A person authorised in writing by an acquiring authority may enter and survey or value land in connection with a proposal to acquire an interest in or a right over land.
The person—
may only enter and survey or value land at a reasonable time, and
may not use force unless a justice of the peace has issued a warrant under section 173(1) authorising the person to do so.
The person must, if required when exercising or seeking to exercise the power conferred by subsection (1), produce—
evidence of the authorisation, and
a copy of any warrant issued under section 173(1).
An authorisation under subsection (1) may relate to the land which is the subject of the proposal or to other land.
If the land is unoccupied or the occupier is absent from the land when the person enters it, the person must leave it as secure against trespassers as when the person entered it.
In this section and sections 173 to 178 —
"acquiring authority" means a person who could be authorised to acquire compulsorily the land to which the proposal mentioned in subsection (1) relates (regardless of whether the proposal is to acquire an interest in or a right over the land or to take temporary possession of it), and
"owner" has the meaning given in section 7 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981.