Malvern Hills Act, 1909
Chapter xxxvii.
An Act for conferring further powers upon the Malvern Hills Conservators and for other purposes. [16th August 1909.]
WHEREAS under a decree of the Court of Exchequer in the 7th year of the reign of
King Charles I. (as reviewed and explained by a decree of the same Court in the 8th
year of the same reign) confirmed by an Act passed in the 16th year of the reign of
King Charles II. intituled "An Act for Confirmation of the Inclosure and Improvement
of Malvern Chase " the waste or commonable lands constituting the Forest or
Chase of Malvern were divided and one-third part thereof was appropriated to he
enclosed and held by the King in severalty and the other two-third parts were
ordered to remain and continue unto and amongst the commoners and to be held by
them in common according to their several rights and interests free from the King's
rights of forest and such two-third parts were to be for ever left free for the
freeholders and tenants and commoners to take their common of pasture and
common of estovers therein as theretofore they had been accustomed and no
mean lords of fees or manors or other freeholders or owners whatsoever or the King
s Majesty His heirs successors or assigns or any person or persons claiming from
by or under them or .any of them were to enclose any part of such two-third parts or
to fell any of the woods or trees growing or to be growing thereon whereby the
commoners might be hindered of their estovers:
And whereas by the Malvern Hills Act 1884 (in this Act referred to as " the Act of.
1884 ") the Malvern Hills Conservators (herein-after referred to as "the
Conservators") were incorporated for the purposes and with the constitution in that
Act described and were invested with certain powers of protection control and
management with regard to the lands in that Act specified and provision was made
for restricting the user and enjoyment of the said lands to the extent in the said Act
appearing: And whereas by the Act of 1884 the Conservators were authorised to
raise any moneys required for meeting their expenses by precept to be served on
the overseer of each of the parishes of Colwall Mathon and Great Malvern and the
said overseers were directed to pay the amounts specified in the said precepts out
of the poor rate of the said respective parishes Provided always that the sum
required by any such precept in any one year should note exceed the amount which
would be produced by a rate of one halfpenny in the pound: And whereas since
the passing of the Act of 1884 the then parish of Great Malvern has been divided
into two parishes named respectively Great Malvern and Guarlford and the then
parish of Mathon has been divided into two parishes named respectively Mathon
and West Malvern : And whereas the existing financial resources of the
Conservators are or may be insufficient to provide for the carrying into effect of the
purposes of this Act and it is expedient that the Conservators should be
empowered to raise further moneys for meeting their expenditure:
- And whereas it is expedient that the Conservators should be empowered to
borrow money as in this Act provided:
- And whereas it is expedient that the county councils of Worcestershire and
Herefordshire should be empowered to contribute to the said funds:
- And whereas it is expedient that the constitution of the Conservators should be
altered as in this Act provided:
- And whereas it is expedient that the Act of 1884 should be in part amended and
repealed as in this Act provided:
- And whereas the objects of this Act cannot be attained without the authority of
Parliament:
May it therefore please Your Majesty that it may be enacted and be it enacted by the
King's most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by
the authority of the same as follows.
1.
This Act may be cited as the Malvern Hills Act 1909 and this Act and the Malvern Hills Act 1884 may be cited together as the Malvern Hills Acts 1884 and 1909.
2
. In this Act unless the subject or context otherwise requires
- The expression "the Act of 1884" means the Malvern Hills Act 1884;
- The expression "the Conservators" means the Malvern Hills Conservators incorporated by the Act of
1884;
- The expression "the Board" means the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries;
- The expression "the lands subject to the Act of 1884" has the same meaning as that
given by the Act of 1884 to the expression in that Act "the lands subject to this Act."
3.-
- As from the 1st day of November 1909 section 5 (Appointment of
Conservators) of the Act of 1884 shall be amended by striking out the words " Five
by the vestry of the parish of Great Malvern" "Two by the vestry of that part of
the parish of Mathon which is not within the ecclesiastical district or ecclesiastical
parish of West Malvern" "One by the vestry of that part, of the parish of Mathon
which forms the ecclesiastical parish or district of West Malvern" and "Two by the
vestry of the parish of Colwall" and by inserting immediately after the words "The
Conservators shall be appointed as herein-after expressed" the following words
(that is to say)
- "Five by the parochial electors of the parish of Great Malvern:
- "One. by the parochial electors of the parish of Guarlford:
- "Two by the parochial electors of the parish of Mathon:
- "One by the parochial electors of the parish of West Malvern:
- "Two by the parochial electors of the parish of Colwall:
- "One by the parochial electors of the parish of Malvern Link:
- "One by the parochial electors of the parish of Malvern Wells.
- As from the 1st day of November 1909 the said section 5 of the Act of 1884 shall
be further amended by inserting the words ' parochial electors" in place of the word
"vestry."
- As from the 1st day of November 1909 all the words in section 7 (Election of
Conservators) of the Act of 1884 shall be repealed and the following provisions shall
apply (that is to say):The Conservators to be appointed by the parochial electors
of the parishes of Great Malvern West Malvern Malvern Link and Malvern Wells
respectively shall be elected in the same manner as urban district councillors are
for the time being elected and the Conservators to be appointed by the parochial electors of the parishes of Guarlford Mathon and Colwall respectively shall be elected in the same manner as rural district councillors arc for the time being elected and subject to the provisions of the Act of 1884 and this Act the statutory provisions and rules for the time being in force and governing the elections of urban district councillors and rural district councillors respectively shall so far as
applicable apply mutatis mutandis to the election of such Conservators as aforesaid:
Provided that
- The day of election shall be the 1st day of November and the times for
the several proceedings in connexion with any such election of Conservators
shall bear the same relation to the day of election as in the case of the
corresponding proceedings in connexion with first elections of urban district
councillors or rural district councillors as the case may be;
- The clerk of the Conservators shall be the returning officer for every such
election;
- Any sum which may be payable to the returning officer in respect of his
services in the conduct of the election or in respect of expenses incurred in
relation to the election shall be defrayed by the Conservators out of their funds.
