for serving notices of objection under subsection (3) of this section has expired the Minister shall either approve the proposal or direct the authority not to carry out the proposed work or impose such modifications of the proposal or such conditions as to the carrying out of the work as he may think fit, having regard to the determination of objections as aforesaid.

(6)Nothing in this section shall prevent a coast protection authority from carrying out, without the provisions of this section having been complied with, any coast protection work which appears to them to be urgently necessary for the protection of any land in their area; but where work is so carried out [F7in the area of any [F2river authority] or other drainage authority and the coast protection authority is not a board on which the drainage authority are represented, the coast protection authority shall give to the drainage authority, before or as soon as possible after the commencement of the work, notice of the nature of the work.][F7the coast protection authority shall, before or as soon as possible after the commencement of the work, give notice of the nature of the work —

(a)to the National Rivers Authority where it is not represented on the coast protection authority; and

(b)to any internal drainage board which are not so represented and in whose district the work is to be or has been carried out.]

(7)In the application of this section to Scotland, subsection (4) shall have effect as if in the proviso for the words from “by a [F2river authority]” to “any other harbour authority” there were substituted the words “by a harbour authority other than the authority for a harbour principally used by the fishing industry”, and as if for the words “the said powers” there were substituted the words “the powers of the Minister under this subsection”.

6 Power to make schemes for carrying out work

(1)Where a coast protection authority propose that coast protection work (not being work of maintenance or repair) should be carried out on any land, and it appears to the authority—

(a)that the work cannot be carried out except in the exercise of compulsory powers, or

(b)that persons interested in land benefited by the carrying out of the work ought to pay to the authority charges (hereinafter referred to as “coast protection charges”) in accordance with the following provisions of this Act in that behalf,

the authority may prepare a scheme (hereinafter referred to as a “works scheme”) for the carrying out of the work.

(2)A works scheme shall—

(a)indicate the nature of any work to be carried out by the authority on land vested in them or proposed to be acquired by them for the purposes of the scheme;

(b)specify the work (if any) to be carried out on land not so vested or proposed to be acquired; and

(c)specify the estimated cost of all work comprised in the scheme.

(3)A works scheme shall not have effect unless confirmed by the Minister in accordance with the following provisions of this Act.

7 Works schemes providing for coast protection charges

(1)A works scheme may indicate land (hereinafter referred to as “contributory land”) as land in respect of which coast protection charges are to be payable under the scheme on the ground that it will be benefited by the carrying out of the work provided for by the scheme.

(2)Coast protection charges under a works scheme shall be levied by reference to interests in contributory land.

(3)The coast protection charge payable by reference to any such interest shall not exceed the amount by which the value of the interest immediately after the time at which the works provided for by the scheme have been completed, calculated on the assumption that those works will in future be maintained without expense to the person entitled to the interest in question, is greater than the value of that interest would then be if the works had not been undertaken:

(4)A works scheme which provides for the levying of coast protection charges shall either—

(a)specify the persons by whom such charges are to be paid, the amount of the charge to be paid by each person and the interest in land by reference to which the charge is levied upon him; or

(b)state that the authority by whom the scheme is prepared will, within such period after the completion of the work as may be specified in the scheme, determine the interests in land by reference to which coast protection charges are to be levied and, in the case of each of those interests, the amount of the charge leviable in respect thereof;

and in a case falling within paragraph (b) of this subsection a coast protection charge shall be payable by the person who, at the time of the determination of the interest by reference to which the charge is to be levied, is entitled to that interest.

(5)Where a works scheme contains such a statement as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of the last foregoing subsection, the authority may, at any time within the period specified in the scheme, determine the charges to be levied thereunder as mentioned in that paragraph, and shall serve on each person upon whom a charge is leviable under the scheme a notice containing full particulars of their determination as to all the charges to be so levied.

(6)Any person aggrieved by the determination of an authority under the last foregoing subsection may appeal to the Minister on the ground that the determination is inequitable or unduly onerous; and the Minister, after giving to the appellant and the authority and any other person appearing to him to be concerned an opportunity of being heard by a person appointed by him for the purpose, may confirm, reduce or cancel the charge levied upon the appellant as the Minister may think fit.

