Paragraph 2 C1C2C3

Subject to this paragraph, while a direction under the foregoing paragraph remains in force, and subject to compliance with any conditions specified in the direction, any person authorised in writing by the F1public gas suppliermay, at any reasonable time, for the purpose of finding or proving a site for an underground gas storage—

A person authorised under this paragraph to enter on any land shall not demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied unless twenty-eight days notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier and to the owner of the land, and where it is proposed to carry out any of the operations described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the foregoing sub-paragraph the power to carry out those operations shall not be exercisable unless twenty-eight days notice was given both of the intended entry and of intention to carry out those operations.

If notice of intention to carry out any such operations is given as respects land which is held by statutory undertakers, by F3a sewerage authority Scottish Water Scottish Water , or by a river authority or other drainage authority, and the body object to the proposed operations on the ground that the carrying out thereof would be seriously detrimental to the carrying on of their undertaking or, in the case of a sewerage authority or a river authority or other drainage authority, to the performance of their F4functions core functions (within the meaning of section 70(2) of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002) (asp 3) , the operations shall not be carried out except with the consent of the appropriate Minister.

If notice of intention to carry out any such operations is given as respects land which is held by statutory undertakers or by an internal drainage board, and the statutory undertakers or the internal drainage board object to the proposed operations on the ground that the carrying out of the operations would be seriously detrimental to the carrying on of their undertaking or, in the case of an internal drainage board, to the performance of their functions core functions (within the meaning of section 70(2) of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002) (asp 3), the operations shall not be carried out except with the consent of the appropriate Minister.

A person shall not by virtue of this paragraph be entitled to enter or remain on land F5occupied by the Environment Agency, the Natural Resources Body for Wales or by F6F7statutory water undertakersScottish Water unless he complies with any reasonable requirements F8imposed by the Environment Agency, by the Natural Resources Body for Wales or, as the case may be, by F9the undertakersScottish Water for the purpose of protecting water against pollution; and any question arising under this sub-paragraph as to what requirements are reasonable shall in case of dispute be determined by the Minister concerned with water resources whose decision shall be final.

Nothing in this paragraph shall authorise entry into any building.

In this paragraph the expression “the appropriate Minister”—