Public Health Act 1875 (1875 Act)

LEGISLATION	PUBLIC HEALTH ACT 1875 (1875 ACT)
Section 4: “Street” includes any highway…and any public bridge, and any road lane footway square court alley or passage whether a thoroughfare or not” “House” includes schools, also factories and other buildings in which…persons are employed…” Section 160: “The provisions of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, with respect to the following matters, that is to say, (1) With respect to naming the streets and numbering the houses; and …shall, for the purpose of regulating such matters in districts, be incorporated with this Act.” [Emphasis added]	The provisions of the 1847 Act are incorporated into the 1875 Act. The term “districts” in the Act was inserted by the Local Government Act 1972 - Sections 179(1) and (3) which adapt previous legislation and terms used (i.e. different forms of local authorities) as follows: "(1) Subsections (2) to (4) below shall have effect for the purpose of adapting the provisions of- (a) public general Acts passed before, or during the same session as, this Act; and (b)... and, in particular, for the purpose of providing for the exercise of functions conferred by such provisions, but those subsections shall have effect subject to any provision to the contrary made by, or by any instrument made under, this Act and shall be without prejudice to any express provision so made… (3) In any such provision any reference to an urban district (whether as such or as a district or a county district) or to the council of such a district, or any reference which is to be construed as such a reference, shall, except where it is a reference to a specified district or council or is to be construed as such, be construed as a reference to a new district or its council, as the case may be” [Emphasis added]. Under Section 270, Local Government Act 1972 – ““district”, without more, means, in relation to England, a metropolitan district or a non-metropolitan district”. We consider that the effect of the 1875 Act and the Local Government Act 1972 is that in the reference in the 1847 Act to “commissioners” would be read as the district council for the relevant area (or the unitary council in a single tier area) in England. With regard to the street numbering provision under the 1847 Act, this is extended throughout England and Wales by virtue of paragraph 24 of Schedule 14 to the Local Government Act 1972. The extension to Wales is supported by the amendments made by the West Glamorgan Act 1987.

Numbering: all local authorities in England exercising district council functions (but excluding London Boroughs) and all 22 local authorities in Wales, save where a Local Act is in place.

Naming: all local authorities in England exercising district council functions (but excluding London Boroughs) and all 22 local authorities in Wales, provided that they have elected to use the First Scheme in accordance with the 1972 Act and save where a Local Act is in place.

Section 4: “Street” includes any highway…and any public bridge, and any road lane footway square court alley or passage whether a thoroughfare or not”

“House” includes schools, also factories and other buildings in which…persons are employed…”

Section 160: “The provisions of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, with respect to the following matters, that is to say,

(1) With respect to naming the streets and numbering the houses; and

…shall, for the purpose of regulating such matters in districts, be incorporated with this Act.” [Emphasis added]

The provisions of the 1847 Act are incorporated into the 1875 Act.

The term “districts” in the Act was inserted by the Local Government Act 1972 - Sections 179(1) and (3) which adapt previous legislation and terms used (i.e. different forms of local authorities) as follows:

"(1) Subsections (2) to (4) below shall have effect for the purpose of adapting the provisions of-

(a) public general Acts passed before, or during the same session as, this Act; and
(b)...

and, in particular, for the purpose of providing for the exercise of functions conferred by such provisions, but those subsections shall have effect subject to any provision to the contrary made by, or by any instrument made under, this Act and shall be without prejudice to any express provision so made…

(3) In any such provision any reference to an urban district (whether as such or as a district or a county district) or to the council of such a district, or any reference which is to be construed as such a reference, shall, except where it is a reference to a specified district or council or is to be construed as such, be construed as a reference to a new district or its council, as the case may be” [Emphasis added].

Under Section 270, Local Government Act 1972 – ““district”, without more, means, in relation to England, a metropolitan district or a non-metropolitan district”.

We consider that the effect of the 1875 Act and the Local Government Act 1972 is that in the reference in the 1847 Act to “commissioners” would be read as the district council for the relevant area (or the unitary council in a single tier area) in England. With regard to the street numbering provision under the 1847 Act, this is extended throughout England and Wales by virtue of paragraph 24 of Schedule 14 to the Local Government Act 1972.

The extension to Wales is supported by the amendments made by the West Glamorgan Act 1987.

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