(7)Any dispute arising in connection with a works scheme as to whether a charge under the scheme exceeds the amount permitted by subsection (3) of this section shall be determined by arbitration; and if on any such arbitration it is determined that the charge exceeds that amount, the charge shall be reduced accordingly and the scheme and any notice served thereunder shall have effect as if the amount of the charge expressed therein were the amount permitted by the said subsection (3) as determined on the arbitration.

(8)In this section—

(a)as respects England and Wales, the expression “interest” means the fee simple or an interest under a tenancy, and the expression “tenancy” includes a tenancy under an under-lease and a tenancy under an agreement for a lease or under-lease but does not include an option to take a tenancy and does not include a mortgage;

(b)as respects Scotland, the expression “interest” means the interest of the proprietor of the dominium utile or, in the case of land other than feudal land, of the owner, or the interest of the tenant or sub-tenant under a lease or sub-lease;

and for the purposes of this section the value of an interest which is subject to a mortgage or heritable security shall be calculated as if the interest were not subject thereto.

8 Confirmation of works schemes

(1)A coast protection authority by whom a works scheme is prepared shall publish, in one or more local newspapers circulating in the area of the authority and in such other manner (if any) as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister or as the Minister may in any particular case direct, a notice stating that the scheme has been prepared, naming a place where a copy thereof may be seen at all reasonable hours, and containing a sufficient indication of the effect of subsection (3) of this section, and shall serve copies of the scheme on the owner and occupier of any land, other than land vested in and occupied by the authority, on which the work provided for by the scheme is to be carried out, [F1on any [F2river authority] or other drainage authority in whose area][F1on the National Rivers Authority and on any internal drainage board in whose district]any of the work is to be carried out, and on such other authorities or persons (if any) as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister or as the Minister may in any particular case direct.

(2)If the scheme provides for the levying of coast protection charges the persons on whom copies of the scheme are to be served shall include—

(a)where the scheme specifies the persons by whom such charges are to be paid as mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of the last foregoing section, each of those persons;

(b)where the scheme contains such a statement as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection, all owners of contributory land.

(3)Where a notice has been published by an authority under subsection (1) of this section, any person may serve on the Minister and on the authority, in the manner and within the period, not being less than twenty-eight days, prescribed by regulations made by the Minister, notice of objection to the scheme.

(4)Where notice of objection has been served under the last foregoing subsection and not withdrawn, and the ground of the objection is—

(a)that the work provided for by the scheme, or any part thereof, is unnecessary;

(b)that the carrying out thereof in the manner provided by the scheme would cause hardship to the objector;

(c)that the land indicated by the scheme as contributory land includes land which ought not to be so indicated or does not include land which ought to be so indicated;

(d)in the case of a scheme which specifies the persons by whom coast protection charges are to be paid as mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of the last foregoing section, that any other provision of the scheme as to such charges is inequitable or unduly onerous; or

(e)that the work provided for by the scheme will be detrimental to the protection of any land specified in the notice of objection, or will interfere with the exercise by the objector of his functions under any enactment,

the Minister shall either cause a local inquiry to be held or give to the objector and to all other persons appearing to the Minister to be affected by the scheme an opportunity of being heard by a person appointed by him for the purpose; and after considering the report of the person appointed to hold the inquiry or to hear objections, the Minister shall determine the objection:

(a)where the objection is made by a [F2river authority] or other drainage authority, fishery board (other than the Tweed Commissioners) or local fisheries committee, or by the harbour authority for a harbour to which the M1Fishery Harbours Act 1915 applies, the powers of the Minister under this subsection shall be exercised jointly with the [F3Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food];

(b)where the objection is made by the Tweed Commissioners, the said powers shall be exercised jointly with the Secretary of State; and

(c)where the objection is made by any other harbour authority, or by a conservancy authority, [F4navigation authority or highway authority][F4or navigation authority], or by the [F5any of the Boards], the said powers shall be exercised jointly with the [F6Secretary of State.]

(5)As soon as may be after the time for serving notices of objection under subsection (3) of this section has expired, the Minister shall make such order either confirming the scheme, as prepared by the authority or with modifications, or quashing the scheme, as the Minister may think fit having regard to the determination of any objections under the last foregoing subsection: