Local Government (Highways) Act 1982

This section does not apply to a carcase that, pursuant to Division 3 of Part 5 of the Local Government (Building and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1993, it is the duty of the corporation to remove from the highway.

In this section – article includes a vehicle or trailer, a part or component of a vehicle or trailer, and the carcase of an animal; owner, when used in relation to an article removed from a highway under this section, means a person who, at the time the article was so removed, had any property in the article and the legal personal representative of a person who was the owner of that article.

Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2), where an article removed from a highway under this section is a motor vehicle or trailer within the meaning of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 or is a part or component of such a vehicle or trailer, the person who, within the meaning of that Act, was the registered operator of that motor vehicle or trailer at the time it was so removed, or, if the motor vehicle or trailer of which the article was a part or component had remained in existence, would then have been its registered operator, shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be an owner of that article.

Where it appears to the corporation that an article has, without lawful authority, been abandoned on a highway under local management, it may remove the article from the highway.

Where an article has been removed from a highway under this section, the corporation may, subject to this section, dispose of it in such manner as it thinks fit – if, within one month of its removal from the highway, possession has not been taken of the article under subsection (7); or if the corporation is satisfied that the article is of no value or the amount that might be received from its sale would not be sufficient to defray the cost of its removal from the highway and its storage for the period of one month.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (5), if the article is the carcase of an animal or of a perishable nature, the corporation may at any time dispose of it in such manner as it thinks fit.

Unless the article has otherwise been disposed of in accordance with this section, the corporation, on a claim made to it by a person who satisfies it that he is an owner of the article, shall allow that person to take possession of the article on the payment by him of the expenses reasonably incurred in the removal of the article from the highway and in its storage until possession of the article is taken by that person.

If under subsection (5) or (6) an article is sold and the amount recovered from its sale exceeds the cost of its removal from the highway and of its storage until the time it is sold, the corporation shall, on a claim made to it within 6 months of its being so removed, by a person who satisfies the corporation that he is an owner of the article, pay to that person the amount of the excess.

Where, before payment is made under subsection (8) in respect of any article, two or more separate claims are made under that subsection by persons each of whom the corporation is satisfied is an owner of that article, it shall pay the sum otherwise required to be paid under that subsection to such one of them, or divide that sum between all or some of them in such manner, as is agreed between them or, in default of agreement, as is determined by a justice on the application of any of them.

Where a claim is made under subsection (8) in respect of an article by a person and it appears to the corporation that there is or may be some other person who is an owner of that article, nothing in that subsection requires the corporation to make a payment in pursuance of that claim until the expiration of the period of 6 months referred to in that subsection unless, before the expiration of that period, a claim is made under that subsection in respect of that article by that other person or he notifies the corporation in writing that he does not intend to make such a claim.

The rights of a person in an article to which this section applies, or in the proceeds of its sale, have effect subject to the powers and duties conferred or imposed on the corporation under this section, and it incurs no liability to that person by reason of the exercise of those powers or the carrying out of those duties or by reason of the loss of, or damage to, an article arising in connection therewith.

The corporation may recover from a person who is an owner of an article removed from a highway under this section, or from a person who abandoned the article, the cost incurred in its removal, storage, and disposal, less any sums received by the corporation on the sale of the article.

The expenses incurred by the corporation under this section in respect of an article shall be regarded as expenses incurred by it in the exercise of its duty to maintain the highway from which the article was removed.