HC Deb 04 December 1916 vol 88 cc769-72

Provisions as to the Compulsory Acquisition of Land by the Corporation.

1. The corporation where they propose to purchase land compulsorily under this Act may submit to the Board an Order authorising the corporation to put into force as respects the land specified in the Order the provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts with respect to the purchase and taking of land otherwise than by agreement.

2. An Order under this Schedule shall be of no force unless and until it is confirmed by the Board, and the Board may confirm the Order either without modification or subject to such modifications as they think fit, and an Order when so confirmed shall become final and have effect as if enacted in this Act; and the confirmation by the Board shall be conclusive evidence that the requirements of this Act have been complied with, and that the Order has been duly made, and is within the powers of this Act.

3. The Order shall be in the prescribed form, and shall contain such provisions as the Board may prescribe for the purpose of carrying the Order into effect, and shall incorporate, subject to the necessary adaptations, the Lands Clauses Acts as defined in this Schedule.

4. The Order shall be published by the corporation in the prescribed manner, and such notice shall be given both in the locality in which the land is proposed to be acquired, and to the owners, lessees, and occupiers of that land as may be prescribed.

5. If within the prescribed period no objection to the Order has been presented to the Board by a person interested in the land, or if every such objection has been withdrawn, the Board shall, without further inquiry, confirm the Order, but if such an objection has been presented, and has not been withdrawn, the Board shall forthwith direct a local inquiry as to the propriety of confirming the Order, and the corporation and all persons interested in the land and such other persons as the person holding the inquiry in his discretion thinks fit to allow shall be permitted to appear and be heard at the inquiry. Before confirming the Order the Board shall consider the report of the person who held the inquiry and all objections made thereat.

6. The arbitrator appointed for the purpose of settling compensation shall, in addition to his powers under the Acts incorporated in the Order, have power—

  1. (a) to state his award or any part thereof in the form of a special case for the opinion of the High Court on a question of law under Section eight of the Common Law Procedure Amendment Act (Ireland), 1856, and, on the application of the corporation.
  2. (b) to order works to be executed by the corporation for the accommodation of adjoining lands or buildings either instead of or in addition to the payment of compensation.

7. In determining the amount of compensation payable to any person interested in the land, the arbitrator shall have regard to the extent to which any adjoining or neighbouring land or here ditaments in which the same person is also interested may be benefited by the improvements to be made by the corporation on or in connection with the land taken or any adjoining or neighbouring land.

8. In construing for the purposes of this Schedule or any Order made there under, any enactment incorporated with the Order, this Act together with the Order shall be deemed to be the special Act or the confirming Act as the case requires, the confirmation of the Order to be the passing of the confirming Act, the Board to be the confirming authority, and the corporation to be the promoters of the undertaking, the company, local authority, or district council as the case requires.

9. In this Schedule the expression "Board" means the Local Government Board, and the expression "Lands Clauses Acts" means the Lands Clauses Acts as amended by Section eight of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1896, and by Section eleven of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906.

Mr. DUKE

I beg to move, in paragraph (2), after the word "confirmed"["an Order when so confirmed"], to insert the words "on the expiration of one month from the publication of notice of confirmation."

This is one of a series of Amendments which provide for the process by which Orders under the Bill shall take effect. It is a simple protest. It is intended by this safeguard that if any person feels himself aggrieved and is able to find five other persons with a like grievance, that they may petition against the Order. If the Provisional Order of the Local Government Board is not agreed to between the parties, the objectors will have the right to go forward and have the dispute settled in the same manner as in any other Provisional Order.

Private rights of a very large value are involved in this Bill—the private rights of those who have been heard by the corporation—and it is obviously proper that these rights shall not be taken away by this measure.

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made: In paragraph (2), after the word "shall"["when so confirmed shall become final"], insert the words "save as otherwise expressly provided by this Schedule."

In paragraph (4) at the beginning, insert the words "On the submission of the Order to the Board notice of."

In paragraph (5) leave out the words "the prescribed period," and insert instead thereof the words "one month after the publication of the notice of the Order."

In paragraph (5) at the end insert the words"(6) On confirming an Order the Board shall forthwith publish notice of the confirmation, and if within one month after such publication a petition against the Order is received by the Board signed by not less than six persons interested in the land then (unless the petition is withdrawn within the prescribed period) the Order shall be provisional only and shall not have effect unless confirmed by Parliament.

A certificate by the Board that no such petition has been so received, or that every petition so received has been withdrawn, as the case may be, and that the Order has taken effect shall be conclusive evidence of the facts certified."

In paragraph (8), after the word "order"["together with the order shall be deemed"], insert the words "when duly confirmed."

In paragraph (8), after the word "the"["the confirmation of"], insert the word "due."

In paragraph (9) leave out the words "and by section eleven of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906,"and insert the words "Provided that in the application of the Second Schedule to the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, so much of Article 26 of that Schedule as (a) limits the right of appeal to cases where the compensation or price exceeds one thousand pounds and (b) requires that leave to appeal shall be obtained from the High Court, shall not have effect."—[Mr. Duke.]

Schedule, as amended, agreed to.

Bill reported; as amended, to be considered upon Thursday next, and to be printed. [Bill 132.]

The remaining Orders were read, and postponed.