In some towns the following custom prevails in regard to this question.
The person desirous of opening the street for the execution of any work has to apply to the surveyor for a licence, and at the same time deposit a sum sufficient to cover the expense of the work, such sum being estimated and fixed by the surveyor. The corporation then supply one labourer whilst the job is in hand, who, whilst working, takes care that the soil is properly rammed and the surface made good; a mason is also supplied to make any drainage or sewer connections. The deposit is kept for about 3 months, and the cost of the labourer and mason, and of any subsequent making good the surface of the street, is then deducted, and the balance returned to the person who made the deposit.
This arrangement seems an excellent plan, and is said to work remarkably well where it is in vogue, but whether it is strictly legal is open to considerable question.
[125] Or gas or electricity, as the case may be.
[126] These words apply only to the manner of doing the work, not to alternative ways of doing it. (Vide ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health and Local Government Act, 1875,’ 3rd edition, p. 45.)
[127] In the “Electric Lighting Act 1882,” the words “proceed to” have been inserted before the word open, which is an obvious improvement.
[128] It is incumbent upon the undertakers intending to break up a road to communicate beforehand their proposed plan or method of executing the work to the road authority, and this in a sufficient manner to enable the road authority to judge whether what is proposed ought to be done without modification. The plan should, therefore, show the position on the road of the proposed excavation, and its depth. (Edgware Highway Board v. Colne Valley Water Company, 46 L. J. ch. 889.)
[129] This precaution was necessary, as the smell of the old mains was naturally very offensive and a nuisance.
[130] In some towns it is the practice to give the builder a junction pipe or block for nothing, thus ensuring his calling to give notice, but this is only successful in the case of new attachments to sewers, in which case the law is much more strict.