Commentary on Sections Part 5: Highways and Roads Section 66: Builders' skips: charge for occupation of the highway for unreasonable period
175.Sections 139 and 140 of the Highways Act 1980 set out arrangements for controlling the placing and removal of builders’ skips in the highway.
176.Section 74 of NRSWA enables the Secretary of State to make regulations imposing a charge on undertakers where street works in a maintainable highway overrun a reasonable period. Section 74 was amended (by section 256 of the Transport Act 2000) so as to widen the regulation making power (in particular as regards the service of notices).
177.Schedule 8 to the NRSWA amended the Highways Act 1980 to insert section 140A of the Highways Act 1980. Section 140A has not been brought into force. Section 140A makes provision for similar arrangements to be made in respect of builders’ skips as are provided in respect of street works under section 74 of the NRSWA (prior to its amendment by the Transport Act 2000).
178.Section 66 substitutes a new section 140A into the Highways Act 1980, to provide for a widening of the regulation making powers in respect of builders’ skips. The new section 140A is reasonably similar to section 74 of NRSWA as amended by the Transport Act 2000.
179.The new section 140A(1) provides that the Secretary of State may make provision by regulations requiring the owner of a builder’s skip deposited on a maintainable highway to pay a charge to the highway authority in cases where the period of the occupation of the highway exceeds such period as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State in regulations and a reasonable period.
180.The new section 140A(2) provides that a reasonable period means a period agreed between the owner of the skip and the authority or, if agreement cannot be reached, a period determined by arbitration.
181.The new section 140A(9) enables regulations made under the inserted section to provide that the authority are to set the rate of charge, up to a prescribed maximum, and that different rates of charge may be set according to such factors as the highway authority considers relevant.
182.The new section 140A(15) enables the regulations to make provision in respect of the application by authorities of the sums paid by way of charges, and for the publication and the keeping of accounts of sums paid by way of charges.
183.The new section 140A(16) provides that the regulations may create a level 4 offence (attracting a maximum fine of £2,500) where the relevant person fails to give a notice, or to provide information, in accordance with the regulations.
184.The new section 140A(17) enables the regulations to prescribe that where a skip is the subject of hiring agreement or hire purchase agreement of a type prescribed in the regulations, it is the person in possession of the skip that is subject to the requirements of the regulations.
185.The new section 140A(18) enables the regulations to make provision in relation to the deposit of a series of skips, rather than just a single one.
186.The new section 140A(19) enables the regulations to provide that such a series of skips may be treated as a single skip (for instance if a skip was deposited and then removed several times as it became full up).