Commentary on provisions of the Act Powers in relation to land Section 39: Powers to obtain rights over land
Subsections (1) and (2) enable the Secretary of State to make an order creating rights over land in favour of a "qualifying person", defined in subsection (3) as the Secretary of State, a holder of a range control licence, or the holder of a spaceport licence. An order may be made where the Secretary of State considers it is appropriate for any of the purposes set out in subsection (1): to secure safe and efficient use of land for spaceflight activities, to ensure that any necessary services in relation to the land are provided, and to secure that spacecraft and carrier aircraft may be navigated safely.
	Rights created under this section may include easements for England, Wales and Northern Ireland or servitudes for Scotland, rights to carry out and maintain works and rights to install structures etc. on, under or over land (subsection (4)).
	The person granted the right must give notice to the occupier if it is necessary to enter the land (subsections (6) to (7)). No notice is required in case of emergency or to carry out maintenance (subsection (8)).
	It is envisaged that this section will be used as a last resort, in cases where licence holders are able to demonstrate that they have exhausted commercial options for accessing or carrying out works etc. on land in the vicinity of the spaceport site.
	These orders are subject to special parliamentary procedure in some circumstances if the land is held by a statutory undertaker (subsection (12)).