HL Deb 21 February 1963 vol 246 cc1516-21

Orders conferring powers of compulsory acquisition

8. The persons on whom, under paragraph 2 of this Schedule, a copy of the notice referred to in that paragraph is required to be served shall include every owner, lessee or occupier (except tenants for a month or for any period less than a month and statutory tenants within the meaning of Part II of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act 1954) of any land comprised in the draft order as land authorised to be compulsorily acquired or land in or over which an interest or right is authorised to be compulsorily acquired, in so far as any such owner, lessee or occupier would not be included apart from this paragraph.

9. Where any objection received by the Minister under paragraph 6 of this Schedule relates to any powers of compulsory acquisition, the Minister may require the objector to state in writing the grounds of his objection; and if the Minister is satisfied that the objection relates exclusively to matters that can be dealt with in the assessment of compensation, he may disregard the objection for the purposes of paragraph 6 of this Schedule.

10. Notwithstanding anything in paragraph 5 of this Schedule, the order shall not, unless all interested parties consent, confer on the river authority powers to acquire compulsorily any land, interest or right which they would not have been empowered to acquire by virtue of the order if the order had been made in the terms of the draft submitted by them.

11. Part III of Schedule 1 to the Act of 1946 (which makes special provision with respect to land of local authorities and statutory undertakers, common land, inalienable land of the National Trust and ancient monuments) shall apply to the order as it applies to a compulsory purchase order within the meaning of that Act.

12.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, the Lands Clauses Acts shall be incorporated with section 63 of this Act in relation to the acquisition of any land, interest or right in the exercise of a power conferred by the order.

(2) The provisions of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1946 (which specify certain exceptions and modifications subject to which the Lands Clauses Acts are to be incorporated with any enactment by virtue of that Act) shall have effect with respect to the incorporation of those Acts within section 63 of this Act as if they were incorporated with that section by virtue of the Act of 1946, and as if the order were a compulsory purchase order made in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to that Act.

(3) The Lands Clauses Acts as so incorporated shall have effect subject to such further exceptions and modifications (if any) as may be specified in the order, and subject also to the provisions (where applicable) of paragraphs 13 and 14 of this Schedule.

(4) Part II of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1946 (which provides for the incorporation of certain provisions of the Railways Clauses Consolidation Act 1845) shall have effect in relation to the order as if the order were a compulsory purchase order made in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to the Act of 1946.

(5) In relation to the acquisition of any land, interest or right in the exercise of a power conferred by the order, the Land Compensation Act 1961 shall have effect subject to the modification of that Act specified in Part III of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1946, and to such exceptions and further modifications (if any) as may be specified in the order, and to the provisions (where applicable) of paragraphs 13 and 14 of this Schedule.

13.—(1) The provisions of this paragraph shall have effect with respect to the acquisition, in the exercise of any powers of compulsory acquisition conferred by the order, of an interest in or right over land by way of the creation of a new interest or right.

(2) Subjections (2) to (5) of section 62 of this Act shall apply as they apply in relation to the acquisition of a new interest or right in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 61 of this Act.

(3) The provisions of the last preceding paragraph shall have effect subject to any regulations made under subsection (6) of section 62 of this Act; and different provision may be made under that subsection according to whether the acquisition is under section 61 or section 63 of this Act.

14. Where, in connection with the engineering or building operations to which the order relates, a licence under Part IV of this Act is granted (or is deemed to be granted) to the river authority to abstract water or to obstruct or impede the flow of an inland water, no compensation shall be payable under section 68 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 in respect of any land or interest injuriously affected by the carrying out of those operations, in so far as that land or interest is injuriously affected by the abstraction of water, or the obstruction or impeding of the flow, in accordance with the provisions of the licence.

15. As soon as may be after the order has been made, the river authority shall publish, in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality where the land in respect of which the powers of compulsory acquisition are conferred is situated, a notice describing that land and stating that the order has been made conferring powers of compulsory acquisition in respect of that land, and naming a place where a copy of the order as made may be inspected at all reasonable hours, and the river authority shall serve a like notice and copy of the order on every such owner, lessee or occupier as is mentioned in paragraph 8 of this Schedule.

16.—(1) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (5) of this paragraph, if any person aggrieved by the order, or by a certificate under the special land provisions, desires to question—

  1. (a) the validity of the order, or of any provision of the order, on the grounds that any powers of compulsory acquisition conferred by the order are not authorised by section 63 of this Act to be so conferred. or that any of the relevant requirements have not been complied with in relation to the order, or
  2. (b) the validity of the certificate, on the grounds that any of the relevant requirements have not been complied with in relation to the certificate,
he may, at any time before the end of the period of six weeks beginning with the date on which notice of the making of the order is first published in accordance with the last preceding paragraph or, as the case may be, notice of the giving of the certificate is first published in accordance with the special provisions, make an application for the purpose to the High Court.

