SIGNPOSTING OF FOOTPATHS AND BRIDLE WAYS. (Hansard, 9 April 1968)

§ Mr. Skeffington
I beg to move Amendment No. 101, in page 23, line 20, leave out 'or position'.
With this Amendment you, Mr. Speaker, have grouped No. 44, No. 51, No. 53, No. 102, No. 55 and No. 113.
These Amendments, which relate to the former Clause 20, have two effects. First, they permit a highway authority to erect signs or notices serving the purpose of signposts. Hon. Members who were on the Committee may recall that it was suggested that in a number of cases it was not necessary that there should be signposts in the case of indications along a path. This seemed to us to be right and we have provided for them in this series of Amendments.
The second purpose of the Amendments would be to give express power to the highway authority to enter on land to carry out the work of positioning and maintaining signs and signposts. This is a matter which very much concerns my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, South (Mr. Carol Johnson) and other hon. Members. By the Amendments to 1296 Clause 21 we have provided that the power to discharge this duty shall be within the powers introduced in the Road Traffic Regulation Act, 1967, so that the proper procedures can follow from that inclusion. These seem to be useful Amendments which were broadly supported by all members of the Committee.

§ Mr. Gibson-Watt
I beg to move Amendment No. 106, in page 24, line 4, at end insert: Provided that before giving their consent to any such proposal the highway authority shall consult with the owner or occupier of the land. This Amendment appears to be necessary because, in Clause 21(1), the Government admit that the highway authority should consult with the owner or occupier of the land concerned before erecting signposts to point out public rights of way. But subsection (5) reads: With the consent of the highway authority, any other person may erect or position and maintain signposts, or other signs or notices serving the same purpose … There is no mention of consultation with the owner of the land. The point was mentioned in Committee, and I can only think that the Government have overlooked it.
Two questions arise. The first is why any other person should not be bound in this way to consult the owner of land. The second is to inquire who the Government envisage to be embraced in the term "any other person". Who would be putting up signposts other than the local authority? I think that, in almost every case, it would be the local authority.

§ Mr. Skeffington
There are two points about the Amendment. First, the expression "any other person" has the usual legal definition. It can mean any body corporate or individual. However as the hon. Gentleman surmised, the most normal agent of the highway authority in this case would be the parish council.
1297 It is not thought necessary to provide for a second consent because in Committee we accepted an Amendment which provided that the highway authority should consult the owner-occupier. That will be done even in this case. What the highway authority is doing is suggesting that some other authority may more conveniently do the work. The owner-occupier will have the opportunity, when he is consulted, of saying where he thinks the sign should be posted. It therefore teems unnecessary to have the second consent, or the consent proposed by the Amendment. There will be consultation by the highway authority, which will still be the overall responsible authority.

§ Mr. Gibson-Watt
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but he will admit that on the face of it it is most confusing to a layman. I am sure that my hon. Friends are satisfied with what the hon. Gentleman said. It appears that any other person, whether it is a parish council or anybody else, should have to consult, but I accept what the hon. Gentleman says, that the person concerned will have to consult. I regret that the Government have not included this provision in subsection (5) also, but their draftsmen have obviously advised that it is unnecessary. I accept what the hon. Gentleman said, and I beg to ask leave to withdraw the Amendment.