Folios 167-177. Draft letter from The Local Government Board to James Saunders, Clerk...

Folios 167-177. Draft letter from The Local Government Board to James Saunders, Clerk to the East Dereham Local Board in the Mitford and Launditch Poor Law Union referring to his letter of 26 March 1885 and enclosing 2 prints of the draft of a provisional order which they propose to issue under The Gas and Waterworks Facilities Act 1870, 33 & 34 Vic c 70 and The Public Health Act 1875, 38 & 39 Vic c 55 to carry out a gas undertaking. They further point out the necessary requirements under Section 162 of The Public Health Act 1875, 38 & 39 Vic c 55 these being firstly that the consent of a company regulated under the Companies Act 1862, 25 & 26 Vic c89, to the sale and transfer of their gas undertaking shall be given a special resolution of the members of the company passed in the manner provided by the Act and also that the necessary evidence should be furnished to the Board when the draft order is returned. This is to be by a statutory declaration duly stamped and made by the clerk or the chairman of the company confirming that the consent of the East Dereham Gas Light and Coke Company Limited has been given to the sale as required, together with annexed copies of the consenting resolution. One print of the draft should be returned by Sunday morning next post together with any remarks the Local Board may wish to make, so that the order may be issued in time for publication in the Dereham and Fakenham Times, next. The board will be prepared to sanction the purchase of the gas undertaking by the Local Board for £5400. It must be clearly understood that no liabilities are to be undertaken by the Local Board under clause 10 of the agreement in respect of stock to be paid by them under clause 9. The Board also considers the Local Board cannot properly undertake to defray any expenditure, whatever its amount, which may be incurred by the company under clauses 12 and 14, as it is open to doubt whether the Local Board are justified in undertaking a responsibility for accidents under clause 13, before the gas undertaking is transferred to them.
Draft provisional order dated April 1885, with handwritten amendments. It states that the East Dereham Local Board (subject to the sanction of the Local Government Board) agreed to buy, and the East Dereham Gaslight and Coke Company (Limited) have subject to a special resolution of the members being passed in manner provided by the Companies Act 1862, 25 & 26 Vic c 89, agreed to sell and transfer to the Local Board the lands, hereditaments and premises described in the annexed first schedule and the gas undertaking of the Company including all the existing gasworks, mains service pipes, meters, lamp posts, brackets, lanterns and the business of the Company but subject to all rights and easements (if any) affecting the said premises or any part thereof. Also as the Local Board are under the Public Health Act 1875, 38 & 39 Vic c 55, empowered to supply gas for the whole of their district they have applied for a provisional order authorising them to maintain and continue when the same shall be acquired by them, the gas undertaking of the Company, to construct other gasworks, to manufacture and supply gas and to borrow money for those purposes. The extensive document contains some 31 clauses. Included is: First schedule stating all those lands, buildings and works called the East Dereham Gasworks, situate in the parish of East Dereham belonging or reputed to belong to the East Dereham Gaslight and Coke Company (Limited) containing 1650 square yards, more or less and bounded on the north, south and east sides by land and hereditaments belonging or reputed to belong to Elizabeth Andrews, and on the west side by the public highway leading from the parish of East Dereham to the parish of North Elmham and called the Holt Road. Second schedule: all that piece of land situate in the parish of East Dereham containing 18150 square yards, more or less, and known as Shortlands which piece of land belongs or is reputed to belong to, or to be vested in the Reverend George Shelford Bidwell, Blanche Bidwell, Thomas Shelford Bidwell, Shelford Bidwell and John Ray and is bounded on the north, east and west sides by a private road reputed to belong to the same persons and on the south side by the railway line and property of the Great Eastern Railway Company.
Third schedule: all that piece of land in East Dereham containing 2692 square yards, more or less, adjoining the piece of land described in the second schedule and being the said private road and all the piece of land in East Dereham containing 333 square yards belonging or reputed to belong to the Great Eastern Railway Company and adjoining on the west side of the said last mentioned piece of land and abutting on the public highway leading from East Dereham to the parish of Shipdham.
Draft provisional order dated April 1885 with hand written corrections and annotations. The annotations are both in the margins of the document and at the end where here particular attention is made to the wording of the various clauses contained within it, dated at various times during April 1885.
Annotated: 'Mr Rotton. Comments refer to numbered annotations on draft provisional order.' 13 April 1885.

Paper Number: 32478/E/1885.

Poor Law Union Number: 302.

Counties: Norfolk.