The Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1987

Made: 20th December 1987

Laid before Parliament: 13th January 1988

Coming into force: 3rd February 1988

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 124 of, and Part III of Schedule 9 to, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984[^f00001], and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with representative organisations in accordance with section 134(2) of the said Act of 1984 hereby makes the following Regulations:

PART I — GENERAL

Citation, commencement and revocation

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1987 and shall come into force on 3rd February 1988 and shall apply in Scotland only.

• (2) The Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1973[^f00002], the Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1979[^f00003] and the Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1982[^f00004] are hereby revoked.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them:—

• “the Act” means the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984;

• “consolidation order” means an order which revokes provisions of one or more existing orders, reproduces those provisions without any change in substance and makes no other provision, but so, however, that for the purpose of this definition the following shall not be regarded as a change in substance:— the inclusion in the order (by way of an addition to the provisions of any existing order or orders) of an exemption of the same kind as is mentioned in the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Exemptions for Disabled Persons) (Scotland) Regulations 1971[^f00005], in respect of a disabled person’s vehicle, or of a provision conferring on a traffic warden functions similar to those conferred by the existing order or orders on a police constable in uniform or of both such exemption and such provision, or the substitution in the order, in place of a prohibition or restriction in any existing order or orders, of a prohibition or restriction of the type specified in regulation 13(3)(c) or (d);

• “the local roads authority” has the meaning given by paragraph (a) of the definition of “roads authority” in section 151(1) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984[^f00006];

• “the notice of proposals” and “the notice of making”, in relation to an order, mean respectively the notices required to be published under regulations 5 and 12;

• “the objection period” means the period within which objections to an order may be made in accordance with regulation 6;

• “the order” means, in relation to anything occurring or falling to be done before its making, the order as proposed to be made, and in relation to anything occurring or falling to be done on or after its making, the order as made;

• “the relevant authority” means— in relation to a reserve power order— where the order is made or proposed to be made by virtue of paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Act, the local roads authority to whom there has been given under paragraph 2 of the said Schedule 9 the direction, for the purpose of securing the object for which the order is made or proposed to be made, where the order is made or proposed to be made under paragraph 7 of Schedule 9 to the Act, the local roads authority whose order is or is proposed to be varied or revoked by the reserve power order; in relation to a trunk road order, the local roads authority who would have had the power under the Act to make the order if the road were not a trunk road; in relation to an order made or proposed to be made by the Secretary of State under sections 22 and 132 of the Act with respect to roads which are not trunk roads, the local roads authority who have power under section 1 of the Act to make such an order as respects the road to which the order applies or will apply; and where under the foregoing provisions of this definition there would in relation to any particular order be more than one relevant authority, that expression shall in the case of that order include all of those authorities;

• “reserve power order” and “trunk road order” have the meanings respectively given to those expressions in regulation 3; and

• “road” includes any length of road and any part of the width of a road.

• (2) Any reference in these Regulations to an order under any particular section of the Act or under section 36B(5) of the Road Traffic Act 1972[^f00007] includes—

• (a) a reference to an order (whether made by virtue of paragraph 27 of Schedule 9, or under paragraph 7 of the said Schedule, to the Act) varying or revoking an order made, or having effect as if made, under the section in question, and

• (b) a reference to an order under the section in question made or proposed to be made by virtue of paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Act.

• (3) In relation to an order under section 36B(5) of the Road Traffic Act 1972 any reference in these Regulations to Part I or II of Schedule 9 to the Act shall be construed as a reference to that Part as applied by section 36B(7) of the said Act of 1972[^f00008].

• (4) Except where otherwise expressly provided, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or schedule is a reference to the regulation or schedule bearing that number in these Regulations and a reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation.

Application of Regulations

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• (1) These Regulations apply to—

• (a) orders made or proposed to be made by the Secretary of State by virtue of paragraph 3 or under paragraph 7 of Schedule 9 to the Act (any such order being in these Regulations referred to as a “reserve power order”);

• (b) orders made or proposed to be made by the Secretary of State with respect to trunk roads under any of the following provisions of the Act, that is to say, sections 1 to 3, 9, 83 and 84, or under section 36B(5) of the Road Traffic Act 1972 (any such order being in these Regulations referred to as a “trunk road order”); and

• (c) orders made or proposed to be made by the Secretary of State with respect to roads which are not trunk roads under sections 22 and 132 of the Act.

• (2) Except where otherwise stated, each regulation applies to every such order.

• (3) Where, in connection with an order to which these Regulations apply, procedural steps which accord substantially with the relevant requirements of these Regulations have been taken before the coming into force of these Regulations or are in the course of being taken when these Regulations come into force (whether or not they were taken or are being taken in the sequence required by these Regulations), but the order has not been made before these Regulations come into force, then those steps need not be repeated and for the purpose of these Regulations they shall be deemed to have been taken under and in accordance with these Regulations, and any remaining procedural steps in connection with the order shall be determined by, and carried out or completed in accordance with, these Regulations as nearly as may be.

• (4) Nothing in these Regulations shall apply to any order made before the coming into force of these Regulations.

PART II — PROCEDURE BEFORE MAKING THE ORDER

Consultation with police

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• (1) Before making any order to which these Regulations apply the Secretary of State shall consult with the chief constable for the police force maintained for the area in which any road or other place to which the order is to relate is situated.

• (2) The consultation referred to in paragraph (1) is additional to any consultation required by the Act.

• (3) This regulation has effect subject to regulations 13 and 16 below.

Publication of proposals

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• (1) Before making the order the Secretary of State shall—

• (a) publish once at least in a local newspaper circulating in the area in which any road or other place to which the order relates is situated a notice of proposals containing the particulars specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations;

• (b) publish a similar notice in the Edinburgh Gazette;

• (c) serve upon the relevant authority a copy of the notice of proposals containing the particulars aforesaid and a copy of the order as drafted;

• (d) comply with the relevant requirements of Schedule 2 as to the notices to be displayed in each road or other place to which the order relates;

• (e) comply with the relevant requirements of Schedule 3 as to the availability of documents for inspection.

• (2) Where the order is one which relates to a road, or to roads, situated in more than one locality, it shall be sufficient for the purposes of this regulation if the notice published in each local newspaper states the general nature and effect of the order so far as it affects the road or roads situated in the locality in which that newspaper circulates and names or otherwise describes only the road or roads so affected in that locality, but the notice in the Edinburgh Gazette shall state the general nature and effect of the entire order and name or otherwise describe the whole road, or all the roads, to which the order relates.

• (3) This regulation has effect subject to regulations 13 to 16 below.

Objections

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• (1) The period during which objections to the order can be made shall begin not earlier than the date on which the Secretary of State has complied with the requirements of paragraph (1)(a), (b) and (c) of regulation 5 and (where such display is required) has begun to display the notices required by paragraph 1(d) of that regulation, and shall continue, in the case of orders under section 83 or 84 of the Act, for not less than 28 days, and in the case of all other orders, for not less than 21 days.

• (2) Any person desiring to object to the Secretary of State’s proposals to make the order shall send within the period, and to the address, specified in the notice of proposals published as required by regulation 5 a written statement of his objection and of the grounds thereof.

• (3) This regulation has effect subject to regulations 13 to 16 below.

Notice of public inquiry

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• (1) Where the Secretary of State decides, before publishing the notice of proposals under regulation 5 above, that a public inquiry shall be held, the notice of proposals shall contain, in addition to the particulars required by that regulation, the particulars specified in Part II of Schedule 1.

• (2) In any case where the Secretary of State decides that a public inquiry shall be held in connection with an order to which these Regulations apply but the published notice of proposals has not contained the particulars specified in Part II of Schedule 1 aforesaid, the Secretary of State shall—

• (a) publish once at least in a local newspaper circulating in the area in which any road or other place to which the order relates is situated a notice of the inquiry containing the particulars specified in Part III of Schedule 1;

• (b) publish a similar notice in the Edinburgh Gazette;

• (c) serve upon the relevant authority a copy of the notice of inquiry containing the particulars aforesaid;

• (d) except where the order is an order under section 9 of the Act, comply with the relevant requirements of Schedule 2 as to the notices to be displayed in each road or other place to which the order relates;

• (e) comply with the relevant requirements of Schedule 3 as to the availability of documents for inspection;

• (f) not later than the date of the first publication of the notice required by sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, inform in writing any person who has objected to the order in accordance with regulation 6 and who has not withdrawn the objection, of the date, time and place of the inquiry.

• (3) The provisions of paragraph (2) of regulation 5 shall apply in relation to the publication of a notice under paragraph (2) of this regulation as they apply in relation to the publication of a notice of proposals under regulation 5.

• (4) Where the notice of proposals announces the holding of a public inquiry, there shall be at least 42 days between the date on which the publication of that notice in the local newspaper and the Edinburgh Gazette under the foregoing provisions of these Regulations is completed and the date on which the inquiry is due to begin, and in all other cases there shall be at least 21 days between the date on which the publication as aforesaid of the notice announcing the holding of the public inquiry is completed or the date of the expiration of the objection period (whichever is later) and the date on which the inquiry is due to begin.

Procedure at public inquiry

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• (1) Any person interested in the subject matter of a public inquiry may appear at the inquiry in person or may be represented by counsel, solicitor or other representative.

• (2) Any person so interested may, whether or not he proposes to appear at the inquiry, send to the address given in the notice of proposals for the receipt of objections, such written representations as he may wish to make in relation to the subject matter of the inquiry with a view to their transmission to and consideration by the person appointed to hold the inquiry.

• (3) The person holding the inquiry may refuse to hear any person, or to consider any objection or representation made by any person, if he is satisfied that the views of that person or the objection or representation are frivolous or that such views have already been adequately stated by some other person at the inquiry.

• (4) Subject as aforesaid, the procedure at the inquiry shall be in the discretion of the person holding it.

Consideration of objections

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Before making the order the Secretary of State shall consider all objections duly made in accordance with regulation 6 above and not withdrawn and also the report and recommendations (if any) of the person holding any public inquiry in connection with the order.

Modifications

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The Secretary of State may make the order with modifications (whether inconsequence of any objections or otherwise), but where the modifications which the Secretary of State proposes to make appear to him substantially to affect the character of the order as drafted, then, before making the order, he shall take such steps as appear to him to be appropriate for informing the persons likely to be concerned of the effect of the proposed modifications and for giving to those persons an opportunity to make representations in connection therewith, and shall consider any such representations which are made to him.

PART III — MAKING THE ORDER AND SUBSEQUENT PROCEDURE

Operative date of order

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• (1) The order shall specify the date on which it comes into operation or, in a case where different operative dates are provided for different provisions of the order, each of the dates on which a provision of the order comes into force.

• (2) No date on which an order, or a provision of an order, comes into operation shall be earlier than the date on which the notice of the making of the order is published in the local newspaper under regulation 12.

Notice of the making of the order

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• (1) When the Secretary of State has made the order, he shall—

• (a) forthwith give notice in writing of the making of the order to the relevant authority and to the chief constable of the police force maintained for the area in which any road or other place to which the order relates is situated;

• (b) except where such notification has previously been given to such person, notify in writing each person who has duly objected to the order in accordance with regulation 6 and has not withdrawn his objection, of the Secretary of State’s decision in relation to the objection and, where the objection has not been, or not wholly been, acceded to, of the Secretary of State’s reasons therefor;

• (c) within 14 days of the making of the order publish once in a local newspaper circulating in the area in which any road or other place to which the order relates is situated a notice of the making of the order containing the particulars specified in Part IV of Schedule 1;

• (d) within the same period publish a similar notice in the Edinburgh Gazette;

• (e) comply with the relevant requirements of Schedule 3 as to the availability of documents for inspection;

• (f) where the order relates to any road, forthwith take such steps as it is practicable for the Secretary of State to take to ensure, before the order comes into force—

• (i) the placing on or near the road of such traffic signs in such positions as the Secretary of State may consider requisite for the purpose of securing that adequate information as to the effect of the order is made available to persons using the road, and

• (ii) in a case where the order contains provisions for revoking, or altering the application of, a previous order, such removal or replacement of existing traffic signs as the Secretary of State may consider requisite for the purpose of avoiding confusion to users of the road or the continuance of traffic signs in incorrect positions.

• (2) The provisions of paragraph (2) of regulation 5 shall apply in relation to the publication of a notice of making under paragraph (1)(c) as they apply in relation to the publication of a notice of proposals under regulation 5.

• (3) The provisions of paragraph (1)(f) are without prejudice to section 85 of the Act.

• (4) This regulation has effect subject to regulations 13, 15 and 16.

PART IV — SPECIAL PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN ORDERS

Special provisions for consolidation orders and for certain variation orders

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• (1) Regulations 4, 5 and 6 shall not apply to any trunk road order which is a consolidation order and regulation 12 shall have effect in relation to such an order with the following modifications, namely, that the particulars to be contained in the notice of the making of the order shall consist only of—

• (a) the title of the order;

• (b) a statement of the titles of the orders the provisions of which are reproduced in the order;

• (c) in a case where a consolidation order contains a substitution of the type specified in paragraph (3)(c) or (d), a statement of the prohibitions and restrictions which have been replaced by the consolidation order;

• (d) the operative date or dates of the order; and