- The first election of Conservators by the parochial electors of the said several
parishes in pursuance of this section shall be held on the 1st day of November 1909
and on that day all the Conservators appointed by vestries under the Act. of 1884
and then in office shall go out of office.
4.
Section 19 (Contributions from parishes) of the Act of 1884 is hereby amended
by the substitution of the words "Great Malvern Malvern Link Malvern Wells West
Malvern and Guarlford in the county of Worcester and Colwall and Mathon in the
county of Hereford"in the place of the words "Colwall Mathon and Great Malvern"
and by the substitution of the words "one penny" in place of the words "one
halfpenny" in that section.
5.
The Conservators shall maintain and repair the road known as the Jubilee Drive
so far as the same passes along or by the lands subject to the Act of 1884 and also
the bill paths over such lands and may pay all expenses incurred in connexion
therewith out 3f their funds
6.
The Conservators may purchase or acquire and plant trees and shrubs upon any
part of the lands subject to the Act of 1884 and may fence or protect the same and
from time to time remove or transplant any of such trees or shrubs Such trees and
shrubs if planted elsewhere than upon any part of the lands described in the Third
Schedule to the Act of 1884 shall be deemed to be subject to estovers as
regulated by the Conservators but shall not be liable to be cut down until they reach
eighteen feet in girth according to the ancient rules of the Forest or Chase of
Malvern.
7.
- The Conservators may provide construct fix and maintain seats and shelters upon any part of the lands subject to the Act of 1884 and may apply any of their funds for that purpose.
- The Conservators may make byelaws for regulating the use of any seats and
shelters for the time being provided by them or under their control or management
and for preventing injury thereto.
8.
Except as provided by the section of this Act of which the marginal note is "Amending section 19 of Act of 1884" nothing in this Act and no byelaw or power of
the Conservators under this Act shall apply to or affect any lands tenements or
hereditaments of Sir Henry Foley Grey Baronet or of his successors in title in the
manor or parish of Great Malvern or any estate interest or property within the said
manor or parish of the said Sir Henry Foley Grey or of his successors in title or of
his or their lessees tenants or grantees or of any person or persons claiming
through or under him or them respectively.
9.
County council of Worcestershire and the county council of Herefordshire or
either of them -may contribute to the funds of the Conservators such sums as they
may respectively fix by resolution and the said county councils respectively shall
pay the amounts of such contributions out of their respective county funds and each
of such county councils may in its discretion either treat the whole amount of any
such contribution as general county expenses or treat the whole or any part thereof,
as special county expenses to be levied upon such parish or parishes in the
county as the county council may think fit: Provided always that no rate shall be
raised for the purposes of this section within the urban district of Malvern save with
the consent of a resolution of the urban district council of Malvern or within the
parishes of Guarlford Mathon or Colwall save with the consent of a resolution of
the respective parish councils of those parishes.
10.
The Conservators on the one hand and the county council of Worcestershire or
the county council of Herefordshire on the other hand may at any time enter into and
carry into effect an agreement providing for the appointment of an additional
Conservator by the county council party to such agreement upon and subject to
such terms and conditions as may by any such agreement be prescribed.
11.
- The Conservators may from time to time with the consent of the Board and upon and subject to such terms and conditions and for such period as the Board
may sanction or direct and upon the security of the contributions authorised to be
raised by precept from certain parishes and upon the security of any property
belonging to the Conservators borrow any sum or sums of money that may be
required by the Conservators for the purposes of this Act and the Act of 1884.
- The Conservators may mortgage or assign over to the persons by or on behalf of
whom such sums are advanced the said contributions and property or any part
thereof and the sections f the Commissioners Clauses Act 1847 with respect to
mortgages to be created by the Commissioners shall form part of and be
incorporated with this Act and any mortgagee or assignee may enforce payment of
his principal and interest by appointment of a receiver.
12.
Any moneys from time to time in the hands of the Conservators and not
immediately required for the purposes for which the same are applicable may be
invested by the Conservators in any securities in which trustees are for the time
being empowered by Act of Parliament to invest trust moneys and the
Conservators shall be at liberty from time to time to transpose any such
investments.
13.
- From and after the passing of this Act section 18 (Byelaws and proceedings) of the Act of 1884 shall be read and construed as if the Secretary of State for the Home Department were therein referred to instead of "the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings."
- Provided that nothing in this subsection shall invalidate any byelaws already
made and in force at the passing of this Act
- Section 14 of the Act of 1884 is hereby repealed.
14.
Nothing contained in this Act or to be done under the authority thereof shall in
any manner affect the title to any of the subjects or any rights powers or
authorities reserved by certain letters patent of the 12th day of May in the 7th year
of the reign of His late Majesty King Charles the First belonging to or exerciseable
on behalf of His Majesty His heirs or successors.
15.
All expenses (including interest and repayments of principal in respect of
borrowed moneys) incurred l)y the Conservators in carrying into execution the
purposes and provisions of this Act (other than expenses for the payment of which
money is borrowed by the Conservators under the powers of this Act) may be paid
by the Conservators out of any moneys for the time being in their hands and not
exclusively applicable to any other purposes in pursuance of the provisions of this
Act or the Act of 1884.
16.
The costs charges and expenses preliminary to and of and incidental to the
preparing applying for obtaining and passing of this Act shall be paid by the
Conservators out of any moneys for the time being in their hands and not
exclusively applicable to any other purposes in pursuance of the provisions of this
Act or the Act of 1884.
