187.Section 46 provides that, in most circumstances, the Authority may not carry out operations on land under section 44 unless it has given the owner of the land at least 21 clear days’ notice of its intention to do so. The content of the notice is specified in subsection (2).
188.However, subsection (3) provides that if the Authority believes operations need to be carried out immediately, it may carry out those operations without giving notice or, where it has given notice, before the end of the 21-day period outlined in subsection (1). For example, the Authority may form the view that operations need to be carried out immediately following an inspection of a disused tip following a period of heavy rain which reveals the tip, or a portion of it, is at risk of imminent failure without works to stabilise it. In practice, such scenarios are likely to be relatively rare.
189.Subsection (4) provides that where the Authority starts operations on land without having given notice, it must, as soon as practicable, give the owner of the land notice that the operations have started. The content of this notice is specified in subsection (5).
Commentary on Sections Part 3 – Dealing With Tip Instability and Threats to Tip Stability Overview of Chapter Section 46 – Duty to give notice to owners