UK Offence Report

Navigation etc. in vicinity of barrier

article 45(1) of The Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Order 2022

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

1 Any person who, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, other than in an emergency— a moors a vessel to any part of Work No.1A without the consent of the Agency, b allows any vessel to drift in the vicinity of the barrier, except for the purpose of passing through the barrier or waiting to do so, or c moors a vessel in the vicinity of the barrier so as to obstruct access to or egress from a vertical lift gate or cause an obstruction to other vessels, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by absence of consent (an element).

What would breach article 45(1)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Order 2022.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
4 March 2022
In force from
25 March 2022
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order authorises the Environment Agency (“the Agency”) to construct and operate a new tidal barrier with twin vertical lift gates across the river Parrett in Bridgwater, Somerset, together with a new building to enable operation of the new barrier, reinforcement of existing and construction of new flood defence embankments at Chilton Trinity, Pawlett and Combwich and to execute ancillary works. The purpose of this Order is to improve the current standard of protection from tidal flooding within Bridgwater and the surrounding area. The Order confers the necessary powers on the Agency to acquire, compulsorily or by agreement, land and rights in land and to use land for the purposes of the works and confers other powers in connection with the construction, operation and maintenance of the works. A copy of the Order plans and the book of reference referred to in this Order and certified in accordance with article 67 (certification of plans, etc.) may be inspected free of charge during normal working hours at the offices of the Environment Agency at Rivers House, East Quay, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4YS.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source