Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981
Compulsory Purchase(Vesting Declarations) Act1981
1981 CHAPTER 66
An Act to consolidate the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1968 concerning general vesting declarations, and related enactments.
[30th October 1981]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
General
1 Application of Act.
(1) This Act has effect for the purpose of enabling any authority to whom this section applies to vest in themselves by a declaration land which they are authorised by a compulsory purchase order to acquire, and with respect to connected matters.
(2) This section applies to any Minister or local or other public authority authorised to acquire land by means of a compulsory purchase order.
2 Interpretation and construction.
(1) In this Act—
‘acquiring authority’ means a Minister or other authority to whom section 1 above applies,
‘general vesting declaration’ means a declaration executed under section 4 below,
‘land’, in relation to compulsory acquisition by an acquiring authority, has the same meaning as in the relevant enactments,
‘long tenancy which is about to expire’ has the meaning given by subsection (2) below,
‘minor tenancy’ means a tenancy for a year or from year to year, or any lesser interest,
‘prescribed’ means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State which shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament,
‘relevant enactments’, in relation to an acquiring authority, means the enactments under which that authority may acquire or be authorised to acquire land compulsorily and which prescribe a procedure for effecting the compulsory acquisition by them by means of a compulsory purchase order,
‘tenancy’ has the same meaning as in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ,
‘vesting date’, in relation to a general vesting declaration, has the meaning given by section 4(3) below.
(2) In this Act ‘long tenancy which is about to expire’, in relation to a general vesting declaration, means a tenancy granted for an interest greater than a minor tenancy, but having on the vesting date a period still to run which is not more than the specified period (that is to say, such period, longer than one year, as may for the purposes of this definition be specified in the declaration in relation to the land in which the tenancy subsists).
In determining for the purposes of this subsection what period a tenancy still has to run on the vesting date it shall be assumed—
(a ) that the tenant will exercise any option to renew the tenancy, and will not exercise any option to terminate the tenancy, then or thereafter available to him,
(b ) that the landlord will exercise any option to terminate the tenancy then or thereafter available to him.
(3) Section 284 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 (information as to interests in land) shall have effect as if this Act were part of that Act.
Part II
Execution of Declaration
3 Preliminary notices.
3.—Before making a declaration under section 4 below with respect to any land which is subject to a compulsory purchase order the acquiring authority shall include the particulars specified in subsection (3) below in—
(2) A notice under subsection (1)(b ) above shall be given before the service of any notice to treat in respect of the land with respect to which the declaration is to be made.
(3) The particulars to be included in the notice are—
(a ) such a statement of the effect of this Part, and Part III below, as may be prescribed, and
(b ) a notification to the effect that every person who, if a general vesting declaration were executed in respect of all the land comprised in the order (other than land in respect of which notice to treat has been served), would be entitled to claim compensation in respect of any such land is invited to give information to the authority making the declaration in the prescribed form with respect to his name and address and the land in question.
(4) A notice complying with the preceding provisions of this section shall be registered in the register of local land charges by the proper officer of the local authority for the area in which that land, or any part of that land, is situated.
(5) In this section ‘statutory notice of confirmation’, in relation to a compulsory purchase order, means the notice of the confirmation of the order which is required to be published or served by section 15 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, or by any other provision of the relevant enactments corresponding to that section.
(6) Where the acquiring authority is a Minister for references in subsections (1) to (4) above to the statutory notice of confirmation of the order there shall be substituted references to the notice of the making of the order which is required to be published or served by paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, or any other provision of the relevant enactments corresponding to that paragraph.
4 Execution of declaration.
(1) The acquiring authority may execute in respect of any of the land which they are authorised to acquire by the compulsory purchase order a declaration in the prescribed form vesting the land in themselves from the end of such period as may be specified in the declaration (not being less than 28 days from the date on which the service of notices required by section 6 below is completed).
(2) For the purposes of this Act a certificate by the acquiring authority that the service of notices required by section 6 below was completed on a date specified in the certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the fact so stated.
(3) In this Act the ‘vesting date’ in relation to a general vesting declaration means the first day after the end of the period specified in the declaration in accordance with subsection (1) above.
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