Water Resources Act 1963

91Contributions between river authorities and certain other authorities

(1)Where, on the application of a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority, it appears to a river authority that any works constructed or maintained by the applicants (whether before or after the passing of this Act) have made, or will make, a beneficial contribution towards the fulfilment of the purposes of the river authority's new functions, the river authority shall contribute to the applicants such sums, on such terms and conditions, as they and the applicants may agree to be appropriate towards the expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the applicants in constructing or maintaining those works.

(2)Where, on the application of a river authority, it appears to a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority that any works constructed or maintained by a river authority in the performance of their new functions have made, or will make, a beneficial contribution towards the performance of the functions of the authority to whom the application is made, that authority shall contribute to the river authority such sums, on such terms and conditions, as they and the river authority may agree to be appropriate towards the expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the river authority in constructing or maintaining those works.

(3)If, on any application under this section, the authority to whom the application is made (in this subsection referred to as " the other authority concerned ") refuse to make a contribution, or the applicants and the other authority concerned are unable to agree as to the sums to be contributed or the terms and conditions on which they are to be contributed.—

(a)the applicants or the other authority concerned may refer the matter in dispute to the Minister and the Minister of Transport, and

(b)those Ministers may ether determine that matter themselves or may refer it for determination to an arbitrator appointed by them for the purpose ;

and any decision of those Ministers or of an arbitrator under paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be final, and the other authority concerned shall contribute in accordance with the decision as if the sums, or the terms and conditions, determined under that paragraph had been agreed to be appropriate as mentioned in subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section, as the case may be.

(4)Any expenditure incurred by a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority in paying any contribution under this section shall be defrayed in the like manner as any corresponding expenditure of that authority; and the authority shall have the like powers for the purpose of raising money required for paying any such contribution as they would have for the purpose of raising money required for defraying any such corresponding expenditure.

(5)In the last preceding subsection any reference to corresponding expenditure of a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority is a reference to expenditure incurred by the authority in performing the functions in respect of which it is claimed by the applicants that the works in question have made, or will make, a beneficial contribution as mentioned in subsection (2) of this section.