§ Amendments reported (according to Order).
§ Clause 1:
§ Supply of water in bulk.
§ (4) For the purpose of giving or taking a supply of water in pursuance of an agreement made under this Act, statutory water undertakers may exercise either within or beyond their limits of supply any of the powers which, under Sections twenty-eight to thirty-four of the Waterworks Clauses Act, 1847 (which relate to the breaking up of streets for the purpose of laying pipes) are exercisable by undertakers within the limits of a special Act for the purpose of supplying water to the inhabitants of the district included within those limits:
§ Provided that the consent of the persons under whose control or management a street or bridge is shall be required to the opening or breaking up thereof, but that consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, and any question whether or not consent, is unreasonably withheld shall be decided by the Minister.
VISCOUNT KNUTSFORDmoved to insert the following proviso at the end of subsection (4):
Provided also that where the undertakers propose to open or break up any length of a street which forms a level crossing or crosses over or under a railway or works of a railway company or railway committee and the railway company or committee are not the persons having the control and management of that length of the street, the undertakers shall give the like notice to the railway company or railway committee as they are required by Section 30 of the Waterworks Clauses Act, 1847, to give to the persons under whose control or management the street is, and if and in so far as the proposed opening or breaking up of the street would be likely to affect the structure of any bridge or other works belonging to the company or committee the undertakers shall carry out their proposals under the superintendence and to the reasonable satisfaction of the engineer of the company or committee in accordance with plans to be submitted to and approved by him, and any dispute or difference which may arise between the undertakers and the company or committee shall be referred to the arbitration of an engineer to be appointed on the application of either party by the President of the Institution Of Civil Engineers.
§ The noble Viscount said: My Lords, this Amendment, although put forward by the railway companies, is solely in the interests of public safety, and therefore I hope it will be approved by the promoters of the Bill and also by the 147 Minister of Health. As was mentioned on the Second Reading, there are a number of matters in respect of which railway companies claim protection in conditions affecting the laying of water pipes under Private Acts, but after full consideration of the circumstances in which this Bill is brought forward, they have decided that their Amendment is essential for the safe working of the railways, which also spells the safety of the public. The proposed Amendment will ensure that, where pipes are laid for the purpose of Clause 1 in roads crossing over or under railways or which form part of level crossings, the work shall be carried out on plans approved by the railway company's engineers and under his supervision and in such manner as not to affect the structure or safety of the railway; and any difference of opinion will be settled by an engineer to be appointed by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. This Amendment goes a long way to satisfy what the railway companies ask for, and they have requested me to assure your Lordships of their appreciation of the way in which it has been received.
§
Amendment moved—
Clause 1, page 2, line 21, at end insert the said proviso.—(Viscount Knutsford.)
§ LORD AMULREEMy Lords, this is a useful Amendment. As my noble friend has stated, it protects not only the railway companies but also the public, and from that point of view I think your Lordship will be well advised in accepting it.