(2) On any application under this paragraph, the High Court—

  1. (a) may by interim order suspend the operation of the order, or any provision of the order, or of the certificate, either generally or in so far as it affects any property of the applicant, until the final determination of the proceedings;
  2. (b) if satisfied that any powers of compulsory acquisition conferred by the order are not authorised by section 63 of this Act to be so conferred, or that the interests of the applicant have been substantially prejudiced by a failure to comply with any of the relevant requirements in relation to the order or the certificate, may quash the order, or any provision of the order, or the certificate, either generally or in so far as it affects any property of the applicant.

(3) Except as provided by the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the validity of—

  1. (a) the order, in so far as it confers any powers of compulsory acquisition, or
  2. (b) any certificate given in connection with the order tinder the special land provisions,
shall not, either before or after the order or certificate has been made or given, be questioned in any legal proceedings whatsoever.

(4) Subject to the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the order (except where it is subject by virtue of the special land provisions to special parliamentary procedure) and any certificate given in connection with the order under the special land provisions shall become operative on the date on which notice of the making or giving thereof is published as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph.

(5) Where the order is subject to special parliamentary procedure, sub-paragraphs (1) to (3) of this paragraph—

  1. (a) shall not apply to the order if it is confirmed by Act of Parliament under section 6 of the Stautory Orders (Special Procedure) Act 1945, and
  2. (b) in any other case, shall have effect as if the reference in sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph to the date on which notice of the making of the order is published as therein mentioned were a reference to the date on which the order becomes operative under the said Act of 1945.

(6) In this paragraph 'the special land pro-visions' means the provisions of Part III of Schedule 1 to the Act of 1946 as applied by virtue of this Schedule, and 'the relevant requirements', in relation to an order or certificate, means any requirements of this Schedule or of the special land provisions which are applicable to that order or certificate.

17. In this Part of this Schedule 'the Act of 1946' means the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946."

The noble Earl said: My Lords, this rather lengthy Amendment has two quite separate purposes. The first is to make provision for the payment of compensation in respect of the exercise of any compulsory powers, other than powers of compulsory acquisition, conferred by an order under the revised Clause 63, and that is done by paragraph 7. Its second purpose is to make provision, mainly of a procedural nature, applicable to any order under that clause conferring powers of compulsory acquisition, and that is done by paragraphs 8 to 17 inclusive. Those latter paragraphs, for all their length and complexity, with which I am sure all your Lordships are familiar, are relatively modest in their purpose, which, broadly speaking, is to apply to orders under Clause 63, conferring powers of compulsory acquisition, the usual provisions, suitably modified and extended, relating to orders conferring such powers.

I do not think I should be very popular if I were to take your Lordships through this Amendment paragraph by paragraph. Perhaps I may just draw your Lordships' attention to two paragraphs in it. The first is paragraph 11: orders authorising compulsory acquisition of land belonging to local authorities and statutory undertakers, common land, National Trust land and ancient monuments, are to be subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure. The second point to which I would draw your Lordships' attention relates to paragraphs 15 and 16; these are procedural provisions dealing with the service and publication of notices relating to the making of an order authorising the compulsory acquisition of land and the procedure for challenging the validity of such an order. I assume that in view of the time your Lordships do not desire a fuller explanation of these complicated provisions, but I shall be glad to do my best to oblige if I am wrong in that supposition. I beg to move.

Amendment moved— Page 120, line 11, at end insert the said new paragraphs.—(Earl Jellicoe.)

VISCOUNT COLVILLE OF CULROSS

My Lords, I do not want in the least to hold your Lordships up for more than a moment; but really for the purpose of putting this on the official record, on the supposition that sooner or later somebody will have to look at this in connection with this new Schedule, I would mention one thing that I forget to say when I was speaking on the new Clause 63 which was introduced last week. The provisions of my noble friend in his new Part II of Schedule 7 are, to my mind, wholly unexceptionable. He particularly drew attention to paragraph 16, which deals with the usual form of taking to the High Court any irregularity of procedure or vires which has taken place in the making of the Order. This arises out of the Franks Tribunal Report, and I think it is popular as an improvement of the law of compulsory purchase.

The only thing I do not see in the new clause is the application of that sort of provision to the first part of the Schedule which deals with orders concerning all sorts of other things to do with land other than acquiring land. It may be acquisition of water rights or compulsory stopping up of streams, or all sorts of things of great consequence to the people involved. I should like to have an assurance, if my noble friend can give it, that either they may be able to put in a similar appeal to the High Court on the question of whether the powers actually asked for in any order are really within the terms of Clause 63, or alternatively, if there is no question of putting in a special appeal to the High Court, the ordinary provisions of certiorari would suffice to deal with the matter. I should be grateful if my noble friend could give me an answer to that question.

EARL JELLICOE

My Lords, I must confess my heart sank when I saw my noble friend rising. I thought I was bound to be unable to give him any explanation or satisfaction on any point he raised in connection with this Amendment. But I think I can assure him that the particular matter he has raised—and on which I believe he has been in correspondence with my noble friend Lord Hastings (correspondence which I have also found almost incomprehensible)—is being examined.

On Question, Amendment agreed to.

LORD HASTINGS moved after Schedule 8 to insert the following new schedule

Back to