Compulsory purchase and compensation law: a framework for the 21st century

Citation

(2001), "Compulsory purchase and compensation law: a framework for the 21st century", Property Management, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2001.11319dab.021

Compulsory purchase and compensation law: a framework for the 21st century

Compulsory purchase and compensation law: a framework for the 21st century

The Law Commission has published a preliminary study (scoping paper) on the simplification and consolidation of compulsory purchase and compensation legislation. The current law (a patchwork of legislation, dating back for over 150 years) is complex, convoluted and obscure and a direct role has been proposed for the Law Commission in preparing new legislation consolidating, codifying, and simplifying the law.

Compulsory purchase describes the process by which land or an interest in land is purchased or taken under statutory powers without the agreement of the owner. Invariably, provision is made for the payment of compensation or purchase money for the interest in the land purchased or made subject to the right.

The problems

A study undertaken by the City University for the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions, in 1997, found that 63 per cent of owners were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the compulsory purchase process. Descriptions of the process included "worst experience in life" and "robbery but ongoing".

The Urban Task Force Report in July 1999, identified widespread reluctance among local authorities to exercise their powers of compulsory purchase and called for the legislation to be consolidated and streamlined.

In July 2000, a "Fundamental Review" carried out by an Advisory Group for the DETR, concluded that the law had become "an unwieldy and lumbering creature", suffering from the weight of 150 years of largely piecemeal legislative and judicial development. It recommends that a simplified Code should be prepared in consultation with the Law Commission.

The Law Commission's work

A small working group, representing different interests, was formed in December 2000, and has been engaged in helping the Law Commission to prepare the Scoping Paper, which is published today. This proposes a programme for future work and includes an illustrative framework, intended to show how a new Code might look, drawing together those existing statutory and common law rules which still seem relevant to modern practice. The suggested framework includes all the normal stages of the compulsory purchase process, including assessment of compensation, with a view to developing a standard model Code. We also refer to some comparisons in Australian and Canadian legislation. We propose that priority is given to simplifying some of the more complex rules relating to assessment of compensation. If the recommendations made are approved by Ministers, the next stage will be for the Commission to prepare and publish a Consultative Report on the form and contents of the Code. The second stage would be to prepare a report and draft legislation to give effect to the Code.

Although the Scoping Paper is not a formal consultation paper, we invite interested individuals and bodies to comment.

Study references

Fundamental Review of the Laws and Procedures Relating to Compulsory Purchase and Compensation: Final Report, DETR, July 2000.The Operation of Compulsory Purchase Orders, DETR , December 1997.Towards an Urban Renaissance: Final Report of the Urban Task Force under Lord Rodgers, DETR, 1999.

(The text of this paper is available at http://www.lawcom.gov.uk and from the Law Commission).