Simpsons Motor Sales (London) Ltd v Hendon Corporation
Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
Judge | LORD JUSTICE ORMEROD,LORD JUSTICE UPJOHN |
Judgment Date | 07 June 1962 |
Judgment citation (vLex) | [1962] EWCA Civ J0607-8 |
Docket Number | 1959 S. No. 2625 |
Court | Court of Appeal |
Date | 07 June 1962 |
[1962] EWCA Civ J0607-8
Lord Justice Ormerod
Lord Justice Upjohn and
Lord Justice Pearson.
In The Supreme Court of Judicature
Court of Appeal
From: Mr Justice Buckley (Chancery Division).
MR J. T. MOLONY, Q. C. and MR F. H. B. LAYFIELD (instructed by Mr R. H. Williams, Town Clerk, Hendon) appeared on behalf of the Appellants (Defendants).
MR R. E. MEGARRY, Q. C. and MR ROBIN DUNN, Q. C. (instructed by Messrs. Straker & Primhak) appeared on behalf of the Respondents (Plaintiffs).
The Judgment which is about to be delivered by Lord Justice Upjohn is the Judgment of the Court.
This is an Appeal by the Corporation of Hendon from an Order dated 25th January, 1962, of Mr Justice Buckley, who declared that a Notice to Treat dated 13th August, 1952, and a Notice of Entry dated 22nd October, 1953, served on the Respondents by the Corporation in pursuance of the Borough of Hendon (North Road, Edgware) Compulsory Purchase Order, 1952, were no longer effective.
The facts are very fully set out in the learned Judge's Judgment and they only need brief recapitulation here.
At all material times down to July, 1952, a Mrs Simpson was the owner in fee simple of rather under half an acre of land at the junction of North Road and the Edgware Road at a place called Burnt Oak in the Borough of Hendon. We shall refer to this land as "the North Road site". The North Road site was at all material times in the occupation of the Respondents, Simpsons Motor Sales (London) Limited., a company whose shares were held by Mrs Simpson's son, under a tenancy allegedly at a rent of £520 per annum. The North Road site is and at all material tines has been used by the Respondents to display their second-hand cars, they, as their name implies, being dealers in used motor cars. In July, 1959, the Respondents purchased the free-hold property from Mrs Simpson for the sum of £20,000, subject to the claim of the Appellants in this action.
We shall refer to Mrs Simpson and the Respondents collectively as "Simpsons".
In the year 1950 the Corporation were anxious to purchase the North Road site for the purposes of providing housing accommodation under Part V of the Housing Act, 1936. Accordingly on 25th March, 1952, the Appellants made a Compulsory Purchase Order pursuant to the powers conferred upon them by section 74 of the Housing Act, 1936. The relevant part of the Order was in these terms: "Subject to the provisions of this Order the…Corporation are under section 74 of the Housing Act, 1936, hereby authorised to purchase compulsorily for the purpose of providing housing accommodation under Part Vof the Housing Act, 1936, the land…described in the Schedule hereto"; the Schedule described the North Road site.
Simpsons were duly served with the usual notices and as no objection was made to the Order no Public Inquiry was held and the Minister duly confirmed the Order on 30th July, 1952 Under the provisions of the Housing Act the validity of that Order is not now open to any challenge in any Court.
The subsequent history of this matter may be divided into phases. The first phase lasts from the confirmation of the Compulsory Purchase Order down to November, 1954. Throughout this period the Corporation were extremely anxious to complete the acquisition of the land and to build thereon flats for old people. It is not necessary to set out the facts in any detail. Simpsons, on the other hand, were undoubtedly showing some passive resistance to the acquisition. On 13th August, 1952, the Notice to Treat, the subject of this appeal, was served upon Simpsons. In December, 1952, plans were approved for the erection of nine flats for old people and building contracts were entered into, but unhappily the Corporation were dogged with misfortune in respect of those contracts and the builders were never able to carry out their parts of the bargains. However, the Corporation were continually pressing Simpsons to vacate the North Road site, and on 22nd October, 1953, served a notice of entry on Simpsons (the second document the subject of this Appeal). On 1st February, 1954, the Corporation instructed the Town Clerk to institute legal proceedings to obtain possession of the North Road site, and in March, 1954, they obtained consent to a loan for the cost of the erection of these nine flats which they were then still hopeful of building. On 12th July the Corporation formally resolved to proceed with the acquisition and the Town Clerk threatened Simpsons with legal proceedings. Temporary respite, however, was allowed to Simpsons to enable them to complete the purchase of a new site in the Borough of Colindale. That purchase was completed on 10th September, 1954, and pressure bythe Corporation was resumed. In the same month a provisional, though not final, agreement between the District Valuer and Simpsons' advisers as to the amount of compensation parable was agreed at £1,400 and costs, and the Town Clerk asked for an abstract of Simpsons' title, but they did not send one. That Is the end of phase one. Any delay that occurred during this phase is attributable entirely to Simpsons.
