Coast Protection Act 1949

Coast protection authoritiesE+W+S

1 Coast protection authorities.E+W+S

(1)The council of each maritime . . . F1 district shall, subject to the provisions of any order under the next following section, be the coast protection authority for the . . . F1 district, as the case may be.

[F2(1) The council of a region any part of which adjoins the sea or of an islands area shall be the coast protection authority for that region or area, as the case may be.]

(2)A coast protection authority shall have such powers and perform such duties in connection with the protection of land in their area as are conferred or imposed on coast protection authorities by this Act.

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2 Constitution of coast protection boards.E+W+S

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister may, where it appears to him expedient for the protection of land in any area, make an order providing for the constitution of a board, to be known as a coast protection board, which shall be the coast protection authority for that area.

(2)A coast protection board shall consist of representatives of the council of every maritime . . . F4 district any part of which is within the area for which the board is constituted, and, if the order so provides, of representatives of such one or more as may be specified in the order of the following bodies and persons, that is to say—

(a)the council of any county any part of which is within the area;

(b)[F5 the National Rivers Authority and any sea defence commissioners, internal drainage board], harbour authority, fishery board,local fisheries committee, conservancy authority or navigation authority having any powers or duties in relation to any part of the area;,harbour authority, fishery board, local fisheries committee, conservancy authority or navigation authority having any powers or duties in relation to any part of the area;

(c)any . . . F4 authority responsible for the maintenance of any highway within the area, being a highway likely to be injuriously affected by the action of the sea;

(d)[F6the British Railways Board and the British Waterways Board], in the case of any area containing any railway, canal or inland navigation vested in that Commission and likely to be injuriously affected as aforesaid;

(e)any other body or person upon whom any powers or duties relating to the protection of land in the area have been conferred or imposed by or under any enactment other than this Act.

(3)An order under this section may, if it appears expedient to the Minister, be made so as to relate only to such functions under this Act as may be specified in the order, or to the exercise of such functions only in such particular case as may be so specified.

(4)An order under this section which provides for the inclusion in a coast protection board of representatives of any body mentioned in paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (2) of this section shall be made jointly by the Ministers concerned, and in relation to such an order the last foregoing subsection shall have effect as if, for the reference to the Minister, there were substituted a reference to the Ministers concerned.

(5)An order made under this section may—

(a)prescribe the representation of the constituent authorities on the board and make provision with respect to the appointment, tenure of office and vacation of office of members and officers and servants of the board, authorise the remuneration of such officers and servants, and make provision with respect to their pension rights;

(b)provide for the incorporation of the board with power to hold land for the purposes of their powers and duties;

(c)authorise the board to defray or contribute to expenses of carrying out coast protection work or of contributing to the cost of such work, being expenses incurred (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) by any of the constituent authorities before the making of the order;

(d)make provision for the raising, by borrowing or otherwise, of any money required by the board for the purposes of their functions and, in particular, provide for the apportionment among the constituent authorities of any expenses of the board, empower the board to issue precepts to those authorities requiring payment of the amounts apportioned to them respectively and provide for the enforcement of such precepts;

(e)contain any incidental or consequential provisions which appear to the Minister, or the Ministers concerned, to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order, including, without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph, provisions as to the manner in which the expenses of a constituent authority under the last foregoing paragraph are to be defrayed and provisions applying to the board any enactment which applies to a coast protection authority, not being a coast protection board, by reason that it is a local authority as defined for the purposes of that enactment.

(6)An order revoking an order under this section may contain such provisions for the dissolution of the board constituted by the order revoked, and for the disposal of property, rights and liabilities of that board, as appear expedient to the Minister or the Ministers concerned.

(7)Any order made under this section shall be made in accordance with Part I of the First Schedule to this Act, and Parts II and III of that Schedule shall apply—

(a)as to the said Part II, for the purpose of making the order subject to special parliamentary procedure in the circumstances mentioned in that Part; and

(b)as to the said Part III, with respect to the validity of the order.

(8)In this section the expression “the Ministers concerned”—

(a)[F7in relation to the National Rivers Authority, an internal drainage board], fishery board (other than the Tweed Commissioners) or local fisheries committee, or a harbour authority for a harbour [F8which is a fishery harbour for the purposes of section 21 of the Sea Fish Industry Act 1951] , means the Minister and the [F9Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food];

(b)in relation to the Tweed Commissioners means the Minister and the Secretary of State;

(c)in relation to any other harbour authority, or a conservancy authority, navigation authority or highway authority, or [F6the British Railways Board and the British Waterways Board], means the Minister and the [F10the Secretary of State]; and

(d)in relation to any other body, means the Minister and any other Minister concerned with the exercise by that body of their powers under the relevant enactment.

(9)Any power conferred by this section to make an order shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(10)This section shall not apply to Scotland.

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