CLAUSE 5.—(Power to Sell Land Acquired Under Act.)

HC Deb 31 December 1916 vol 88 cc1687-90

(1) Where any land or any interest therein has by virtue of this Act been acquired by any Government Department, the Department may at any time thereafter sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the land or interest.

(2) Where any such land is disposed of, then on the execution and delivery to the purchaser by the Government Department concerned of the necessary or proper assurance of the land disposed of, the purchaser shall, notwithstanding any defect in the title of such Government Department thereto stand possessed thereof for such estate or interest as may be expressed -or intended to be assured to him, freed and absolutely discharged (save as in the assurance may be expressed) from all prior estates, interests, rights, and claims therein or thereto:

Provided that if at any time after such disposition any such prior estate interest right or claim as aforesaid is established by the person entitled thereto, there shall be paid to such person compensation to be determined in manner provided by the Lands Clauses Acts, as modified by this Act, with respect to interests in lands which by mistake have been omitted to be purchased.

(3) Before any Government Department? sell any land or interest therein they shall, unless such land is land upon which buildings of a permanent nature have been erected or is land used in connection with such buildings, first offer to sell the same to the person then entitled to the lands (if any) from which the same were originally severed; or if such person refuse to purchase the same, or cannot after diligent inquiry be found, then the like offer hall be made to the person or to the several persons whose lands shall immediately adjoin the lands so proposed to be sold.

(4) If any such persons be desirous of purchasing such lands, then within six weeks after such offer they shall signify their desire in that behalf to the Government Department concerned, or if they decline such offer, or if for six weeks they neglect to signify their desire to purchase such lands, the right of pre-emption of every such person so declining or neglecting in respect of the lands included in such offer shall cease.

(5) If any person entitled to such preemption be desirous of purchasing any such lands and such person and the Government Department concerned do not agree as to the price thereof, or other consideration therefor, then such price or other consideration shall be determined by the Commission.

Lords Amendments:

After the word "land"["land or interest therein"] insert the words "so acquired."—Agreed to.

After the word "erected"["erected or is land used in connection with such buildings"], insert the words "wholly or partly at the expense of the State or at the request of or by arrangement with any Government Department."—Agreed to.

Leave out the words "by the Commission;" and insert instead thereof the words "in manner provided by this Act."

Motion made and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

Sir J. TUDOR WALTERS

I wish to say a word upon this Amendment. The Sub-section originally read: If any person entitled to such preemption be desirous of purchasing any such lands and such person and the Government Department concerned do not agree as to the price thereof, or other consideration there for, then such price or other consideration shall be determined by the Commission. The Amendment proposes to leave out "by the Commission," and insert "in manner provided by this Act." I am not quite sure whether this is the point at which I ought to raise a matter which seems to me to be of some importance. I rather think a later Amendment may be the more convenient place, but perhaps I may be allowed to indicate the point which I have in mind. As this Bill left the House of Commons, provision was made that the Commission should he the body that should decide whether part or the whole of any particular property could be taken. If a Government Department desired to take a portion of a factory, or of an estate, then the Commissioners were to determine whether it was reasonable that the owner should have such portion taken from him or whether the Government Department should be required to take the whole. Now it is provided by one of these Lords Amendments that that power of decision is to be taken from the Commission and given to the arbitration tribunal. That I strongly object to, and if this particular Amendment has anything to do with that I wish to disagree with it.

Sir G. CAVE

It is not affected by this Amendment at all, but it arises on the Schedule.

Lords Amendment agreed to.

Lords Amendment:

Insert the following new Sub-section:

"(6) The provisions of the last three foregoing sub-sections shall apply in the case of a lease of land for a term exceeding twenty-one years in like manner as they apply to a sale of land, except where the land is leased for the purpose of the development thereof in connection with any factory, building, camp, or other premises erected or established on land retained by the Government."

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment."

Mr. D. WHITE

I would like to ask the Home Secretary a question, and may I say how much I appreciate the way in which he has met certain objections. I do not want to press certain objections that might be made to this Lords Amendment, but in the second line the Lords Amendment says "shall apply in the case of a lease of land for a term exceeding twenty-one years in like manner as they apply to a sale of land." It seems to me that that phrase is ambiguous. It may mean land under lease exceeding twenty-one years or it may mean a lease of which the unexhausted terms exceeds twenty-one years. In one case it will apply to a twenty-five years' lease, of which all but three years have expired, and, under the second interpretation, it would not so apply. I should be glad to have the point cleared up. I think it may mean a lease of which the unexhausted term exceeds-twenty-one years, and if that is correct I would suggest the learned Gentleman' should insert words to meet the difficulty.

Sir G. CAVE

The meaning of the-Amendment is this: There is a provision in the Bill that in the case of a sale of land by the Government—land no longer required—the previous owner has a right of pre-emption. There was a discussion in this House as to whether that should apply also where the State leased land, and the House did not agree to that. The-Lords have now inserted it. It means a new lease.

Question put, and agreed to.