Phase two lasts from November, 1954, to July, 1956. It starts with a suggestion made by Simpsons that the Corporation should purchase the site which Simpsons had acquired at Colindale and leave them in possession of the North Road site, and this was entertained by the Corporation, but (as the learned Judge said) not with much enthusiasm. On 14th April, 1955, Simpsons' advisers wrote to the Town Clerk and asked whether there was any progress in that matter, to which the Borough Engineer replied on 25th April that consideration of the matter had to be deferred pending receipt of certain Information from the Middlesex County Council. This reply was somewhat disingenuous for the information required related not to the site at Colindale but to the North Road site. In fact the Corporation were at this time exploring the possibility of purchasing from the Middlesex County Council some land adjoining the North Road site because they had reached the conclusion that to build nine flats on that site by itself was not an economical proposition. Matters dragged on and on 25th August, 1955, Simpsons' advisers wrote again to the Borough Engineer referring to his reply of the 25th April and enquiring whether there was any further development. That does not seem to have elicited any reply from the Corporation. In the meantime negotiations for the acquisition of land belonging to the Middlesex County Council adjoining the North Road site broke down, and In October, 1955, the Corporation began to consider the possible designation of the North Road area as a whole as one in need of redevelopment.
The whole matter was considered at a meeting of the Corporation on 6th February, 1956. This is very fully dealt with by the learned Judge in his Judgment and we need not deal with it in detail; suffice it to say that the original plan to erect nine flats was dropped and the possibility of treating the whole of the North Road area, an area of nearly 11 acres, including the North Road site, as one in need of redevelopment, was to be explored in the light of the technical advice to be given by Ministry and Corporation technical officers.
Simpsons were, of course, Ignorant of these developments, and thought that the Corporation were still considering the possibility of the acquisition of the site at Colindale in lieu of the North Road site, because on 3rd April, 1956, we find Simpsons' surveyor referring to the purchase of the alternative site and writing: "It has been assumed that the Council have since been considering this proposal and it would be of great advantage to us if you could kindly indicate what the Council propose to do in the matter. I might add that subject to our client's approval a figure of compensation had been provisionally negotiated with the District Valuer in connection with the land at North Road". The Town Clerk replied saying that the matter was still under consideration with the appropriate Government Departments and that he would write again after the Rousing Committee's recommendation had been considered by the Council at their meeting on 9th July next.
The Corporation did meet on the 9th July, and on the next day the Town Clerk wrote saying that "the Council have… instructed me to inform you that they do not propose to acquire for housing" the Colindale site "but that they desire to retain their interest in the land situate in North Road, Edgware".
Not unnaturally Simpsons' surveyor replied to that on the 11th: "With regard to the land in North Road, you will appreciate that your reply leaves our client in the positionof not yet knowing whether your Council will proceed with their acquisition or not. However, we are reporting to her and are taking her further instructions as to whether she wishes to exercise her rights in the matter". The surveyor, however, did not follow up this letter, and that may be described as the end of phase two.
Phase three begins in July, 1956, and continues until the issue of the Writ in August, 1959. The first part of this phase is remarkable for the absence of any negotiations or even communications between the parties.
As the law then stood, upon compulsory acquisition, in addition to the compensation which had been provisionally agreed with the District Valuer Simpsons were entitled to make a claim for immediate payment for loss of development rights against the £300 million fund under Fart I of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1954. Application is made to the Central Land Board. It appears that some time in the Autumn of 1956 Simpsons or their advisers...
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