HC Deb 14 February 1945 vol 408 cc309-10

Considered in Committee, under Standing Order No. 69.

[Major MILNER in the Chair]

Resolved: That for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to make provision with respect to Scotland for the acquisition and development of land for planning purposes, for amending the law relating to town and country planning, and for other purposes, it is expedient to authorise the following payments, that is to say:—

A. (1) Payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of grants to local planning authorities in respect of loan charges on moneys borrowed by them for defraying, or contributing towards, the cost of acquiring or clearing—

  1. (a) areas of extensive war damage, of amounts equal to such loan charges for two years, together with a proportion of the charges for further years up to eight, or in certain cases thirteen, being a proportion fixed by reference to the extent to which land in an area of extensive war damage remains by reason of war damage incapable of being brought into use for a substantial purpose and so as to provide a substantial return;
  2. (b) land to be used for the re-location of population or industry from areas of extensive war damage or to be used as an open space or otherwise in an undeveloped state in substitution for land in such areas which is so used, of amounts equal to such loan charges for two years, together with half the charges for a further two years;
  3. (c) land for highway purposes relating to such areas or to land to be used as aforesaid, of amounts equal to such loan charges for two years.

(2) Payment into the Exchequer of any sums received in pursuance of the said Act of the present Session in repayment of any such grants.

For the purposes of this paragraph—

  1. (i) local planning authorities shall be deemed to have incurred loan charges on moneys belonging to them which are applied by them for defraying, or contributing towards, such cost as aforesaid as if the moneys had been borrowed on terms to be fixed by the Treasury;
  2. (ii) land appropriated by local planning authorities for any purpose of the said Act of the present Session shall be treated as having been acquired for that purpose out of moneys belonging to them at a cost determined as mentioned in the said Act;
  3. (iii) payments by local planning authorities in respect of restrictions on the development or use of land acquired by them subject to the restrictions shall be treated as a part of the cost of acquiring the land defrayed out of moneys belonging to them.

B. (1) Payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of such sums as may be re- quired to be paid into the Road Fund for the purpose of meeting the cost incurred by the Minister of war Transport of acquiring land for purposes relating to trunk roads as mentioned in the said Act of the present Session.

(2) Payment into the Exchequer of any contributions received by the said Minister from local planning authorities in respect of such cost.

C. Payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of expenses incurred by any Minister under the said Act of the present Session in paying compensation to person's (including statutory undertakers) in respect of the extinguishment or vesting of or interference with rights or servitudes over land or apparatus on land, in complying with conditions imposed in connection with the use of churches or burial grounds, or in making payments to persons displaced in the carrying out of redevelopment.

D. Payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of any increase in the sums payable out of such moneys under Section three of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act, 1938, which is attributable to provisions of the said Act of the present Session—

  1. (i) extending contributions under the said Act of 1938 to housing accommodation rendered necessary by displacements, occurring in the carrying out of redevelopment of land acquired under the said Act of the present Session, from houses unfit for human habitation;
  2. (ii) providing that any area of land acquired under the said Act of the present Session and used for the purpose of providing housing accommodation under the Housing (Scotland) Acts, 1925 to 1944, as to which the Secretary of State is satisfied that the conditions specified in Sub-section (1) of Section thirteen of the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1935, exist therein, shall for the purposes of proviso (a) to Subsection (2) of Section one of the said Act of 1938 he deemed to be a redevelopment area;
  3. (iii) providing that if the Secretary of State is satisfied that any area of land acquired as aforesaid could have been acquired under Part I of the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1930, as being land in, or adjoining, or surrounded by, a clearance area, and that the land includes dwelling houses or other premises which are neither unfit for human habitation nor injurious nor dangerous to health, the dwelling houses and other premises shall for the purposes of the said proviso he deemed to have been purchased under the said Part I as being such dwelling houses or other premises as are mentioned in paragraph (ii) of the said proviso.

E. Payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of remuneration and allowances to members of any tribunal constituted under the said Act of the present Session for the assessment of compensation under that Act to statutory undertakers.—(King's recommendation signified.)—[Mr. T. Johnston.]

Resolution to be reported To-morrow.